Of course, it is! I am not mixed up about days and months. Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has proclaimed this as Snowy Day Month, and who should know better? What month could outshine January for celebrating The Snowy Day? And in what month do we need it more?
Blue background bulletin boards with chalk snowflakes and snow banks went up in my classrooms shortly after Christmas. The dreariness of winter seemed to call for it. Never mind that few of my kindergarten children in San Antonio or my second graders in Fort Polk, Louisiana had ever seen snow. Only those who had moved in from northern places could tell stories of playing in the white stuff. But sight unseen, they were just as intrigued as my second graders in Germany who eagerly awaited waking up to a fresh coat of white powder.
In January, out came The Snowy Day, and for a little bit, the children became Peter. They felt the plop of snow that landed on his head. They thrilled to a ride on their seats down the snow-covered hill. They made pretend snow angels on the floor and trailed their sticks to make patterns in the sandbox. Most shook their heads in wisdom, knowing what would happen when Peter carefully tucked the snowball into his pocket to save in his warm house.
Thankfully, the Keats Foundation has done more than make a proclamation. If you have a child close by or can find one to borrow for a while, wonderful activities have been posted on their website at http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/celebrating-the-snowy-day. Trust me, it will not matter if the child has never experienced snow. Until somebody shuts their imaginations down, children know about elves, trolls, magic fairy dust, ogres, sleigh bells on rooftops, wizards, and snow-covered hillsides. And if you hang around them a little while, you may catch a glimpse of these wonders for yourself.