Winter songs I

I like winter, I like snow

I made a little snowman

I’ll make me a snowball

I’m a little penguin

I’m a little snowman

I’m going to build a little house

In the firelight

In the winter

In the winter garden

In winter

It snows in the night

It’s snowing, it’s blowing

Also see:

J – O

P- Z

Bear in a cave

The North wind doth blow

A chubby little snowman

The mitten song

Five little men made out of snow

And the YouTube playlist: Winter songs and poems

Last updated: 11/29/2021 10:49 AM

The songs below are part of ‘Away we go’ compiled, adapted and illustrated by Dany Rosevear

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I like winter, I like snow 🔊

We don’t see enough snow in England which can be disappointing for young children.

This song comes from a dear little picture book, published in 1950, of the same name by Lois Lenski who wrote the melody and tune. It is a much longer song in the book and includes Christmas verses. https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/i-like-winter-a-singable-picture-book-by-lois-lenski/

I have modified the tune very slightly to make it easier to sing.

I like winter, I like snow,

I like icy winds that blow.

I like snowflakes, oh so light,

Making all the ground so white.

I like sliding down the hill,

I like tumbling in a spill!

Oh, ho! Seasons come and seasons go.

I like winter, I like snow.

I can make a snowman fat,

Eyes and nose and funny hat.

I can squeeze a snowball tight,

Throw it in a snowball fight.

I can skate and slip and slide –

Ice is thick, the pond is wide.

Chorus

My feet get cold, my poor hands freeze,

I’m catching cold, I shiver and sneeze – (Ker-choo!)

And then I have to stay in bed,

Because I have a stuffed-up head.

The wind blows hard and piles the snow –

I’m up again and out I go!

Chorus

I made a little snowman 🔊

Going up, going down. A handplay. Children start crouched down low and move upwards until the sun comes out and then they move down.

1. Form snowball. 2. Roll it with hands flat. 3. Point to eyes, nose, mouth and round neck. 4. Count buttons and and form hat on head. 5. Move very slowly down, finish with a clap.

I made a little snowman,

I made him big and round.

I made him from a snowball,

I rolled upon the ground.

He has two eyes, a nose, a mouth,

A lovely scarf of red;

He even has some buttons,

And a hat upon his head.

OH, NO – HERE COMES THE SUN!

Melt, melt, melt, melt, melt, melt, melt, melt, melt,

Melt, melt, melt, melt, melt, melt, melt, melt,

SPLOSH!

I’ll make me a snowball 🔊

A winter hand play.

This rhyme was from a book for teaching assistants published in 1968.

Music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Form snowball. 2. Roll it with hands flat. 3. Pull hands apart. 4. Put up three fingers in turn. 5. Build snowman. Place fist under chin.

I'll make me a snowball of pure white snow.

The longer I roll it the bigger it will grow.

I'll make one and two and three.

When they're together what will they be?

A SNOWMAN!

I’m a little penguin 🔊

It’s winter and someone is positive about the snow.

Adapted and arranged by Dany Rosevear.

Waddle from side to side. Rub arms. Hop round on one foot then back on the other. Waddle from side to side with big smile.

I'm a little penguin on the ice,

I think cold is very, very nice.

I can hop around first once, then twice;

I think ice is is oh, so nice.

I’m a little snowman O

There are many version of this song. The one below is an adaptation of some of these. The unifying tune is ‘I’m a little teapot’.

Mime to the words of this song. Cup the mouth when shouting the fourth line to protect the ears of others.

I’m a little snowman short and fat.

Here’s my scarf and here’s my hat.

When the snow is falling hear me shout,

“Time for all the children to come out!”

I’m a little snowman, look at me.

Here are my buttons; one, two, three!

Here are my eyes and here is my nose.

I’m so cold without any clothes! Brrrrr!

I'm a little snowman short and fat.

Here is my broomstick and here is my hat.

When the sun comes out I’ll melt away.

But I’ll come back to play another day!

I’m going to build a little house 🔊

A winter / construction hand play. Music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Put finger tips together to make roof. 2. Forefingers and thumbs make window. 3.&4. Make chimney with left hand and curling smoke with right finger. 5. Float fingers down wards. 6. Cup hand to ear. 7. Repeat roof hands. 8. Cuddle self.

I'm going to build a little house

With windows, big and bright,

With chimney tall, and curling smoke,

Drifting out of sight.

