Wonders of Winter

THE W NDERS of Winter

Historic New England offers wintertime preschool programs at Casey Farm in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, conducted in partnership with the parks and recreation departments of South Kingstown and East Greenwich. Each hour-long session is limited to ten preschool-age children and their caregivers, ensuring an intimate setting for learning about history and nature as they track seasonal changes on the farm.

Now that it is midwinter, the focus is on outdoor fun. Dressed for the colder temperatures, attendees meet in the big field at Casey Farm to learn interesting facts about ice and snow. If there is snow, they build snowmen and forts. If there is none, the preschoolers play games outdoors.

When the outdoor work and play are done, everyone heads inside the farmhouse. While drinking hot cocoa they listen to a reading of Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner, a story about the secret lives of snowmen and what they do while the humans who made them are sleeping (they play and have snowball fights). The children get to play with soft, stuffed spheres and have an indoor snowball fight of their own.

Then it is time to make a craft that the youngsters can bring home

as a special reminder of the day. They mix glue and shaving cream to make “snow,” which they shape into snowmen. The children can reshape their creations many times after they go home.

Many children are regular attendees of the programs and although the topic changes with each session, the structure remains the same: hands-on investigation, creative play, a picture book reading, and craftmaking.

For more information about preschool programs at Casey Farm, call 401-237-7472 or email CaseyEd@HistoricNewEngland. org.