winter break homework kindergarten

Winter Break Homework

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Ahh, winter vacation. Something that teachers and students often look forward to in order to enjoy a well deserved break! However, sometimes this means our students are getting perhaps a larger break from learning than we want them to! I love to incorporate all kinds of winter themed activities this time of year to keep the kids engaged! This fun, free, and editable winter break homework provides a great way for students to keep up some skills and good habits over break, all while still enjoying their time off!

*Pair with our Snow Centers & Activities for Pre-K/Kindergarten !

When my students are away from school for a holiday or extended break, I want them and their families to enjoy the break and not worry about “homework.”

However, I also know that several of them may not do any reading at all over the break (and we know how important reading is!) Unfortunately, this sometimes happens to the ones who need it most.

So I send home this fun little sheet to motivate families to work on some skill building over the two week break. It is simple and kids love to complete it for a little prize ( eraser , candy cane, bookmark ).

If you love this winter break homework challenge then be sure to grab the Spring Break version too !

Homework Directions

The directions couldn’t be any more simple! The students complete the various tasks on the mugs, and color them in as they do! Easy! Yet still educational and important!

Maybe you don’t teach Kindergarten, or maybe you prefer to have different directions at the top. Good news is that this document is now completely editable!

That’s right, you can type in your own directions as well as your own tasks on the mugs!

Note: I also allow all students the chance to complete the sheet with me for a prize, especially if I know of any situation where they maybe didn’t have parent support to complete it. I will count with them, help them with sight words, etc. and count it as extra practice when they return so that they can feel proud of accomplishing it too!

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You can download your free, editable copy of the winter break homework by clicking the large, yellow download button below!

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19 Comments

When I try to print the mugs. All that shows up is the words, no mugs

I’d be happy to help you troubleshoot this issue.

You’ll want to make sure you are using an updated version of Adobe PDF Reader.

You also want to make sure you are opening the email from a home computer and not at school. District computers tend to not like our emails with links in them.

Please let me know if you have any questions?

Do you have a spring break version of this?

Hi Deonna, That is a wonderful idea! I will pass the message along to Alex and see if this is on our spring plans!

I’m also looking for the Spring Break Challenge! The Winter Break Challenge was great and very effective motivating my students! We start Spring Break soon!

Check your inbox for a message from me. : ) I just finished up the spring challenge for the Sunday Surprise today and will be putting it up on the blog later, but I sent a copy your way via email. So glad you will able to use it either this year or next!

The Spring and Winter Break Challenges are fantastic! Thank you so much for helping my students motivated to practice their new reading and writing skills!

Thank you so much for making this editable! I’m a bilingual teacher and now I can make a Spanish version for my students and their families!

This is wonderful, Barb! This makes our hearts so happy. Have fun with the Winter Break Homework Printables!

You always have such great ideas. Thanks for sharing so many with us.

I am happy to Jennifer, and thrilled you find them helpful! 🙂

Thanks so much. This is perfect as I have some parents who enjoy putting their kids to work and some who believe holidays are holidays. A happy medium 🙂

Thanks Rachael! I felt the same – the kids totally need a break, but this kind of gave an idea of some activities to try too if the parents wanted to give it a go! 🙂 Plus, since it’s editable, you can put good ol’ playful activities on there too, whatever you like!

Could you share the source of your font in the editable document please? Thanks!

Hi Chris! The credits for fonts and graphics are on the first page when you download the powerpoint. 🙂 The font that is used specifically in the parts that you can edit is called KB Alpha Basic and should embed when you edit. It (along with many others) is a font that can be found for purchase here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FONTS-MEGA-PACK-Commercial-Use-License-All-KB3Teach-Fonts-160-Font-BUNDLE-1551950 Hope that helps!

Oh dear. How did I miss that? I even checked to see if the font source was provided in the document. Thank you for pointing it out and providing the direct link for me in your reply. 🙂 Guess I’m just having one of those moments (or days or weeks — lol).

No worries at all Chris! It’s December, that is reason enough! December is crazy for teachers! 🙂 Have a great week!

Hi Alex… I love this idea but am having trouble editing it. I have PP but there are no text boxes when I click on the mug. Am I doing something wrong? Diane

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22 Winter-Themed Activities for the Kindergarten Classroom

When it’s time to come back from winter break or Christmas break – it’s time to hit the ground running in kindergarten. There is explosive growth that happens from now until the spring in both reading and math.

