Disclosure: Affiliate links used in this post to Amazon.  

Snow Themed Activities for Kids

Below you’ll discover 18 winter activities that connect snow with popular children’s books.  Read, make, learn & play with this snow inspired activities for your preschooler.

CLICK HERE FOR THE WINTER PRESCHOOLER PLANNER

Snowflake Science Lab Challenge 

Pretend Snow Recipe for Kids Sensory Play

Winter Science Activities with Snow and Ice 

Snowman Pizza 

Hosting a Snow Themed Playdate

Snowman Candy Bar Wrapper Gift Idea & Craft 

Snowflake Number Train Activity 

Snowflake Stamping Art Project 

11 Snowman Activities for Preschoolers 

Winter Activities for Kids 

Winter Fun with Pretend Snow 

Snow Art with Winter Birds and Birch Trees 

Winter Themed Alphabet Sensory Bin

Snow Themed Alphabet Sensory Bin

Water Beads on Ice

 Salt Dough Snowman

Water Color Birch Tree Painting for Kids 

Painting with Ice 

Salt Science Experiment with Ice 

9 Snow Day Indoor Movement Games & Activities

Winter Virtual Field Trips for Kids

If you’re looking for a fine motor activity, try these snowflake fine motor printables.

Which snow themed activities will you explore with your preschooler first?  If you’d like us to make a weekly plan for you to follow with these activities you can download our Snow Themed Lesson Plan here!

Snow Themed Books for Preschool

There are so many adorable snow themed books to read with your preschooler this Winter.  I’ve pulled some of my favorite that I have read with my own children as well as many of my classroom student’s favorites over the years.  Some of the books are about snow itself.  Several include snowmen and even a few are about Winter and the arrival of snow. 

No matter where you live it’s important to talk about this change in season for kids to understand the science and fun behind it.

Which snow book is your favorite, did I include it in my list?  If not share with me below in the comments.

Ten Sparkly Snowflakes by Tiger Tales

The Little Snowplow by Lora Koehler

Snowflakes by Cerrie Burnell and Laura Ellen Anderson

Hello Science Reader, Level 1: I Am Snow by Jean Marzollo

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel

The Magic of Friendship Snow by Andi Cann

There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! by Lucille Colandro

The Night Before the Snow Day by Natasha Wings

Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright

Over and Under the Snow by  Kate Messner

Curious About Snow (Smithsonian) by Gina Shaw

The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Snowballs  by Lois Ehlert

Snowmen at Night  by Caralyn Buchner

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs 

100 Snowmen by Jon Arera 

The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming 

Mouse’s First Snow  by Lauren Thompson

Let It Snow by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Want to print this winter lesson plan? We’ve put the books and activities together so you can enjoy with your child or class!

 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.

Check out our lesson plan for each of these activities and books to plan out your Winter Lesson Plans with your Preschooler?

Want more activities for Winter? Sign up for our free January Activity Calendar!

What signs of winter will you discover together?

This is the time of year when we get a little jealous of everyone else with snow. Here in the south, closer to the equator, we will probably never see it with our children. 

However, it’s still important no matter where you live to teach our children about the changes in season.

Winter Observation Journal for Kids

So… what do you do to find Winter?

• Go for a Winter Walk

Take your child on walks and have them search for signs of Winter.

• Observe your Clothing

One of the biggest signs is in the clothing that we wear. Yes, we have to wear a jacket in the Winter!

• Observe the changes when it’s cold

One really fun sign is to look in the early morning at the car windows and rooftops… what do they have? FROST! And if we’re really lucky the grass might get it too.

Another sign is to find a few trees with missing leaves.

Or if you’re lucky you can plan a trip to a winter spot to wake up to your car covered in snow like this photo above! This is from our visit to Colorado last winter.

• Make Your Own Cold

Sometimes we turn to alternative measures to see winter. We make ice at night! It’s so much fun to fill a few containers in the backyard with your child and see when it freezes.

It helps them to get an understanding using a thermometer and what below 32 degrees really means.

We use our water table to explore. Look how we used it to explore frozen ice and water beads in winter.

Don’t forget to check the changes throughout the day with your child, it’s a great science experiment.

