Snow Mountain

(Left to right) Matthew Levine, Zara Tottey, Jack Mains, Miles Garland, Weining Wang, Mattie Davis, Ellia Muhlenberg Rodriguez, Sheri Carney, James Slootmaker, Liam Levicoff, and Sebastian Lizarraga. Photo: Reisa Mukamal

With winter’s first snow, plows clear the parking lot at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church by piling the snow in one spot. That spot becomes a magical landscape on the playground of Swarthmore Presbyterian Nursery Day School, lasting at least until spring. Snow Mountain, the children call it. From its broad and bumpy surface, they carve out caves and tunnels, never tiring of exploring its many levels with shovels and pails. They notice how the mountain continually changes, icing up in the early morning, and softening and shrinking in the afternoon sun. The changes affect their sledding, which they do on bellies, backs, or cross-legged, with or without a sled. If there’s a fresh snowfall, Snow Mountain cleans up nicely, and the plows change its shape and make it new again.

Snow Mountain fits in perfectly with the kindergarten classes’ study of Arctic and Antarctic habitats. These pages are from the class book of kindergarten teacher Sheri Carney, “When I Am on Snow Mountain.”