Snowflake Bentley

Title: Snowflake Bentley

Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Illustrator: Mary Azarian

Copyright: 1998

Award: Caldecott Medal

Summary: From the time he was a boy, Willie Loved Snowflakes. But how could he capture them so the world could appreciate their beauty? This is a warm-hearted story of persistence and passion as Wilson Bentley triumphantly captures a snowflake in a photograph!

This month we ended up with  a snow storm that left us with more then a foot of snow.  It gave us the perfect opportunity to read this book and do fun winter activities. 

Social Studies( Geography- Vermont, U.S.)- 

We placed our story disk on Vermont because the story took place there. We learned about Vermont by completing  2 work sheets and reading 2 books. Lily copied information about Vermont from her children's atlas into her journal. William Bentley is the main character of the story. He was home-schooled for part of his life. This gave us the opportunity to discuss many famous people who were home-schooled. Some of these people included Clara Barton and  Mark Twain. 

Mathematics- (Temperature, Multiplication, Subtraction, 10's, Measuring)

Each of the kids learned about temperature by completing classes and taking a test on the Time For Learning website. Lily also played a game using multiplication while Aj played a game using subtraction. They both did worksheets about counting by 10's and measuring. 

Language Arts (Writing, copy work)- 

Both Lily an Aj did copy work and writing with a winter theme. They each did numerous work sheets which included label the sound, fill in the word and answer the questions. Aj also has been working on reading a story online about snow.

                                      

Art- (Paper Cutting, Carving  and Stamping)

The kids folded paper then cut it to make snowflakes. They all came out different and beautiful. They  also carved styrofoam into snowflake stamps which they used to make prints with white paint and construction paper. The kids had fun making snowman with cotton balls too!

Science-(Microscope)

William Bentley was a scientist who used a microscope to look at snowflakes. We used a microscope to look at insect parts and salt. The kids learned how to make there own slides.

Books Read and Movies Watched-
We watched the Snowflake Bentley movie and read books about winter, snow and polar bears.

Chefs corner- The kids ate snowflakes made from flour tortillas, cinnamon and sugar. They also had a yummy lunch which included Vermont Granola and Maple Syrup.

Field Trip (Weather Discovery Center in New Hampshire and the top of Cannon Mountain)

We learned about weather and Mt. Washington at the Weather Discovery Center. 

At the top of Cannon Mountain it was -15 degrees. The kids had fun ridding the tram to the top. 

Extra fun this month-  Building snowman, sledding, skiing, measuring and checking temperature of snow was some of the other winter activities we did.

Even though we were unable to visit Vermont while reading this book we still had a great time with all the activities.

Thanks for reading!!

*worksheets are from www.3dinosaurs.com*