In winter, when the snowflakes fall

Or when I hear a storm,

I'll go into my little house

Where I'll be snug and warm.

In the firelight 🔊

A little bit of nostalgia.

Words by Homer H. Harbour. Music an English folk song adapted by Dany Rosevear.

Coal and other fossil fuels need to be gone in order for our planet to survive; but there was something incredibly magical for a young child many, many decades ago to sit in front of an open fire when it was freezing outside and imagine wonderful scenes in those flickering flames. It reminds me of my grandfather, sitting in his old armchair listening to the radio, and peeling an apple in an unbroken piece especially for me to eat! And again of making shadow puppets on the wall at the same time.

On winter nights when stormy winds

Are driving fast the snow,

I love to sit before the fire,

And hear the north wind blow.

Then while the old folks tell their tales

And stories of the past,

To look for pictures in the flames

That from the wood leap fast.

To see bold knights and dragons there,

And caves and castles red,

Until the flames have all died down,

And I must go to bed.

In the winter 🔊

A hand play from ‘Rhymes for little hands’ by Maud Burnham, published 1906. Music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Make hive and hill with fists, walk insects towards them with fingers. 2. Tuck thumbs in, roll forefingers round each other. 3. Make hole by curving thumbs and forefingers. Make nest with palms of hands. 4. Flicker fingers down. Shake forefinger and hide hands behind back.

To their hive for the winter the bumble bees crawl,

And into their hill march the ants one and all.

The brown caterpillars have hidden their heads

And spun some cocoons for their snug little beds;

The squirrels have gone to their hole in the tree.

Each bird nest is empty, no birds do we see!

The fairies have flown for the winter, I know,

There isn’t a person who knows where they go!

In the winter garden 🔊

A winter to spring song and hand play by N. Foster and M. Meyerkort.

Verse 1. Palms down outspread move outwards. Fingers move gently downwards. Fists open and close. Form glode with hands. Verse 2. As before. Sleeping hands to cheek. Hands withthumbs to neck make flower shape. Make wave movement.

In the winter garden, through the falling snow,

Stars are gleaming, streaming, beaming down to earth below.

In the winter garden seeds lie warm below,

Flowers are waiting, waiting, waiting for the Spring to blow.

In winter 🔊

A hand play for late Winter from ‘Songs of childhood’ published 1923. Words by Mary Vaughn, music an old melody. Adapted and arranged by Dany Rosevear.

Children could easily suggest other happenings that herald the beginning of Spring.

Sing quietly.

1. Hold up arms with fingers spread. 2. Tuck hands under arms. 3. Make appropriate movements for each verse: thumb and forefinger opening and closing for birds beak, hands open to face for flowers, waggly fore fingers for lambstails. 4. Hands out look from side to side.

Brown are all the trees and bare;

Leaves we know are hidden there,

Waiting till the birdies sing

Their song of the Spring.

Brown are all the trees and bare;

Leaves we know are hidden there,

Waiting till the flowers sing

Their song of the Spring.

Brown are all the trees and bare;

Leaves we know are hidden there,

Waiting till the lambkins sing

Their song of the Spring.

It snows in the night 🔊

A winter song and movement activity, it can also be played as a hand play as below.

Words by Homer H. Harbour from ‘140 Folk-songs’ published 1921.

1. Move fingers slowly down. 2. Form a rooftop with hands. 3. Put hands to cheek then finger to lips. 4. Make fingers twirl downwards.

Slowly the snow comes floating down,

Over the rooftops in the town,

Down through the night without a sound,

Turning and whirling to the ground.

Grey comes the daylight dawning clear,

Clouds all are gone, the sun is here,

Oh, what a lovely morning blue,

Shines on a world made white and new.

It’s snowing, it’s blowing O

This song has been adapted from Desmond MacMahon’s ‘Infant Joy’; it would also works well for a clothing or colour topic.

It’s snowing, it’s blowing,

But I am safe from harm.

For I shall wear a yellow pair

Of gloves to keep me warm.

It’s snowing, it’s blowing,

But I am safe from harm.

For I shall wear a red wool hat

To keep me dry and warm.

It’s snowing, it’s blowing,

But I am safe from harm.

For I shall wear a bright blue pair

Of boots to keep me warm.

It’s snowing, it’s blowing,

The birds are safe from harm;

For if they’re cold, their wings they’ll fold

To keep themselves quite warm.

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