51 Fresh Winter Activities for Kids at School

2.5K

Winter brings a unique charm that ignites curiosity and excitement among students. Capitalize on this seasonal enthusiasm by creating lessons that are both enjoyable and educational, embracing holidays, the enchantment of snow, and notable figures like Martin Luther King Jr., all while aligning with your curriculum standards.

Infuse Winter into the Classroom with Indoor Activities

While winter may bring cold weather, it doesn’t have to put a damper on your lessons. Embrace the season indoors with imaginative, CCSS-aligned activities — consider engaging STEM challenges or invigorating winter writing projects that capture student interest even as temperatures drop.

• Create Snowflake Structures: Challenge students to build the sturdiest snowflake using marshmallows and toothpicks.
• Match Up the Mittens: Use mittens to match equivalent fractions or equations for an interactive learning experience.
• Present Snowy Theater: Have students write, produce, and perform one-act plays featuring winter-themed narratives.
• Organize a Winter Carnival: Allow students to design an indoor carnival, complete with layouts, booths, and prizes.
• Create Frozen Artwork: Facilitate winter-themed art projects using glue and watercolors, culminating in a gallery walk.
• Analyze Winter Primary Sources: Examine photos and journal entries from significant winter events to uncover historical insights.

Winter Ice STEM Challenge | Properties Of Matter Science Activities | Grade 4 5
By Kimberly Scott Science
Grades: 4th-6th
Standards: CCSSW.5.3c; CCRA.W.1, W.4.3c

Delve into one of winter’s most defining characteristics with a hands-on project. Students will investigate how water freezes and melts, the impact of salt on freezing points, and utilize the scientific method to document their findings.

Winter Vocabulary Photo Presentation – Adult ESL Seasonal Vocabulary
By Rike Neville
Grades: 10th-12th

This digital presentation introduces students to 30 essential winter vocabulary words, enhancing their understanding of the terminology associated with the season.

Winter Math
By Lanfaloe
Grades: PreK-1st

Transform your math lessons with a winter theme! Students from preschool to 1st grade can engage with counting snowmen, performing addition and subtraction with winter-related objects, and practicing skip counting using snowballs.

Winter ELA Packet ESL ELLs Poetry Acrostic Cinquain Shape Haiku Poem Template
By Promoting Success
Grades: 4th-6th

Inspire your students to embrace the joys of winter through poetry. This resource guides them in writing various types of poems, including acrostic, haiku, cinquain, shape, diamante, I wish, and limerick, all centered around winter sports.

Integrate Winter Learning Across Subjects

Combine history, math, ELA, and science to create a curriculum that shines as brightly as the winter snow.

• Research Arctic Tribes: Investigate Indigenous tribes in the Arctic and their unique adaptations for survival.
• Compose a Winter News Report: Encourage students to take on the role of reporters covering historical winter events, such as the Blizzard of 1888.
• Write Snow Stories of Resilience: Craft short stories about influential figures from Black History Month who demonstrated perseverance in the winter, like Harriet Tubman’s journeys on the Underground Railroad.
• Calculate Snow Savings: Have students create a budget to manage increased winter expenses.
• Design Snowflake Circuits: Create circuits using paper snowflakes, LED lights, and copper wire.
• Draft Winter Weather Descriptions: Use descriptive language to imagine and write about winter storms using scientific terminology.
• Create a Winter Adventure Map: Write a narrative and design a map featuring cardinal directions, distances, and terrains.
• Develop a Winter Mystery Box: In groups, students fill a box with winter-themed items, hypothesize its contents, and write a short story based on their guesses.

Hibernation Winter Animals Mini Book Hibernate, Animals, Winter
By Planning Garden
Grades: PreK-2nd
Standards: CCSSL.K.1a, K.1b, K.2d

This engaging winter activity enhances science lessons focused on animal behaviors during winter. Students can engage with a digital matching-and-coloring activity or create a mini-booklet to learn about hibernation, adaptation, and migration.

Winter Speech Therapy WH Questions Expanding Sentences Speech Therapy Activities
By Language Speech and Literacy
Grades: PreK-2nd

This digital speech therapy resource assists students in expanding their sentences. With 21 winter-themed scenes, it covers pronouns, verbs, “wh” questions, basic concepts, and simple sentences, making it suitable for a range of learners.

Vamos a escribir en invierno – Winter Writing Center – Spanish & English
By Hilda Escamilla
Grades: K-5th

Encourage your elementary students to celebrate winter by crafting stories in either Spanish or English. With an array of character and background templates to choose from, students will find ample inspiration to get started.

