Unlike their wiser, more seasoned older brother, the two M's and the B decided that winter clothing is not to their liking. This means that every effort to go play outside involves whining and complaining and silly antics over not wanting to wear "a coat" or "not that coat" or "that hat is yucky".
After more cajoling and pleading than I can reasonably justify, followed by whining that "it's too cold", I decided to put my boot down on the winter clothes whines. Enter colored pencils and "We Love Winter Clothes" coloring pages (see below).
WE LOVE WINTER CLOTHES (PDF)
We sat down for a coloring session, beginning with the funny cat faces. And I began my sermon, which went something like this...
"So, ladies, you see all these happy cats? Well, one of the reasons they are so happy is that they are wearing the right clothes for the weather. Cats have fur coats all year round, and those fur coats keep them snug and warm. A cold cat is not a happy cat."
Everyone seemed to agree, after mentioning that the cats might also be smiling because they "just got petted" or got to "drink milk". We moved on to the second coloring page- the one with winter clothes.
"Imagine that you got to decorate your winter clothes however you wanted. Use your colored pencils to make them look like your dream coat or dream hat or dream scarf..."
As they colored their winter clothes, we talked about how each item of clothing is used to keep a specific part of the body warm. Scarves and turtleneck sweaters are used to keep necks warm. Hats and hoods are used to keep heads warm. Gloves and mittens are used to keep fingers warm. Jackets and sweaters are used to keep the chest and body warm. And so on.
Finally, we colored the last page, which depicted a fun snowball fight between two well-dressed and happy kids. I pointed out that dressing in winter clothes allowed the kids to have fun in cold weather rather than sit and complain about being too cold. The girls nodded. B. pointed out how her fingers "got froze" in the park the other day. We talked about how being cold feels tingly and numb. Here's to hoping a lesson was learned.
