Snowflake Bentley, great snowflake templates , and create your own virtual snowflakes to download

As many of us spend time with family this week and may need a fun activity to create - here is an option that I did every year with my 4th grade classes.

I read the 1999 Caldecott Medal winning book - Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Below you will see a nice summary of the book on Amazon.com.

From the time he was a small boy in Vermont, Wilson Bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful. His story is gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts, giving children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of nature. 

If you would like to see the story on YouTube please click on the embedded 7 minute and 7 second YouTube video below.

After I read the story to them - the students would then pick out a snowflake design that I had for them. These 12 snowflake templates can be found by clicking here. You can see 2 examples of what the snowflakes templates look like below.

A friend of mine shared this site where you can create your own snowflake on the computer and choose to share it with the world (or not), as well as download a copy for yourself. . The site is available by clicking here. http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/

Embedded below is a GIF showing what the site looks like.

I hope you enjoy!
Brad