Collect empty bottles so your class can make decorative silver snowmen. Stick a note in your students' backpacks asking parents to send in one clean dry plastic bottle without handles. Do not specify a size so a variety of bottles wind up in the room--ready to become snowmen. Give each child a sheet of foil large enough to wrap around his particular bottle. Tell the kids to lay the bottles on the foil and pull the foil up and around the bottle, smoothing to fit. Make sure each bottle is completely wrapped in foil. Get out black and orange construction paper, scissors and glue. Show the children how to make a cylinder out of a rectangle cut from black paper for the hat. Cut a black paper ring to glue to the hat for a brim. Cut eyes and buttons from the black paper and attach them with glue. Cut an orange triangle nose to glue to the snowman. Tie a blue ribbon "scarf" around the snowman's neck.
Read a book that is full of pictures of snowy scenes to your class in preparation for an art activity. Give each class member a 12-inch by 18-inch piece of light blue construction paper. Lay the paper horizontally in front of each child. Provide crayons and instruct the class to draw a snowy scene that depicts the wintry January weather. When the coloring is complete, pass cups of white paint and paintbrushes and ask the children to dab snow on the trees and rooftops they drew. Paint snow on the ground and snowflakes falling from the sky. Sprinkle silver glitter over the white paint before the paint dries.
Develop fine motor skills and make art with yummy marshmallows at the same time. Print a snowman outline on white construction paper and pass one to each child. Give markers to the children and instruct them to draw a face, buttons and other features on their snowman. Encourage the youngsters to draw a background too. Do not substitute crayons for markers. Marshmallows will not stick to crayon markings. Give the children mini-marshmallows to lick and stick, one at a time, on to the outline.