Snowflake Surprises

Dear "We Can See" Participants,

Today's weather in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada was windy with some snow flurries. 

We went outside and couldn't help but notice the snow that was falling.

We began to look more closely at it on the ground...

In our red wagon...

And on ourselves...

Have you ever seen such perfect snowflakes before?  Look closely!

Our class was completely blown away by our new discovery.  Ms. Babalis and Mrs. Ham were also surprised at how perfect and beautiful the snowflakes were.

Here is what we were thinking about after our outdoor winter observations:

E.Y.: It's snowing, because Santa is almost coming!

R.J.: There are different shapes of snowflakes.  I celebrate Christmas and Chanukah.

J.A.: Last year I was outside and it was winter and I made a snowball and it was snowing.  That kind of snowflake like from A.A.'s hat was falling.

M.Y.: I think that the star snowflake looks beautiful.

A.A.: That star up there (points to the photo of her hat on the smart board) nobody ruined it and I like it!

Ms. Babalis asked, "How might snowflakes get made?  What are your theories?"

Z.A.: Maybe they make snow and they make stars out of it.  The people who make the snow.

S.F.: The snow comes from the sky and snowflakes come from snow.

J.B.: The builders make snowflakes.

L.N.: I think that they put stars inside and then they wrap it around with snow.

A.A.: Because they have stars and I think they are very beautiful.  When I was a baby I couldn't see them.

Ai. St.: I think God or somebody, because God is in the sky.  My mom told me.

T.M.: From clouds and then the snow falls.  The sky carves the snowflakes.

R.J.: The moon makes them.  Someone on the moon with a rocket ship got out and made a snowflake.

E.H.: Maybe the snow gets squashed together and it falls.

J.A.: Snowflakes are made out of water and snow!

Then we read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats to continue to think about snow and snowflakes.

We noticed that all snowflakes look different.  They are different sizes and shapes.

As we begin to develop our theories about how snowflakes are made we draw them.  This slows down our thinking.

We will share more about this environmental inquiry soon!

Here is a digital version of the book that we read for you to share with your classes or families.

As we continue to wonder about the winter, we are curious to hear what your theories are about how snowflakes are made.  Do you have snow where you live?  

What can you see outside your winter windows?  

We would love to hear your response in the comment section, and have more of you join in on this winter inspired environmental inquiry.  It would be interesting to hear how theories differ from school to school.

Thank you for reading our blog post!

Sincerely,

Ms. Babalis and Mrs. Ham's Class 

Bond Lake P.S., Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.