2nd Grade Common Core: Winter Themed Math & ELA Pack 100% Aligned
By 247 Teacher
Grades: 1st-3rd
Standards: CCSS2.MD.B.5, 2.MD.C.7, 2.MD.C.8

This comprehensive winter-themed packet is designed to strengthen math and language skills for elementary students. Filled with engaging, rigorous activities aligned to CCSS, it can be utilized all at once or distributed throughout the winter season.

Winter Evaluating Expressions with One Variable and Exponents Math Color by Code
By Misty Miller
Grades: 5th-7th
Standards: CCSS6.EE.A.1, 6.EE.A.2, 6.EE.A.2c

Add a splash of color to your algebra lessons with this engaging winter math activity. Students solve problems involving one variable and exponents, then use their answers to color a snowboarder.

Solving Systems of Equations
By Tammie Akins Dickens
Grades: 8th-10th
Standards: CCSS8.EE.C.8; HSA-REI.C.6

This engaging activity makes math feel like a riddle. Students solve algebraic equations, match their answers to letters, and fill in the characters to reveal the answer to the question, “How do you scare a snowman?”

Discover Winter Outdoor Activities

Winter activities for kids would not be complete without the joy of snow — and perhaps a groundhog. Take your students outside to build a snowman in January or engage in Groundhog Day activities in February. Incorporate math and science into these fun outdoor experiments.

• Observe and Experiment with Snow: Compare melting rates in sunlight and shade, then graph the outcomes.
• Track Animal Footprints: Photograph and sketch tracks, then research which animals made them.
• Engage in a Winter Scavenger Hunt: Identify local wildlife and categorize them by shape, texture, and color.
• Paint in the Snow: Use watercolors to create artwork on the snow’s surface.
• Explore Wind Patterns: Construct simple wind vanes using cups and straws, test their direction, and graph data to relate to weather trends.
• Write a Winter Freewrite: Sit in the snow and write freely about nature using sensory experiences.
• Build a Scientific Snowman: Apply geometric principles to create a proportionate snowman.
• Craft an Ice Sculpture: Utilize snow and ice to create an artistic sculpture.

Enhance Learning with Global Winter Holidays

Winter holidays encompass more than just Christmas and New Year’s. With celebrations such as Random Act of Kindness Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, there are ample opportunities for enriching activities. Develop MLK Day lessons focusing on fairness and friendship or create heartfelt Valentine’s cards infused with snowy science concepts. These lessons keep students’ minds active and warm during the cold months.

• Investigate Winter Celebrations: Assign groups to explore winter holidays worldwide, such as the Lunar New Year celebrations, and have them present their findings.
• Craft an “I Have a Dream” Quilt: Foster classroom warmth by having each student design a quilt square illustrating how they envision a kinder world.
• Write Love Letters to the Planet: Use Valentine’s Day printables to have students express their gratitude to the planet for its resources.
• Engage in Zodiac Storytelling: Students research their zodiac animal and write a short story that reflects its characteristics.
• Conduct a Secret Snowflake Exchange: Have students draw names and perform anonymous acts of kindness.
• Celebrate National Freedom Day: Create a liberty wall showcasing what freedom means to your students.
• Design a Snowglobe: Incorporate math by having students measure the circular base and use the circumference to determine their globe’s dimensions.
• Host a Warm Winter Tales Picnic: Arrange a cozy picnic on the classroom floor where students read winter tales to one another in honor of National Read Aloud Day.
• March into Frozen Firsts: Research influential women in history who made winter discoveries and create infographics highlighting their contributions.

Honor the Season with Classic Winter Activities for Kids

From sledding to exploring snowy science, these timeless ideas keep students engaged and learning while celebrating winter’s magic year after year.

• Craft paper snowflakes
• Create winter escape rooms
• Make cotton ball snowman art
• Explore snowflake symmetry art
• Organize winter-themed bingo
• Engage in hot cocoa cooking
• Design winter mittens
• Create winter postcards
• Solve winter-themed math puzzles
• Form winter storytelling circles
• Utilize winter writing prompts
• Set up snow-themed sensory bins
• Work on winter-themed puzzles

Embrace Winter Activities for Kids with TPT

Bring the enchantment of winter into your classroom with TPT’s winter resources! From building snowflake structures to engaging in holiday-themed math and crafting icy masterpieces, these ready-to-use activities make teaching festive and stress-free. Discover winter resources for the classroom that provide everything you need to make winter learning both fun and festive with minimal preparation.