Winter activities for preschoolers, plus a week plan to copy

These 21 winter activities cover crafts, art, indoor games, a sensory bin, snow and ice science, and animals that sleep through the cold. They are for children aged 3 to 5, and most suit kindergarten too.

There are also seven picture books and three songs set to familiar tunes. For planning, use the week by week outline for January or copy the five day schedule. None of it depends on a holiday. Use it from December through February. For party games and crafts in the weeks before the break, see our Christmas activities for preschoolers.

Winter crafts for preschoolers

Cold weather means more time at the art table. Set out glue and scissors, plus a few paper scraps, and the next half hour mostly runs itself.

The first six crafts start from free printable shapes made with our cutting practice tool. Print them on white or light colored paper.

1. Matching mittens

Each child cuts out two mittens and decorates them to match. Use the same colors on both, with matching stripes and dots. Punch holes along the edge, then let children lace the two together with yarn, or tape a yarn loop between them. When they finish, mix up everyone’s mittens on the rug and have the class find the matching pairs. Tape one end of the yarn to the table so it doesn’t slip out of the hole while small hands thread it.

2. Torn paper penguin

Cut out the penguin shape, then tear black paper into small pieces and glue them over the back and head. Leave the belly white. Add an orange paper beak and two feet. Tearing takes work. That’s the point: it builds the same hand strength that cutting does.

3. Sparkly snowflake

Cut out the snowflake, squeeze white glue along each arm, and sprinkle on table salt or silver glitter. Tip the extra back onto a tray. Salt dries with a frosty look, and the glue lines show children where to put it. Glitter is messier. Pick one.

4. Winter hat with a yarn pom-pom

Decorate the hat with markers, then glue a ball of yarn or a cotton ball at the top for the pom-pom. Older children can cut a fringe along the bottom edge, or write their name on the brim. Hang the hats on a string across the room as bunting.

5. Cotton ball snowman

Glue three cotton balls or torn white circles onto the snowman shape, or a blue paper background if you want a snowy sky. Add buttons cut from construction paper and a carrot nose. A scrap of fabric makes the scarf. Skip real buttons for children under 3 or anyone who still mouths things.

6. Dabbed evergreen tree

Evergreens stay green when other trees are bare. Start with that observation. Cut out the tree and have children dab it with green paint using a sponge or a scrunched paper towel. Add a few cotton balls to the branches for snow.

Winter art for preschoolers

Winter colors are quiet: white, ice blue, silver, gray. These three projects play with that.

7. White crayon resist

Draw a snowy scene on white paper with a white crayon. Children can’t see what they’ve drawn. Then they brush light blue watercolor over the whole page, and the snowflakes and snowmen appear. It looks like magic every time. Press hard with the crayon, or nothing shows.

8. Puffy paint snow

Mix equal parts white school glue and shaving cream. Children use a brush or a craft stick to paint snowy hills on dark blue paper. They can paint roofs and trees too. It dries puffy and slightly raised. Shaving cream irritates eyes, so keep hands away from faces and wash up straight after.

9. Bubble wrap snowflake prints

Dab white paint on a piece of bubble wrap, then press it onto dark paper. The circles look like falling snow. Draw a tree or a house on the paper first if you want a scene.

Winter games for preschoolers

When it’s too cold to go out, a classroom full of children needs somewhere to put its energy. Each of these games takes about ten minutes and needs almost nothing.

10. Indoor snowball toss

Crumple white paper or roll up white socks for snowballs. Put a laundry basket a few steps away. Give each child five throws, then count how many went in as a class. Move the basket back for the older children, or tape a line on the floor. Run the visual timer for two minutes so turns stay short.

11. Penguin waddle

Each child holds a beanbag or a rolled sock between their knees and waddles from one side of the room to the other without dropping it. If it falls, pick it up and start again. Emperor penguins balance an egg on their feet, and children enjoy copying that. Keep the course short and clear of furniture.

12. Melting snowman freeze dance

Play music from your own device and set the classroom timer for three minutes. Children dance while the music plays and freeze when it stops. When the timer ends, the snowman has melted. Everyone drops to the floor in a puddle.

13. Find your mitten

Cut out a pair of paper mittens for each child, in matching colors or patterns. Hide one mitten from each pair around the room and give each child the other. They search for their match. This works well in small groups. Use the group generator to sort who hunts when. For more ideas, see our 50 free preschool group games.

A winter sensory bin

14. A snow bin

Fill a shallow tub with 2 cups of baking soda and about a third of a cup of white hair conditioner. Mix with your hands until it holds a shape. It feels cold and soft, and children can pack it into balls and build small snow piles. Add scoops and small plastic arctic animals. Put in a few pine cones too. Set out a second bin of cotton balls for any child who still puts things in their mouth.

Always supervise. The mix is not edible and can sting eyes. Have the children wash their hands before and after, and put the bin away when they finish.

Snow and ice science

Cold weather is free science equipment. These experiments work on a table in under ten minutes. Ask children to predict what will happen before each one.

15. Why does salt melt ice?

Put two ice cubes on two plates and sprinkle salt on one. Ask the class which will melt first, then watch. Salt lowers the temperature at which water freezes, so the ice around the salt melts even though the room has not warmed up. The salted cube melts faster and gets little holes in it. For a quick prediction, children can show thumbs up for salt or thumbs down for plain.