• Look for Winter Birds

We’re excited because it also means more birds for us in the South! Do you have any special winter birds that visit your bird watching station?

Here’s a fun little bird feeder that we make each year for Valentine’s Day. Click here for Directions

• Make a Winter Journal

Here’s a fun Winter Observation Journal we’ve created for our friends with snow and without snow.

Go out in your community and search for the signs of Winter with your kids. Record the changes you see throughout Winter.

Click here to print your own Observation Sheet and Winter Journal

You can try out these winter activities for school at home too! Below we’ve featured some of our favorite winter activities to do with your child to go along with Winter Observation Sheet and Journal.

Explore these Winter Virtual Field Trips with your child!

Snow Themed Activities for Kids

Or explore these Winter Science Activities with Snow and Ice

Already looking for Signs of Spring? Check out this Spring Journal and Checklist!

Want more activities for Winter? Sign up for our free January Activity Calendar!

~ Learning never ends even after the dismissal bell rings ~

The birch trees in the background are so easy to make too. A winter art project your child will love to make.

Here’s how to make this winter birds art project…

Homemade Valentine’s Day Card

Here’s a fun project to make with the kids for Valentine’s Day or anytime to give a little sparkle to someone’s smile.  It incorporates several different art techniques all into one project too but can be done by multiple ages. A printable Valentine card is included too! Who’s heart will make sparkle?

“Tweet Tweet” You Make My Heart Sparkle Greeting Card  

Supplies:

To create your Winter Bird Card you will need the following Supplies

• White paper {for water coloring}
• Colored paper {Card}
• Watercolors
• Paintbrush
• White ink or paint
• Cotton Tip Swab
• Scissors
• Glue
• Glitter
• Crayons 

Winter Birds Art Project Directions

1. To start your card you need to have your child create a design with crayons on a white piece of paper.  Encourage them to make repetitive designs but any marks will do, perfect for little ones too!  

2. Then use water colors to paint over the crayon design and allow to dry.

3. Paint Birch Tree using black paint on stripes of white paper and allow to dry. 

4. Fold the colored paper in half to create a card to give to someone special.  Write inside a special note to someone you love.   A special message you may want to use is “ You Make My Heart Sparkle” (See below for the printable)  

5. Cut out shape for bird using a half circle, small beak, 4 hearts of similar size and a large heart and using glue assemble bird onto Colored paper. 

6. Then using glitter sprinkle onto the largest heart for the bird to hold. 

7. Once dry glue glitter heart onto page and draw string from bird’s mouth. 

8. Using white ink stamp all over the card to make the snow. 

9. Give your special winter bird to someone you love and make their heart SHINE this Valentine’s Day!  

FREE PRINTABLE Valentine Message

This Card was created for the 31 Days of Love Project at Red Ted Art

Want to share a little more love for winter birds? 

Check out our Bird Seed Heart Project for the 100th Day of School.

Or see check out another way to make the Winter Birch Trees here.

For more Homemade Valentine Card Ideas visit our 20 Valentine Card Ideas for School

For more ideas on how to Make a Greeting Card with Kids

• Blowing Kisses Handprint Card
• “LOVE” Heart Themed Valentine’s Day Card
• “Owl” Always Love you Card
• Sending “HOPE” Card 
• Penguin Bracelet Valentine Gift Idea 
• Handmade Valentine Butterfly Bookmarks 

Who will you send a little sparkle to this Valentine’s Day?

This hands on snow experience will be a winter hit in your home. Plus discover tons of snow themed activities featured in our virtual book club activities below!

Here’s how to make this snow activity including a recipe for pretend snow…

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

We’re slightly obsessed with snow after our recent trip to Colorado. Did you see my photo of the beautiful snowflake on instagram?

My girls got to make a snowman, we drove up into the snowy rocky mountains and got to go sledding too, which is pretty special for our Florida born girls. The morning the woke up with snow covering our car and the roads was quite magical! Click here for a peek on instagram! 

This activity for snow week was inspired by all of these snow and finding a way to bring it home with us.  Unfortunately, even with the latest snow storm that took over the nation it didn’t come far enough south to where we live in Florida, just a few hours away. We wanted to have some more fun with snow.

