Winter Activities for Kindergarten

Incorporating seasons into your lesson plans and activities is a great and simple way to keep the learning fun and fresh for your students. By providing invigorating activities for your students, you will be able to keep them engaged and interested in the task at hand. Read on for fun winter activities for kindergarten that will keep them on task and actively learning.

Winter can be an unpredictable season in the classroom with sickness, weather, and more. It's so important to have quick prep and no prep activities, games, and worksheets on hand that you or a substitute teacher can carry out with your students successfully at any time.

Sub Friendly Winter Activities for Kindergarten

You never know when unexpected plans will come up and you'll need a substitute teacher to take over, especially during the winter months.

That's why it's always nice to have quick prep winter activities for kindergarten on hand that can be used in your normal daily schedule or if a sub is covering your class for a day or two.

The key to setting a substitute teacher up for success is to ensure they have all the information they need, such as class info, schedules, how students go home, etc, as well as easy to implement activities for all subjects.

Sometimes, it can be hard to plan hands-on activities on those off-schedule days or when a sub is there. However, when you have a stash of winter themed math and literacy activity mats that align with the skills your students are learning, you or a sub can pull them out at a moment's notice.

Another easy way to incorporate hands-on learning during tricky times is to pull out manipulatives for students to explore with or simple puzzles. Students learn so much through play and by simply exploring, building, and creating.

Winter Time Filler Games for Kindergarten

As teachers, you know that down time should be avoided in the classroom. However, planning activities for every second of every day can be exhausting.

An easy way to avoid down time without overwhelming yourself is to keep quick time filler games and listen and color activities on hand at all times.

Not only are they fun and educational, but they're the perfect way for a sub (or yourself if you're having an “off” day) to pass the time in a meaningful way.

Sometimes, you have just a couple of minutes before a transition or while waiting in line. For these instances, keep a list of quick no prep time filler games in your sub folder or at your desk for those last minute occasions where you need something to keep your class on task.

Winter Worksheets for Kindergarten

As students head back to school after winter break, it's important that they continue to review previous skills while building on them in the new semester.

You can easily incorporate skill review, extra practice, or quick skill checks into your day with no prep winter math and literacy worksheets for kindergarten.

While hands-on learning activities are important, there is most definitely a time and place for engaging worksheets.

They can be used anytime of day and are great to print, grab, and go on those days where you may have a late start due to weather, need a quick activity for your students to do while you're helping another student, or want to send home some extra practice for a student who's been out sick.

Onset and Rime Winter Freebie

No matter what this winter throws at you, this fun and engaging onset and rime word work freebie is one that you can prep at the beginning of the season and keep in your back pocket for a fun literacy activity to use all winter long.

This engaging winter activity for kindergarten is perfect to add to your back-up plans for a sub to use, too!

This literacy center includes activity mats, onset and rime cards, a recording sheet, and an “I Can” direction page for students.

You can also use this activity without the recording sheet, which makes it a great option for morning tubs and early finishers.

To prepare the activity, print, cut, and laminate the activity cards and the onset and rime cards on card stock so they last a long time. If using, print the recording sheet.

Students will say the name of the picture on the card to identify the onset and rime. They will match the onset and rime cards to build the word. Then, students will find the corresponding picture on the recording sheet and write the word.

You can download your copy of the Winter Word Work freebie by clicking here.

I hope you and your students love these winter activities for kindergarten and the word work freebie! 

If you're looking for more winter activities, centers, freebies, and teacher tips, click here to find more on the blog.