30 Winter Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergartners
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Fill chilly days with fun hands-on activities for inside and out!
The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing, the temperatures are falling … winter is here! Fortunately, there are lots of fun winter activities for preschoolers and kindergartners, whether you want to hunker down indoors or bundle up and head out into the cold. These ideas and games help kids learn in fun and engaging ways—you might just decide winter is your favorite season!
Reading and Writing Winter Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergartners
1. Read Books About Winter
Head to the library and stock up on cold season favorites, like The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, The Mitten by Jan Brett, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, or Blizzard by John Rocco. Enjoy them together while wrapped in blankets and drinking hot cocoa.
2. Trace Letters in Snow
Find a big patch of clean snow and smooth off the top to make a flat writing surface. Then, use a stick or your finger to trace letters in the snow. Your child can copy them with their own stick or their mittened hand.
3. Play Letter Hide-and-Seek in the Snow
Grab your letter magnets, then mark off a section of snowy ground and bury the letters in it. Invite your child to dig through until they find them all, then put them in order from A to Z.
4. Tell Winter Jokes
Feeling chilly? Laughter will warm you up! Share our big roundup of winter riddles and jokes with your child, then see if you can work together to make up your own.
5. Post a Winter Word Wall
Build your child’s vocabulary by making a list of winter words (or grab our free printable list here). Then, write each word on a notecard and hang it on the wall. For extra learning, ask your child to draw pictures to illustrate each word too.
6. Write a Winter Poem
Once you have a big list of winter words, use it to write winter poems! If your child wants to write a rhyming poem, try making a list of winter rhyming words first to make creating the poem easier.
7. Put Snowman Steps in Order
Work with your child to write and illustrate the steps of building a snowman, with each step on its own piece of paper. (For example: roll a big snowball, roll a medium snowball, place the medium snowball on the big snowball, etc.) Then, mix up the pages and ask your child to put them in the correct order.
Tip: This activity helps children learn sequencing, which builds important cognitive skills like organization, memory, and problem-solving and helps them understand cause and effect and how to predict what comes next.
STEM Winter Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergartners
8. Melt Ice with Salt
It seems like magic when you sprinkle rock salt and watch ice melt, but it’s really science! Demonstrate the process on an icy front step or inside your warm kitchen with ice cubes and table salt. Explain that salt lowers the freezing point of water, allowing it to melt even at cold temperatures.
9. Compare Scarf Lengths
Gather up your family’s scarves. Ask your child to stretch them out to their full length on the floor, then put them in order from shortest to longest. Winter activities like these help preschoolers and kindergartners with key math skills like bigger and smaller, comparing, and ordering.
10. Count Marshmallows in Hot Chocolate
Warming up after an afternoon of playing in the snow? Use snack time to practice counting with marshmallows! Ask your child to place a specific amount of marshmallows into each mug, counting out loud as they go.
11. Catapult a Snowball
Build a simple catapult by placing a wood plank over a tin can turned on its side. Place a snowball on one side, then let your child stomp on the other. They’ll love watching the snowballs fly! No snow? Try this indoors with popsicle sticks and cotton balls instead.
12. Make a Bird Feeder
Spread peanut butter on a pinecone and roll it in sunflower seeds, then hang it in a nearby tree. Watch the birds that come to dine, and look them up in a birding guide or online. Keep track of your visitors and see how many species you can attract!
13. Go on a Winter Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of items to look for on your next nature walk, such as a pinecone, a red bird, a blue bird, something green, animal tracks, etc. Give your child a clipboard with the list on it, so they can check off each item as you find it.
14. Make a Marshmallow-and-Toothpick Snowflake
Give your child a bowl of mini marshmallows and some toothpicks, and challenge them to put them together to form a snowflake shape. If they need a little help, check out these instructions.
15. Make Winter Slime
Kids love to play with slime, and it’s even better when you make it yourself! Use our step-by-step guide to mix up your own easy batch of slime, then add winter-themed mix-ins like glitter and sequins.
Creative Winter Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergartners
16. Paint With Ice
Create ice cube “paint brushes” by filling an ice tray with water and then adding a few drops of food coloring to each well. Stick a popsicle stick into each and allow the tray to freeze. When it’s ready, kids can use the colored ice to “paint” on a big piece of white paper.
17. Spray Paint Snow
Fill spray bottles with colored water, then let your child spray away on a field of fresh snow. They can experiment with color mixing or create simple pictures. Each time it snows, they have a fresh canvas!
18. Build a Snowman Indoors
How many ways can you find to build a snowman inside? Help your child brainstorm new ideas. Here are a few to get you started: playdough, marshmallows, paper circles, and balloons.
19. Craft Snow Sculptures
Why stop at snowmen? Sculpt animals, buildings, or even abstract shapes using snow. Make a whole collection of sculptures, then invite friends over for a winter art show in your backyard!
20. Hang Coffee Filter Snowflakes
Show your child how to fold a coffee filter into fourths, then cut shapes from the folded sides to create beautiful patterns. Hang them in the window for a snowy effect all season long.
21. Create Pasta Snowflakes
This easy winter activity for preschoolers and kindergartners helps them explore the idea of symmetry. Use different shapes and sizes of pasta to create pleasing snowflake patterns. Once they’re glued in place, add some paint for a pretty finish. Get step-by-step instruction here.
22. Illustrate a Winter Poem
Whether you write your own (see #6 above) or choose a seasonal favorite, this activity is terrific for a cold afternoon that keeps you indoors. Read the poem together, then illustrate or create other artwork to express how it makes you feel.
23. Make Cookie Cutter Snow Art
Take an old, rimmed baking sheet and fill it with snow that’s packed down and leveled off. Then, give your child plastic cookie cutters or letter stamps, and let them create pictures or even words. When they’re ready to start over, just add more snow and smooth off the surface.
More Winter Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergartners
24. Match Mittens
Gather up mittens and gloves from around the house and toss them all in a big pile. Your child will have lots of fun matching them all back up again.
25. Play Winter I Spy
Give the classic game a seasonal spin by choosing items related to winter. “I spy with my little eye something that keeps you warm outdoors.”
26. Track Toy Animals
Collect plastic toy animals and even cars or trucks and use their feet or wheels to make tracks in the snow. Bury each toy in a snow pile at the end of the trail. Your child can follow the tracks, then try to predict what they’ll find in the pile based on their prints.
27. Dabble in an Iceberg Sensory Bin
Add ice to a water sensory bin, plus some cold-weather animals like penguins or polar bears. Learn about these animals as you play. (Remember to take regular breaks, since ice can easily chill little fingers.) You can also create a winter-inspired sensory bin with cotton balls or even snow from outside!
28. Fill a Winter Sensory Bottle
Assemble a collection of winter-themed items like pinecones, bare branches, fir needles, and more. Then, add them to an empty bottle, add water and some white glitter, and cap it tightly. Kids will be mesmerized as they turn and shake the bottle, seeing the “snow” fly.
29. Stack Snowballs
Get some gross motor skills practice by rolling and stacking snowballs. How high of a tower can you build? Is there a way to make it sturdier or taller? What if you change the size or shape of the snowballs? When you’re done, have fun being the Abominable Snowman and knocking them all down!
30. Make Snow Ice Cream
Fill a bowl with clean, just-fallen snow, then add sugar, vanilla, and a little milk. This is an easy wintertime treat everyone can enjoy together.
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