Below I’m sharing a recipe on how to make your own pretend snow. However, you can also just order instant snow  which I highly recommend trying out with your child at least once. It’s quite magical!

What I like about this pretend snow recipes is that you can make it on-demand with a few items from around the house. Keep reading below to see how to make your own pretend snow turned out!

How to Make Pretend Snow

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Materials Needed for Snowy Themed Alphabet Sensory Bin

• Glass gems 
• Sharpie Permanent Marker 
• Storage Box  or Dish Pan

Ingredients for Pretend Snow Recipe

• 3 cups baking soda
• 1/2 cup conditioner
• measuring cup
• Opalescent Glitter 

For a little more fun you could add snowflake beads or snowflake sequins

Recipe for Pretend Snow

1. Grab your dish pan  or container to create the snow in.  Set up the ingredients and then read the story The Snowy Day.

Ask your child what they would do on their own snowy day?

Find a place in your house or outside that you can make a mess and get started making your own snow.

2. Measure out 3 cups of baking soda and 1/2 cup conditioner.  You can do this to consistency as you mix the two ingredients together.  You want it to still feel flaky like powder snow.

If you add too much conditioner it turns into a paste (lessoned learned the hard way)

4. Add some glitter to the pretend snow for a little extra fun.  Let your child play with it for a bit as a sensory experience. 

We had fun making a few snowmen as we played with this pretend snow.

Snow Themed Alphabet Sensory Bin

Once you’ve created the pretend snow then add some letters onto the glass gems with a permanent marker.  I recommend doing this writing with your child and talking about the letter and talking about the letter sound that it makes as they learn their alphabet.

Add the letters to the pretend snow.  Challenge your child to find the letters in the snow.  Then set up a sheet of paper with the letters written on it next to the big one so they can take them out and match them onto the letter sheet.

LETTER CHALLENGE:  You could also add the spelling of their name or any sight word that they are beginning to learn.

HAVE FUN and let your child PLAY!  You could also change this to numbers, sight words or even math facts that your child can match it onto a sheet of paper with the answer.

Snowy Day Themed Activities for Preschoolers

Take a moment after you create our snow themed alphabet activity to check out below the other snow themed activities to go along with the popular children’s book The Snowy Day.

We’d suggest starting with this fun indoor snowball fight or coffee filter snowflake craft!

Snow Themed Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers

Snow Themed Alphabet Sensory Bin – YOU’RE HERE
Snowball Name Fight – Rainy Day Mum
Snowball Number Recognition Game – School Time Snippets
Bring In the Snow! – Mama Smiles
Snowstorm in a Bag– JDaniel4’s Mom
Snowy Day Sticky Table for Toddlers– Toddler Approved
Easy Winter Toddler Art – Messy Little Monster
Snow Science Explorations – Inspiration Laboratories
Winter Science: Fizzing Snowmen- Teach Beside Me
Painting in the Snow with 3 Ingredient Snow Paint- Views From a Step Stool

Snow Themed Activities for Kids from The Educators’ Spin On It

• Snowflake Science Lab Challenge
• Snowflake Stamping Art Project
• Snowflake Number Train Activity
• Winter Fun with Pretend Snow
• Winter Activities for Kids
• Snowman Pizza
• Salt Dough Snowman
• Winter Themed Alphabet Sensory Bin
• Winter Science Activities with Snow and Ice
• 11 Snowman Activities for Preschoolers 

Come share your snow themed activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers in our Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook group nearly 10,000 moms, teachers and grandparents!

Looking for more Winter fun? Try these Winter Themed Activities for Kids!

As you begin this science challenge it’s time to encourage your child to think of was to create snowflakes that move on their own. Challenge them to see if they are able to think about how to do it.

Have them find items from the supply list and see if they can think of the science that might make this snowy blizzard challenge come to life.

(Contains affiliate links to Amazon)

Winter Science: Creating a Snowflake Blizzard

As you begin it’s time to talk it up with your child about ways that you can create spooky monster eyes that move on their own. Challenge them to see if they are able to think about how to do it.

Have them find items from the supply list and see if they can think of the science that might make this Halloween Science Lab come to life.  

