Rice + socks = sock snowmen

I am excited to share with you my latest classroom endeavor:

Sock Snowmen!!!

Here are some reasons you might want to make sock snowmen:

1. You have a class of 22 fourth-graders and desperately need a winter-but-not-necessarily-Christmas-themed craft for them to take home with them.

2. You just want to make a cute winter craft.

3. You know a young one who could use some practice with fractions! (You'll see that part later).

You can guess what my reason was for making them, but, whoever you are, I'm sure you have a little kid to call yours, be it a child, sibling, cousin, or kid next door. And this is a great adult-guided activity for kids.

And it's just plain fun!

Here's what you will need:

(Left to right)

1. About 3 lbs (or 6 cups) of rice per snowman

2. Yarn for the scarf, about 1 1/2 feet per snowman

3. Measuring cups, to bring in the fraction practice

4. Pom poms for decoration. I found mine at Wal Mart.

5. Wide-mouthed funnels

6. Buttons (3 per snowman)

7. Noses - I broke off the orange tips of candy corn and used those. Other people I know used orange golf tees cut in half.

8. Tube socks, 1 per snowman (also found mine at Wal Mart, in the men's socks)

9. Googly eyes, 2 per snowman (Wal Mart again)

10. Rubber bands (3 per snowman, not pictured)

11. Black permanent marker for the mouth, and a hot glue gun (also not pictured)

And now for the directions:

Step one: Choose a measuring cup to start with. This is where the fraction practice comes in! Since I had a whole class doing it at once, I had four stations set up, each with a different measuring cup: 1/4, 1/2, 1/3, and 1/8. The kids worked in teams, creating a snowman at one station, then rotating to the next station to make another snowman.

Using that measurement and a funnel, fill the tube sock with 3 cups of rice. It was great practice for the kids to have to "count-by" a fractional amount. 

Pat the rice down until it forms a ball inside the sock, then seal it with a rubber band. 

For the next ball, do 2 cups of rice, and seal with a rubber band.

For the top ball, do 1 cup of rice, and seal with a rubber band.

(Sorry for the creepy faces in the photo, but I have to protect my students' safety :)

Step two: Let the kids measure and cut 1 1/2 feet of a yarn of their choice. This is another great way for them to practice using fractions. What is 1/2 of a foot? How can we know for sure? 

The kids will also select 3 buttons and a pom-pom or two.

Step three: Use a hot-glue gun to attach the googly eyes, candy-corn nose, buttons, and pom-poms to the snowman.

The kids can use a permanent marker to draw on the mouth.

And then you have your completed snowmen!

Here are a few variations on the pom-pom usage, from on the scarf, to around the hat, to ear muffs!

Once the kids finished making these, they carried them and cradled them as if they were babies. It was sooo cute! 

And don't forget: they also work well as Christmas decor at home that parents can store and bring out year after year. 

So what are you waiting for?

Get yourself a kid, and make yourselves some snowmen!

Merry Christmas!