• to provide a storytime or other activity to occupy the children during the parent preparation time.

• to prepare parents to read "The Snowman" with their children.
• to demonstrate to the parents the HOUSE (bingo) game.
• to explain to the parents the importance of the participant evaluation form and to give them to the parents.
• to collect participant evaluation forms at the end of the program.

Parent Preparation:
Work with the parents to do a "pre-reading" activity. The "pre-reading" activity is the presentation of questions that relate to the subject of the book or activity. These questions are asked and discussed before reading the book.

Pre-reading activity:
Ask the parents how they react now, as adults, to a snowstorm?
How did they react to snowstorms as a child?
How are their reactions different?
(Possible responses: As an adult I think about how hard it will be to get to work while as a child I was excited to see if it was packing snow so I could make a fort or have a snowball fight.
If no one mentions it, ask if anyone has ever built a snowman, as a child? With their children?

Model reading "The Snowman."
Parents can share books.
Have the parents look at the title page and share what they think the story is going to be about.
Have the parents read through their books in pairs. Allow time for parents to look at the pictures and get the gist of the story.
Have the parents summarize in a group what happened in the story. As story events are brought up, ask the parents to tell the group which picture or pictures provided that information.
Ask any of the following questions if these points are not brought out in the parent's discussion:

1. Besides snow, what was the Snowman made of? (Possible responses include rocks for his eyes and a cookie or maybe an orange for his nose.)
2. How did the boy feel about the Snowman? (Possible responses: He felt proud because he looked out the window again and again to see the Snowman. Or maybe he was worried about melting since he kept looking out windows.)
3. What did the boy show the Snowman and what happened? (Possible response would be that he showed the Snowman the cat, but the cat was frightened of the Snowman.)
4. How did the boy introduce each thing to the Snowman? (Possible responses: The boy showed how the lamp worked and then gave the Snowman a turn. He let the Snowman try on his father's clothes and a pair of glasses.)
5. Where did the Snowman take the boy? How did they get there?
6. Using their imaginations, where would the parents like to "fly" off to?
7. Were you surprised at the story's ending? Did you like the ending? How would you have ended the story?

Discussion: How the Parents Can Work with the Children
Have the parents share what questions they can ask their children to get the children's ideas about what story is being told through pictures. (Possible responses: how the Snowman is made, how the Snowman and the boy felt about each other, what the Snowman and the boy showed each other, how the Snowman responded to what he learned in the house.)
Parents could ask their children how the story is going to end BEFORE turning to the last page. Then the discussion would focus on how each of them felt about the author's ending.

This discussion time should be a time of clarification and review for the parents of the techniques that were demonstrated during the modeling of the reading activity. This time is intended to build the parents ability and confidence for working with their children.

Demonstrate the HOUSE (bingo) game
Show the parents the blank HOUSE game card and the picture sheet of household items and the sample of the completed HOUSE card.
Model a HOUSE (bingo) game using the HOUSE calling cards. Review all the calling cards' words and pictures.

Description of Family Activity:
Parents and children will read "The Snowman" together.
Parents can guide their children in making the HOUSE cards.

Note to Facilitator: Limited English adults may want to do the family activity in their native language. Since it is hoped that these activities will enhance parent-child communication, they should use a language in which they are comfortable.

All the parents and children will reunite as a whole group to watch "The Snowman" video.
Then the parents and children will play HOUSE like bingo. Award prizes to the winners.

Recommended Age of Children:
Four to ten years old. Young children must be assisted by their parents in recognizing the letters to play "HOUSE."

Ways to Alter Activity for Younger or Older Siblings:
Younger children (four to six years old) will be able to complete the activities as described with the assistance of their parent.
Older children (seven and older) can do the activities as described. In addition, their parents and the facilitator can emphasize the imaginative side of the activity. Their parents can ask them what they would do if they could fly away, and how they would have ended the book.

Extension Activity:
Talk about the displayed books and hand out the prepared lists of related books.
If the library has a video collection, the families can be introduced to borrowing videos related to literature.
Families can use the HOUSE game cards as a list of household items for their own household treasure hunt. Explain that they can look for those items around their own house.
Explain the party game of scavenger hunt. Explain that children or families break into teams and walk around their neighborhood. They ask the neighbors that they know personally for items on a list, like the household list but including smaller items that can be carried like a rubber band or a toothpick, rather than toasters and electrical outlets. They collect these items and the first team who returns with all the items to the home base wins the game.

Note to Facilitator: Consider the nature of the neighborhoods where your audience lives before introducing this game. Neighborhoods with extreme poverty or crime would not be an appropriate place to play such a game.

Related Books:
"The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats, "First Snow," by Emily McCully, "Katy and the Big Snow," by Virginia Lee Burton, "Snowballs" by Lois Ehlert and "The Black Snowman" by Phil Mendez.

Evaluation:
There is a brief Participant Evaluation Survey included in the Facilitator's Guide.
These can be completed in writing or orally (by interview of staff one to one or in a group) depending on the English reading and writing abilities of the participants.
Explain that by telling us what they liked and what they didn't like, they help us put together better activities and they teach their children to think about what they liked.
The Participant Evaluation form asks about their satisfaction level, what they learned about how to ask their children questions to develop a story line and how they can find clues in pictures that tell a story.
It asks what they plan to do with what they learned. It asks for their suggestions to improve this activity and suggestions for future activities.

Notes to Myself - Lessons Learned for Next Time:

To make suggestions and comments, email: ccolletti@ilsos.net

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