Supplies Needed for Winter Science Lab 

• Water
• Oil
• Effervescing antacid tablet 
• Food Coloring 
• Snowflakes 
• Lab Beaker Shaped Glass or Plastic Test Tubes  or clear vase
• Measuring Cup 

Directions for Snowflake Science Lab

1. Set up your Blizzard Science Station by placing all of your supplies within easy reach.

2. To begin the first snowflake experiment, have your child fill one the science beaker with water 1/2 full leaving space for the oil, snowflakes and tablet.

Be sure to tell your child to not shake the bottle during this experiment to see the full effect.

3. Fill up a measuring cup with oil.

4. Add a few drops of food coloring of your choice to the science beaker with water.

5. Fill the remainder of the science container with the oil. Be sure to leave enough space at the top to allow for snowy bubbling effects.

6. Now add your snowflakes to the combination of oil and water…. What happens?

Talk about your observations.

7. Snowy Science Challenge Ask your child if they can make their snowflake fly in the container without shaking it.

8. Encourage them to add some winter magic to the experiment. Add 1/2 of the antacid tablet to your test tube and WATCH.

Did your snowflake fly? Why or Why Not? Repeat the winter science and add the rest of the tablet and make the snowflakes fly again.

NOTE: Leave the lid off of your container to allow for the winter magic (air bubbles) to escape.

9. Try the experiment again in another container with a different ratio of oil and water and see the wintery results. I recommend a few containers so that you can experiment a bit more and compare side by side.

10. After you’ve completed the experiment the winter mix of water and oil is fun to observe inside of a Plastic Test Tube too once the lid is placed and you can shake it up.

Keep the snowy fun going throughout Winter! What other Winter items can you add to the Blizzard?

Want more snowflake fun? Make this adorable pinecone snowflake ornament craft!

What is the Snowy Winter Science?

This experiment demonstrates for a child that oil will not mix with water. This is a science term called a hydrophobic molecule. The word hydrophobic literally means water fearing which comes from the Greek language hydros “water” and phobos “fear”. Food coloring is a hydrophilic molecule. This term hydrophilic literally means water loving from the Greek language hydros “water” and philic “friendship”.

Because of this, the food coloring has the ability to mix with the water (H2O) through hydrogen bonding. When you place the effervescing antacid tablet into the bottle it will dissolve in the water and form bubbles of carbon dioxide gas.

The gas rises and takes some of the colored water along with it to the surface of the oil. When all of the gas has escaped out of the top of the bottle the water droplet falls back to the bottom of the bottle.

Hope you have lots of fun with your Snowflake Science Experiments this Winter!

You may also enjoy making this snow slime recipe!

Winter Books for Kids

Be sure to grab a few winter Books to add to your child’s imagination this season! Here are some of our favorite winter books in our house and classroom.

• The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
• I Am Snow by Jean Marzollo 
• Snowballs by Lois Ehlert 
• The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
• Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman
• The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming 
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
• The Hat by Jan Brett
• The Mitten by Jan Brett

For More Winter Fun with Kids

• Winter Activities for School Ages 
• How to Host a Winter Themed Playdate 
• Winter Printables 
• Winter Science Activities with Snow and Ice
• January Activities for Kids

Want more activities for Winter? Sign up for our free January Activity Calendar!

Where will you take a virtual field trip first this winter?

Winter Virtual Field Trips for Kids

There are so many amazing places to see and experience during the winter months throughout the world. Depending on where you live, sometimes you just may never have the chance to see it so here’s your chance with this Winter Virtual Field Trips.

This collection of winter virtual tours highlights our national parks, winter sports, natural wonders of winter with frozen lakes, waterfalls, glaciers and MORE.

You can track your virtual tours with our Printable Virtual Field Trip Log!

I’ve put together this collection of locations for you packed full of winter virtual field trips for kids that I believe as a teacher and a mom are age-appropriate for the younger children to watch online.

Plus we’ve at the end, I included various Christmas themed virtual field trips for the kids to enjoy like visiting a reindeer or Christmas tree farm or even the largest holiday lights displays.

Are you ready to explore with these virtual field trips for Winter?

Winter Virtual Field Trips to National Parks

The National parks take on a whole new look in the winter months. We’ve put together a collection on iconic places to visit on your winter virtual field trips.

