A review of the Hands of a Child lapbook called Katy and the Big Snow.

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Father-Son Camp was coming up, and my older two boys were going to be away? What fun activity could I do with the younger ones? This was perfect! Today I have a review of the Hands of a Child project pack Katy’s Big Snow Day lapbook It’s a literature lapbook unit based on the book “Katy and the Big Snow” by Virginia Lee Burton.

Katy’s Big Snow Day Lapbook

I did the Katy’s Big Snow Day lapbook with 3 of my kids, ages 3, 4, and 6. We had a lot of fun with it. I definitely recommend it for the preschool set. The book is old and sweet. It had some interesting words in it, so my kids learned some new things. The lapbook activities were enjoyable for them, too. The project pack says it was written for up to 3rd grade; I’m sure there are some kids older than 6 years who would like it, but not my older boys (2nd and 3rd grade). The book was too childish for them.

Included in the project guide were lots of questions to ask the kids while we were reading. There were 20 lapbook activities. It took me about an hour to cut it all out, but my 6-year-old daughter was able to help a little. We were able to adapt many activities for my younger set by cutting and pasting the answers, drawing them, or dictating while I wrote, instead of having the kids write so much. Much of this was included by the authors. My 4 year-old was able to trace the answers for some of the minit-books; it was nice that they were included in the project pack, too.

Other Learning

I loved how the book was a jumping off point for studying directions (north, south, east, west) and compasses. We also studied about blizzards. Both compasses and blizzards had quite a few lapbook activities included. I found a few more things to explore which weren’t included in the project guide: measurement (they talk about how deep the snow fell), big construction trucks (by 3-year-old boy loved this), street signs, and counting by 5 (the first page counts by 5s up to 55 to show that Katy is 55 horsepower). We also added in another activity of drawing a map of our own town, and compared it to the map of Geoppolis. A verse I thought fitted in well was Proverbs 31:17 which says “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.” That was a good description of Katy!

Role Playing

Now, here is the cutest thing. These 3 kids were running about chasing each other yesterday and kept saying, “I’ll be Katy now. You’re Katy. It’s my turn to be Katy. Etc.” Finally, I asked them what they were doing. I could tell that “Katy” was the leader, so I said, “Why don’t you just say you’ll be the leader?” Then, I realized they were acting out the book! When someone asks for help, Katy always says, “Follow me.” And then she plows out the street while they all follow her! It just confirms for me again how kids learn so much on their own if you gently guide them and then give them the freedom (and time) to explore!