History of Snowman Building
We all come from childhood; therefore, it is no coincidence that every adult, seeing a snowman in the park or in the yard of the house, will smile, remembering the winter fun in his or her old days. The tradition of building snowmen goes back to pagan times when it was believed that a spirit commanded blizzards in the form of a snowman (Kerbeland Sato).
In ancient times, figures made of snow were treated with great respect, and people asked them for help and protection from severe frosts. Nowadays, snowmen are a symbol of winter time, the long New Year, and the Christmas holidays. If the weather allows, one can go to the country or simply go into the yard and create a snow sculpture.
Purpose of Snowman Building
The general purpose of building a snowman involves children in winter games so that they enjoy spending time outside, even in the cold season. A more specific purpose is to teach them to create figures using their imagination, a skill valuable for fine motor skills development and serving to develop creativity. It seems that there is nothing easier than rolling balls of different sizes and placing them on top of each other, making a figure out of snow. But, it turns out, there are subtleties in the art of snow modeling.
Steps of Snowman Building
First, one needs to wait for snowdrifts; otherwise, there simply won’t be enough snow for a snowman. It is best to sculpt when the air temperature is from 0ºC to -5ºC. Flakes of snow falling in such weather have time to half-melt in the air and fill with moisture. Taking such snow in your hand, you just need to squeeze it slightly to get a dense lump. Rolling snowballs and balls is a pleasure!
There are the following steps in building a snowman:
- First of all, one should choose a suitable place for a snowman.
- Secondly, one rolls up a dense lump of snow and carefully compresses it from all sides.
- Thirdly, one should put a snowball on the snow and start rolling. Snowflakes will easily stick to the snowball, swelling it in size (Kisloski). The important thing is to roll the snowball in different directions so that the snow sticks evenly to the sides of the lump.
- Having received a large “snowball”, one should install it in the chosen place. The base must be stable and stand firmly on the ground; otherwise, the figure will fall.
- Next, one should start modeling the second and then the third ball. The second ball is installed on top of the base and smoothed over.
- Then, the smallest snowball is placed on the second ball. Even though the snowman is still without eyes, nose, and a mischievous smile, the main part of the work at this stage is done.
- To make the snow sculpture durable, one should spray it with cold water from a spray bottle. In the frost, the snowball will soon be covered with a thin ice crust, strengthening the snowman’s base.
- After that, the snowman’s face is made from stones for eyes, a branch for a mouth, and a carrot for a nose.
- Finally, the figure gets an inverted small bucket, an old cap or hat with a pompom on its head, and a broom in its hands.
Whether the snowman is sad or smiling depends only on the children’s fantasy. Without suitable materials, one can draw a snowman’s face with paints (Kisloski). The image is completed with mittens or gloves, a bright scarf, and buttons on the chest (Kisloski). However, there are no restrictions because the snowman can wear any costume. In suitable weather, one can make a family of snowmen, dressing up and decorating everyone. Both children and adults will be in a fantastic mood!
Works Cited
Kerbel, Deborah and Sato, Miki. Snow days, 2019. Pajama Press.
Kisloski, Carolyn. Building a Snowman, 2018. Rourke Educational Media.