Rocky Mountain National Park in Winter

• Winter in the Rocky Mountain National Park
• Winter Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park
• Rocky Mountain Nation Park Snow Removal on Trail Ridge Road
• Hidden Valley Snowplay Area at Rocky Mountain National Park

Here’s a peek at our family’s snow packed Rocky Mountain National Park Adventure!

Grand Canyon in Winter

• Visit a snow-swept Grand Canyon National Park
• Grand Canyon First Snowfall of Winter
• Grand Canyon with Snow from the Air

Yosemite in Winter

• Visiting Yosemite in Winter
• Winter in Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone in Winter

• Winter wonderland in Yellowstone National Park
• Animals in Winter at Yellowstone

Smoky Mountain National Park with Snow

• Winter Rains in Smoky Mountains
• First Snowfall in Cades Cover Smoky Mountains

Ice Castle Virtual Field Trip

• Icicle Farmers Build a 30,000 Tonne Frozen Ice Castle
• Utah’s incredible Ice Castles take shape
• Building an Amazing Ice Castle
• Explore the Dillon Ice Castles in Colorado
• Ice Castles of Minnesota
• How to Build and Maintain an Ice Castle

Painting with ice or frozen water beads sensory play can be a fun extension to these ice themed virtual field trips.

Natural Wonders of Winter Virtual Field Trips

These are some amazing things that happen in winter when temperatures drop below freezing. Take a look at these glaciers, frozen lakes, and even watch snow falling.

Don’t miss what happens on the train tracks in winter too, it’s pretty amazing to see how the trains clear the snow.

Try these Winter Science Experiments with kids too!

Glaciers Virtual Field Trips

• What are glaciers, and how do they impact the land?
• Iceland’s Glaciers – 360
• Iceland Virtual Field Trip – All About Glaciers and Ice Caves
• Iceland Tours: Into the Glacier at Langjökull
• Ice caves of Langjökull Glacier in Iceland
• Largest Glacier Calving ever filmed
• Biggest Iceberg Calvings

Frozen Waterfalls Virtual Field Trips

• Frozen Waterfall from Around the World
• Ice Climbing Frozen Waterfall
• Ice Climbing a Rigid Designator Frozen Waterfall in Colorado

Snow Themed Virtual Field Trips

• Virtual Winter Walk – Walking in a Snow Forest
• Winter Wonderlands of the World
• Mountains of Scotland in Winter
• Switzerland in Winter
• Winter Saint Petersburg Russia

Make your own Snow! Here’s our snow recipe for sensory play!

Trains in Winter Snow on Tracks

• Glacier Express in Switzerland
• Trains Moving Through Snow with Plows

Create your own moving Polar Express Train.

Winter Sports Virtual Field Trips

There are so many fun ways to get outside in the winter for winter sport. This collection provides you a virtual field trip to skiing, ice skating, sledding and even tubbing.

Skiing

• Skiing at Lake Louise Ski Resort
• Virtual Skiing at Telluride
• Spearhead: Pushing the Boundaries of BC’s Backcountry
• Austrian Alps, Skiing
• Virtual Skiing in HD – Calabogie Peaks
• Rosa Khutor Ski Resort. Southern slope. Sochi, Russia

Ice Skating

• Skating at Lake Louise in Banff National Park
• Hear the Otherworldly Sounds of Skating on Thin Ice
• Walk Across World’s Deepest Frozen Lake
• Backcountry Ice Skating in Alaska Is the Ultimate Winter Adventure 
• Wild Ice Skating In Sweden

Sledding

• Backyard Luge Sled Run
• Sled riding Montana mountains, longest sled ride EVER
• Sesame Street: Kids Sledding in the Snow
• The sled ride from Preda to Berguen in the Grisons in Switzerland

Tubing

• Boulder Ridge Snow Tubing at Liberty Mountain
• Frisco Adventure Park – Snow Tubing | Colorado
• Tubing at Winter Park Resort

Explore these Winter Sports Books to learn more!

Arctic animals

Polar Bears

• Explore the Arctic with these Polar Bears and their cubs

You might want to even explore the Northern Lights while you’re learning about the Arctic. Here’s a fun Northern lights art project.

Virtual Tours of Christmas Around the World

• Explore our collection of Christmas Virtual Field Trips for Kids!

