January Book Companion Bundle

About this resource

Four book companions for preschool special education circle time, one bundle. January's winter month: Snowmen at Work, The Snowy Day, The Mitten, and Sneezy the Snowman. Each is a complete 57-page book companion built around one read-aloud you already have or can borrow. Read the same book every day, and pull one simple activity after it each day: sort, count, find the letter, put a life skill in order, then build a craft from the story.

WHAT IS INCLUDED - 4 print-and-go book companion PDFs, 228 pages (57 pages in each file), each used on its own

The Four Book Companions

• Snowmen at Work Book Companion (Caralyn Buehner, suggested week 2): sort job thing or not, count the envelopes, letter T, mail a letter in order, give a snowman a job. Core word: "no."
• The Snowy Day Book Companion (Ezra Jack Keats, suggested week 3): sort snow thing or not, count the snowflakes, letter B, come inside and get dry, build a child sledding down a snowy hill. Core word: "cold."
• The Mitten Book Companion (a traditional folktale, suggested week 4): sort animal or not, count the gloves, letter M, warm up after playing in the snow, color a big mitten and tuck six animals in. Core word: "hot."
• Sneezy the Snowman Book Companion (Maureen Wright, suggested week 1): sort cold weather or hot weather, count the gloves, letter C, get dressed to go outside in the snow, dress a child for the snow. Core word: "yes."

WHAT EACH BOOK COMPANION CONTAINS (the same 57-page shape in every file)

• A Start Here week plan: what to do after the read-aloud each day, plus what each day also practices
• A book-and-words page with an original circle-time chant written for the unit (no song or story text is reprinted) and 9 circle-time vocabulary words
• 9 smartboard slides for whole-group circle time on a projector or interactive board, plus 9 vocabulary cards to cut out for the carpet
• Day 1 sort, Day 2 count and glue the number, Day 3 letter find-and-glue, and tracing or writing, each at 3 levels (a circle, a square and a triangle instead of a number, so children do not compare)
• Day 4 life-skill sequence: put 4 steps in order, first, next, then, last, with 1 picture that does not belong
• Day 5 book craft: color and cut the pieces, then glue them onto the scene
• 2 fine motor pages: a path to trace and cutting strips
• 4 core-word pages: say it and find it on the talker or core board, a find-and-circle page, and a color-and-glue activity
• A "Who Did What This Week" data page (one row per student, a help-level code for each day) and a family letter to send home
• 19 ink-saver pages at the back, outline versions of the picture pages for a photocopier
• Credits page

Cutting Built For Small Hands

Cutting pages carry 5 or more pieces, lined up edge to edge so each cut is one straight line. Pre-cut them yourself for students who are not cutting independently yet.

Who This Is For

Any teacher starting or running a self-contained preschool or early childhood special education classroom, PreK through 2nd grade, who wants circle time ready to pull and go: one book, one theme, a different simple activity every day.

How The Bundle Works

Each file is downloaded and used on its own, one week at a time. Each is marked with a suggested January week, and you can run them in any order you like. Bought as a bundle, the four book companions are 35% off the four separate listings.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

Print-and-go PDFs (not fillable, and not Google Slides or PowerPoint; the smartboard slides are PDF pages you show full screen). Each book companion pairs with a read-aloud you provide; you need your own copy of the book, and nothing from any story is reproduced here. Not affiliated with any author or publisher. This is not a claim about any student's age, diagnosis, or rate of progress.