16 Fun Winter Activities for Kindergarten with Free Download
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Fun Winter Activities for Kindergarten
Looking for fun and educational winter activities for kindergarten students? Look no further! These winter activities for kindergarten will keep your students engaged and excited about learning during the colder months.
Winter is a magical time of year, and there is no better way to embrace the season than by exploring the wonder of snow with your kindergarten students. From snowflakes, arctic animals, and snowmen to sledding and hot chocolate.
You can do so many fun and educational activities to teach about snow during the wintertime.
Learning About Snow
Sometimes, young learners confuse nonfiction books with books that just have photographs. Snow is Falling is an illustrated nonfiction book. (Affiliate links are included in this blog post.)
Here is the description of the book:
Snow is wonderful—for sledding, for skiing, and for building snowmen. But did you know that snow can actually keep things warm? Find out how snow helps plants, animals, and people to survive. But when a blizzard blows, watch out! The snow that is so useful can be dangerous too. Franklyn M. Branley and Holly Keller team up for a fun and colorful exploration of the world of snow, including experiments and activities for cold winter days.
1. Winter Science of Snow
Reading the book Snow is Falling is also a great way to introduce the science behind snow and snowflakes. This book does an excellent job of discussing winter science!
These illustrations are so perfect for preschool through first grade students!
Winter Reading Comprehension Activities
As you know, we center our lesson plans around one great book each week. This week, our unit study is centered around nonfiction books, such as Snow is Falling by Frankly M. Branley. This is such a great addition to add to your winter-themed activities.
After we have read a section of the text, we take time to discuss the meaning and develop a deep understanding of the author’s message. Every student is active in this interactive read aloud activity.
2. Schema Building
In reading comprehension, “schema” refers to the background knowledge a reader brings to a text. It’s like a mental filing cabinet where we store our experiences and understanding. Teaching using picture books taps into this, activating prior knowledge and helping kids connect new information. This strategy boosts comprehension by making the learning experience more relatable and meaningful.
Together, we create this schema anchor chart. We will return to this chart and add our new learning during our studies.
Here is another anchor chart we created during our winter themed activities.
Students also respond and document their thinking.
We love that some students express themselves with words while others express themselves by drawing. The most important part of this lesson is the thinking work that students are doing. We know that transcription skills come with further phonics instruction.
3. Snow is Falling Visualization Lesson
“Visualizing” in reading comprehension involves creating mental images based on the text. It’s like a movie playing in the mind, enhancing understanding and engagement. Using picture books to encourage visualization sparks creativity and deepens comprehension, making the reading experience vivid and memorable for young learners.
4. Winter Sentence Writing
Students can create their own winter sentences about snow.
Winter Arts and Crafts Ideas
Snow provides a great opportunity for students to get creative with their art projects.
You can have your students create winter scenes using a variety of materials, such as paint, construction paper, glue, glitter, and cotton balls.
5. Snow Cut Paper Craft
You can also have them make their own snowflakes using paper and scissors or by cutting shapes out of white foam sheets. These activities can help to improve fine motor skills, as well as encourage creativity and imagination.
All of these reading comprehension lessons have been scripted for you. We also included the winter craft directions! Yes! One less thing to plan! You can find them by clicking:
6. Winter Directed Drawing Activities
If you are looking for winter drawing ideas, these videos are the BEST.
7. Winter Literacy Centers and Activities
These literacy activities can be done in centers, as early finisher activities, or in small groups.
This fun game has some arctic animal fun! Students are working on words with blends.
8. Winter Math Centers and Activities
So many math activities can be done with a winter theme. Have your students count snowflakes, measure the snowfall, or do winter-themed math puzzles.
Additionally, these math center games are always fun! This game focuses on subitizing and number recognition.
Additonal winter fun activities
9. Go On a Winter Walk
Take your students outside on a cold, snowy day to explore the winter wonderland around them. Encourage them to look for tracks in the snow, identify different types of trees and plants, and listen to the sounds of winter.
You can even bring along a magnifying glass or a pair of binoculars to help your students get a closer look at the world around them. You can discuss the different types of winter weather, such as snow, sleet, and freezing rain, and talk about how they are different. You can also talk about how to dress appropriately for cold weather and the importance of wearing layers to stay warm.
10. Drink Hot Cocoa
After a fun day in the snow, there is nothing better than coming inside and warming up with a mug of hot cocoa. You can teach your students about the different ingredients that go into hot cocoa and even let them help you make a batch for the whole class to enjoy.
This activity can also help to improve fine motor skills as students measure and mix ingredients. You can discuss the history of hot cocoa and how it was originally consumed by the ancient Mayans and Aztecs. Here is a great video about the history of this yummy drink.
Play Indoor Recess Snowy Games
You can play many fun games with your students to help them learn about snow and winter. If you live in a cold climate or are unable to go to recess, these indoor activity ideas are so much fun.
- 11. Snowball Fight – Write sight words on scraps of white paper and crumple them up. Students will throw them around the room until you signal them to FREEZE! Then, they will read the words to their partner. Crumple them up and play again!
- 12. Pass the Snowball – This is like a version of “Hot Potato,” where the snowball is passed from student to student. You may want to add a timer. When the timer goes off, you’ll show a flashcard (with math or literacy skills) to the student with the ball. That student answers the question. PSST… little learners may want to phone a friend.
- 13. Practice Oral Language Skills -You can play the same game but ask them a simple question. Example: What is your favorite color? The student will answer with a complete sentence. “My favorite color is blue.” This is great for students who are learning English too!
These games can help improve gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination and provide a fun and interactive way for students to learn.
More of my favorite winter activities for kindergarten:
14. Winter Science Experiments
I have a whole blog post about the fun science activities you can do during the cold winter months. Engage your students in the wonders of science with these fun winter-themed experiments. Try making ice lanterns by filling a jar with water and leaving it outside overnight to freeze. Or, do a “snowflake” experiment by making paper snowflakes and observing how they are all different.
15. Winter Themed Poems
Add winter stories and poems to your reading lessons to keep things festive and fun. You will find poems about polar bears, snowmen, penguins, and more! Encourage your students to create their own winter-themed stories and illustrations, too.
Other Winter Season Books for Kindergarten
There are so many great children’s books that are perfect for some winter fun. I have written a few blog posts about how we incorporate these books in our classroom. Some of my favorite picture books include:
- 7 Fun Snowy Day Activities (Free File) and Lesson Plans for Kindergarten & First Grade
- Easy The Mitten Activities FREE (Psst The Whole WEEK Printable Files!)
- Fun Sneezy the Snowman Activities (Free Snowman Math File Too)
- 11 Fun Polar Bear Activities for Kindergarten and First Grade
- Engaging Nonfiction Winter Lesson Plans with The Story of Snow
16. FREE WINTER ACTIVITY
Here is your free winter activity that will be a big hit with your kindergarteners! Who does not love a snow day?
Simply add your email to the box below.
Winter Activities for Kindergarten
Would you like to grab this free lesson plan template? Just give the lesson plan image below a click, and you’ll be able to easily download the file from my Google Drive. It’s as simple as that! Plus, the PDF version of these lesson plans is conveniently linked to the resource for quick access.
Want to see other weekly lesson plans like this?
To see additional Lesson Plan Posts like this, click
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Deedee Wills
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
Hi, I'm DeedeE.
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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