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the Christmas adventures on this list….

Holiday Lights Virtual Field Trips

• The World’s Most Magical Christmas Towns
• Best Places To Celebrate Christmas Around The World
• Best Christmas Trees Around the World
• The World’s Most Amazing Christmas Trees
• New York Walk – Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
• Climbing The World’s Tallest “Natural” Christmas Tree in Dortmund
• Holiday Decorations “We The People” at the WhiteHouse

Reindeer Themed Virtual Field Trips

• Magical Finland Sleigh Ride with a Reindeer!
• Reindeer! Learn facts about Reindeer
• Living with Reindeer
• Reindeer Herding In Snowy Mongolia
• How to Draw a Reindeer

Take our Reindeer STEM Challenge!

Christmas Tree Farms Virtual Field Trip

• Largest Christmas Tree Farm in the World
• Planting Christmas Trees Virtual Field Trip
• Let’s Find A Christmas Tree!

Grab some Christmas Tree Science Experiments here!

Winter Virtual Field Trip Log

Be sure to download our Virtual Field Trip log to keep track of your winter virtual field trips! Add then together to create a virtual travel journal of your winter adventures.

Here’s a 2 hour long video of snow falling on the trees if you’d like to have it playing in the background this winter. There’s nothing like hearing the sound of fresh falling snow.

Looking for extensions to your virtual tours, try these adorable Snow Themed Activities for kids!

Where is your favorite spot during the winter?

Looking for More Educational Virtual Field Trips for Kids?

For more Virtual Field Trips for Kids Ideas

This book list includes hands-on fun with themed weeks inspired by these popular children’s books for winter.

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon for easy book shopping. 

January Books for Your Preschooler

This month we’ll feature 4 books and 4 themes inspired by Winter and January holidays. Are you ready to join our book club this January?

• Snow Theme: The Snowy Day by Ezra Keats
• Bear Theme: Where’s My Teddy by Jez Alborough
• Kindness Theme: Hug Machine by Scott Campbell
• Alphabet Theme: Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming

GET THE 2025 BOOK LIST

Virtual Book Club for Kids Activities

Here’s a look at the weekly schedule we use at our Virtual Book Club for Kids. This schedule is created for Preschoolers and Toddlers with activities that include:

• Sensory & Imaginative Play Activities
• Alphabet Activities
• Math Activities
• Science & Cooking Activities
• Art Activities

January Books and Themes for your Child

Winter Animals Theme

Click here for Winter Animals Activities

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Additional Winter Animal Books

Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

Ten on a Sled by Kim Norman

Snowman Theme

Click here for Snowman Activities 

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

Additional Snowman Books

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

The Giving Snowman by Julia Zheng

How to Catch a Snowman by Adam Wallace

Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright

The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll

Additional Snow Themed Books

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Calandro

Mouse’s First Snow by Lauren Thompson

Little Fox in the Snow by Jonathon London

There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! by Lucille Colandro

Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel

Curious About Snow by Gina Shaw

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Jon Nelson Ph.D. Mark Cassino

Small Walt and Mo the Tow by Elizabeth Verdick

Good morning Snowplow by Deborah Bruss

Chinese New Year Theme

Click here for Chinese New Year Activities

My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz

Additional Chinese New Year Books

Bringing In the New Year by Grace Lin

Happy New Year! Kung-Hsi Fa-Ts’Ai by Demi

Chelsea’s Chinese New Year by Lisa Ballord

A New Year’s Reunion: A Chinese Story by Yu Li-O Ong

Here is our complete list of Chinese New Year Book Suggestions.

Community Helpers Theme

Click here for Community Helper Activities.

Who’s Hat is This? by Sharon Katz Cooper 

Additional Community Helper Books

Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook

Whose Hands Are These?: A Community Helper Guessing Book by Miranda Paul

Look for the Helpers by Alexandra Cassel

Penguin Theme

Click here for Penguin Activities

The Emperor’s Egg by Martin Jenkins

If You Were a Penguin by Florence Minor

Penguin and the Pinecone by Salina Yoon

365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lesterd

Take a look at our ultimate list of Penguin Books for Kids.