16. Colored ice dig

Freeze small plastic animals or figures in colored water in a muffin tin or a plastic tub. Give children a cup of warm water and an eyedropper, or a little salt, and let them free the creatures. The warm water melts the ice quickly, and the color swirls out. Use cool water for three year olds.

17. Frost on a can

Fill a clean metal can with crushed ice and add a few spoonfuls of salt. Stir. Within a few minutes, a white layer of frost appears on the outside. The salted ice makes the can colder than freezing, and water vapor in the air freezes onto it. An adult should handle the can and the mixture. It gets cold enough to hurt skin if held for a long time, so children touch the outside for one second only.

18. Snow in a tub

If you have snow outside, bring a tub in. If you do not, use shaved ice. Put one tub near a window or heater and another far from it. Check both every ten minutes and ask: which melted first? Where did the water go? Children can draw what they see.

Hibernation and arctic animals

Winter is a good time to talk about animals. Children love the facts, so keep them accurate and simple. Include the difference between the Arctic and Antarctica.

19. Who sleeps through winter?

Bears and chipmunks spend the coldest months resting. Some frogs do too. Bears go into a den, and their bodies slow down, but they can wake up. Wood frogs let their bodies freeze and thaw out in spring. Make picture cards of animals that rest in winter and animals that stay active, such as rabbits and deer. Children sort them into two hoops. Add a bear den: a cardboard box on its side with a blanket inside, so a toy bear can sleep.

20. Polar bear skin

Polar bears look white. Underneath their clear fur hairs, their skin is black. Give each child a piece of black paper and a few white cotton balls. Stretch the cotton out and lay it across the paper. They can see the dark under the fluff, and they can feel the thick layer between them and the cold. Ask where they think the warm skin is.

21. Penguins and polar bears: who lives where?

Penguins and polar bears do not live together. Polar bears live in the Arctic, at the top of the world. Penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, and Antarctica is at the bottom. Put a globe or a map on the wall with a sticker at each pole. Children place a polar bear card at the top and a penguin card at the bottom. Say it a few times so it sticks.

Winter books for preschoolers

Seven picture books for the season, with a quick way to use each one in class.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Peter explores his neighborhood after the first snowfall. Read it, then go outside if you can, or draw a snowy walk. Ask children what Peter heard and saw, then what he felt.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

A boy named Nicki loses a mitten in the snow, and animals take turns sheltering inside it until a bear sneezes. Pair it with craft 1. Children retell the story by sliding toy animals into a big paper mitten.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

A child goes owling with her father on a cold winter night. It makes a quiet read aloud. Turn the lights down and play the calm music player softly for rest time or the quiet part of the day after outdoor play.

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

The book wonders what snowmen get up to when nobody is looking. Make it a drawing prompt: what does your snowman do at night? It pairs well with craft 5.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

The bear sleeps in his cave while visitors gather and have a party without him. It is a good introduction to hibernation. Children enjoy chanting the repeated phrase and snoring along.

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

This is a nonfiction picture book about the space between the snow and the ground, where animals live in winter. Pair it with the hibernation sorting game and read it in short chunks over two days.

Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright

A snowman who finds it too cold keeps doing things that make him melt. Children who have done the ice experiments will shout out why. Follow it with the melting snowman freeze dance.

Winter songs for preschoolers

Hand out scarves for the first song, and ask children to act out every verse. These songs put new words to tunes they already know.

Falling snowflakes (to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)

Snowflakes falling from the sky,
Dancing, spinning, floating by.
On my mitten, on my nose,
Melting, melting, down it goes.
Snowflakes falling from the sky,
Dancing, spinning, floating by.

Actions: wiggle fingers down like snow, spin once, then hold out a hand and make it “melt” into a fist.

Bundle up (to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)

This is the way we put on our hats,
Put on our hats, put on our hats.
This is the way we put on our hats
On a cold and snowy morning.

Next verses: mittens, boots, coat, scarf. Children mime each one and finish with a shiver.

Penguin walk (to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Waddle, waddle, waddle,
Slowly on the ice.
Flappity, flappity, flappity, flappity,
Penguins are so nice.

Actions: waddle in a line around the room, flap arms at the sides, then slide to a stop at “ice”.

January preschool themes by week

When the holiday decorations come down, a winter theme carries through January. Follow this week by week order:

• Week 1: snow and ice. Try salt and ice, then snow in a tub. Make snowflake crafts.
• Week 2: mittens and hats. Make matching mittens and the winter hat craft. Play Find your mitten.
• Week 3: penguins and polar bears. Play Penguin waddle and try polar bear skin. Use the map activity.
• Week 4: hibernation. Set up a bear den and sorting cards. Read Bear Snores On.

Plug your own favorites into our free preschool lesson plan template. For more ideas, browse the preschool themes page.

A winter week plan you can copy

• Monday: read The Snowy Day. Make a snowflake with glue and salt. Open the snow bin. Learn Falling snowflakes.
• Tuesday: salt and ice at the science table. Mitten craft with lacing. Read The Mitten.
• Wednesday: indoor snowball toss and the penguin waddle. Torn paper penguins. Sing Penguin walk.
• Thursday: who sleeps through winter? Sorting cards and a bear den. Read Bear Snores On. Polar bear skin at the art table.
• Friday: melting snowman freeze dance. Colored ice dig. Rest time with Owl Moon and the calm music player.

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