Kindness Theme (Bonus Theme)

Click here for Kindness Activities

Try a Little Kindness: A Guide to Being Better by Henry Cole

Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller 

Hug Machine by Scott Campbell 

The Circles All Around Us by Brad Montague

We are All Wonders by RJ Palacio

Take a look at our favorite Kindness Books for Kids.

Martin Luther King Jr (Extra Bonus Theme)

I am Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ordinary People Change the World)

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (A Big Words Book, 1)

I am Brave: A Little Book about Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ordinary People Change the World)

Here are several activity ideas and book suggestions about Martin Luther King Jr.

Sign up for the printable Books and Themes from our Virtual Book Club for Kids 

Here are some additional January themes and books to explore with your child from previous years of our book club! Get the whole month planned for you! Download our January Activity Guide!

Want to follow along with our Virtual Book Club for Kids for Free?  Grab this printable book list and keep it on your fridge to do with your preschooler or toddler. 

Once you sign up for our Book Club Newsletter you’ll get an email every Friday with ideas for the next week inspired by our Books and Themes.

We do the work in planning so you can have fun with your preschooler and make sure they are learning basic skills at home with you.

SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY BOOK ACTIVITIES  

Can’t wait to see all the fun you and your preschooler will have this Winter with our January Books and Themes.

Be sure to share with us in our Weekly Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook Group!  JOIN HERE: 

Snowflake stamping is such a flexible craft for kids of any age! Just change the materials for the age of your kids. It’s a quick project to get ready, open-ended for creative exploration and FUN to do.

Disclosure: affiliate links included in this post

Seriously. There are no excuses not to do this project with your kids today.

That’s right. If you are reading this – SKIM the directions fast. Then, run around the house and grab the materials for this project in less than a minute, then spend some time engaging with your kids! (I’ll time you – ready, set, GO!)

Snowflake Stamping – the perfect craft for kids on a cold winter day!

Best for most ages – you know your child best.

Learning objective: Stamping is a great activity to help strengthen hand muscles. Holding and manipulating a variety of tools provides opportunities for fine motor skills to develop. 

Use a pincer grip (the pointer finger and thumb) versus a fisting grip as you grasp the materials such as the pom-poms for an extra challenge.

Materials Needed for Snowflake Stamping :

• Blue construction paper
• White paint
• Paper plate
• Items to stamp: Q-tip, empty spool, cotton ball, pom pom, baby food pouch lid, milk carton lid, really anything in a circular shape
• Wipe or washcloth

Have a lot of kids? Order a bottle of washable white paint here —–> washable white paint

Here are a few adorable snow themed books to go along with this snow craft…

Directions for Snowflake Stamping

1. Pour the paint on the paper plate. Set the circular objects in the paint and the blue paper nearby.

2. Let your child stamp as many snowflakes as they want on the paper.

3. Talk with your child about their snowflake stamping.

Guiding questions (How talking can bring more academics into snowflake stamping)

How many snowflake stamps are you making? Do you think there are more than 10 snowflakes on your picture?

Can you tell me where you are going to stamp the next snowflake? On the top? Bottom? In the middle?

Don’t miss setting up a  snowflake science station! It’s snow much fun for bigger kids.

Snowflake Stamping Activity Extensions and Modifications

Want to add in some letter learning? Cut your snowflake stamping paper into a letter shape when it’s dry.  Make 4 stamped sheets and cut the letters S, N, O, W out of each sheet to make a giant word.

For little ones: go edible!  Vanilla pudding or yogurt makes great snowflakes.  Skip the tiny stampers and make the snowflakes with little hands.

For older kids: Have them cut out a polar animal out of copy paper and glue on top of their snowflake stamping.  An arctic hare, polar bear, or snowy owl works best. They could research more about that animal online or in a book too and write a few sentences about it.

Read about winter before or after snowflake stamping. If you’re not up for the mess you can try this Build A Snowflake Activity with Free Template that uses paper shapes!

Click for More Winter Activities for Preschoolers

Want to stay with the SNOW theme? You may also enjoy

• How to Make Pretend Snow
• Snowman pizza
• A snowflake number train
• Building vocabulary with snowmen
• Winter Virtual Field Trips for Kids

Join us for our Snow Week and get 5 Snow Themed Activities to go along with the classic picture book The Snowy Day!

Watch The Snowy Day now on Amazon Prime

Grab your snowflakes and it’s all aboard!

Winter Themed Number Train Game 

There’s is something quite magical about children and their interest in trains. This winter creates this playful snowflake train game for your child to help them learn to count one to one and recognize their numbers.

Here’s what you will need…

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon 

Materials Needed

• Snowflakes
• Construction Paper or Scrapbook Paper 
• Marker
• Scissors
• Glue
• The Little Engine that Could Book 

Grab the Book The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

Take a moment and read the featured book of the book.  The Little Engine That Could is an fun and inspirational favorite, and the Little Blue Engine’s rallying mantra “I think I can–I think I can” will keep your child motivated for a lifetime in the inner thoughts of every child who reads those words.

Directions for Number Train Game

1. Cut out 10 rectangles using a plain sheet of paper or solid color. Make them approximately 2×4 inches.

2. Use patterned scrapbook paper or different color to cut out 20 small circles for train wheels.

3. Use pattern scrapbook paper to cut out numbers for trains. You can also just use the marker to write the numbers with your child.

My 5 year old preschooler assembled her train all on her own by glueing down the wheel pieces and number pieces.

Activity Extensions:

Younger children would need assistance and perhaps reduce the numbers you use from 1-5. Older kids could even work on counting by tens, fives or even have multiplication problems on the train. The other option is to start to load in parts to begin to discuss odd and even numbers if you have two different colors or styles of snowflakes.

4. Once your train is dry it’s time to play the snowflake train game! Encourage your child to line up all of the trains in number order.

5. Place the snowflakes onto each train to match the number on the train. Keep playing until all the train cars have the correct number of snowflakes.

You can continue the winter fun with this winter counting activity with snowmen!

Additional Train Activities for Kids

• Name Train 
• Paper Train 
• Train Snack
• Train Science with Magnets 
• Train Themed Books 
• Math Games with Trains 
• Reading Activities with Trains
• Paper Train Tutorial for Kids
• Moving Train STEM Activity
• Fingerprint Train Ornament

Watch a Video of The Little Engine that Could when you are done on youtube.

Train Themed Activities for Kids from the Virtual Book Club for Kids

• Train Color Sorting Activity -Mom Inspired Life
• Train Themed Treat for Kids -Toddler Approved
•   Train Challenge -Preschool Powol Packets
• ABC Activity – Growing Book by Book
•  Counting On And Back With Trains – Rainy Day Mum
•  I Think I CAN Sight Word Activity – Still Playing School
• Train Science – Inspiration Laboratories
•  Tracing Shapes with Trains – I Can Teach My Child!
• Easy to Make Train Math Game – 3 Dinosaurs
• STEAM- The Little Engine that Could – Study at Home Mama
• Build a Train – Mama Miss 

The Virtual Book Club for Kids is featuring activities to go with the book The Little Engine that Could. Take a moment to visit their sites and be inspired by their train themed activities for your child.

Click here to see the other books featured at our Virtual Book Club for Kids

Here are 9 ways to get moving and learning at the same time after school in your home during the cold and snowy days when outdoor play is simply not an option.

Which one will you try first?

Snow Day Indoor Movement Games and Activities for Kids

• Create your own Pete the Cat Movement Activity  by making paper buttons or even pillows.
• Use your mittens for some Sight Word Mitten Fun inside with “snow” balls.
• Gather your plastic letters for a Cat in the Hat Letter Toss Game
• Take the challenge with these Indoor Winter Olympic Games for Kids
• Start designing in big world on a math adventure with these Large Felt Pattern Blocks
• Jump from Iceberg to Iceberg with a Polar Bear Math Game
• Explore a zoo with zoo themed yoga movements.
• Make your own Valentine Scavenger Hunt with these printable clues.
• Or take a Healthy Heart Challenge with your child, there’s 4 weeks of them!

Hope you’re able to use these gross motor activities for kids to get your child moving this winter while indoors or even during those super hot months too.

BONUS IDEA: Try these Snow and Ice Science Activities!

Tell us what are some of your favorite indoor ways to move?

Looking for more ideas, explore these Winter Virtual Field Trips Trips!