Let’s capitalize on that learning-growth spurt and plan some great winter kindergarten activities .

Here are winter-themed math, science, and literacy-based activities, along with some art projects, crafts, and a set of free worksheets that I have found.

I hope they can be helpful to you as you make your January and February lesson plans.

Math activities

Here are two math resources that help you pick up where you left off in December and grow your learners.

Winter bump

Grab this free winter-themed math addition game for kindergarten. Your kinders will play “bump” using dice and linking cubes (or another manipulative) and work on adding numbers.

You’ll love that this game includes multiple levels so it’s already differentiated for you.

Frozen composing teens

Practice composing numbers 11-19 with this fun, Frozen-themed game . Students play on a printable game board, moving characters like Sven and Olaf after they make numbers using groups of tens and ones.

First one to the snow-capped village wins!

If you have a class that loves Frozen movies, you may just want to use this entire Frozen unit for the month of January.

Winter estimation

As students are learning larger numbers in the second semester, capitalize on seeing such numbers with this simple estimation activity .

All you need are fingerprints and cotton balls! So fun and perfect for winter.

I think it’d be a great tie in to using ten frames to predict how many and record their findings.

If you want to differentiate – just use the polar bear template laminated and use marshmallows to estimate. [Use mini-marshmallows for students who can count up to 100, regular-sized marshmallows for students working with numbers to 30, and jumbo marshmallows for students who can count to 20.]

Science activities

Let’s dig into science with simple, standards-based activities.

Expanding snowman

When the snow hits your area (or grab a bag of ice at Sonic or ice cubes and grind them in a blender) then you’re ready to make an expanding snowman .

You can easily make this as a class, or the supplies are cheap enough for everyone to do the activity. Use brand-name freezer storage bags for best results.

Students watch Alka-seltzer interact with snow and you can observe and discuss what changes take place.

Did you know you could make this?

I think this super-strong snow slime recipe would make for the coolest writing springboard…

Let each kinder have a turn to create a scene – snap a photo and print it out for them to use as a book front cover or writing prompt illustration.

Go from science to writing in one awesome afternoon.

Here is a great alternative snow slime recipe that doesn’t require hard-to-find ingredients.

Igloo STEM challenge

Students plan and design how to make an igloo in small groups using simple supplies. Then they test out their plan by using the simple materials.

Grab some marshmallows, frosting, and use the empty frosting container – this could be fun!

Turn this into an individual STEM challenge by substituting mini marshmallows and a condiment cup or styrofoam cup as a base.

How do penguins stay dry experiment

Explore how penguin feathers help them to stay dry in the Antarctic waters.

I like this idea since it is really simple and uses materials that are easy to produce in the classroom. Each student can do this activity.

Another good activity that explores how arctic animals (including some penguins) stay warm is to make a blubber mitt . We did this every year as a whole group experience.

An alternative idea is to crease the paper down the middle and only color on one half of the penguin. That way students can see what would happen if the oily residue didn’t exist on the penguins feathers.

Literacy-based activities

Let’s connect reading skills to all things winter.

The Mitten easy reader

This is a free printable emergent reader that comes in four different levels. You can make a set to keep in your classroom or make one for students to take home.

This is based on the popular book, The Mitten.

Here are a few more resources and activities you my like based on The Mitten for kindergarten:

• 50-page free “The Mitten” unit
• Retell “The Mitten” to ‘The Farmer in the Dell’
• Symmetrical mitten art project

Sneezy the Snowman

Enjoy exploring these 5 clever Sneezy the Snowman kindergarten activities – they are awesome!

This story is hot on most kindergarten teachers’ lists. It’s a cute read aloud and these activities make it super simple to extend the story.

January kindergarten read-alouds

Read books! January is a great time to fit in extra read-alouds.

Here is a list of great read-alouds for January to go along with the winter theme (and many of these resources on this list).

Art activities

These art activities turn out beautiful. Each project focuses on the creative process and each kinder’s creation turns out unique.

Winter mittens art – warm and cold colors

These tissue paper mittens turn out beautiful. The warm and cold color contrast turns makes these stand out as a beautiful display.

Here’s how to make it:

• Cut warm colors of tissue paper and glue it onto a mitten outline . Cover it completely and past the edges.
• Cover it with Modge Podge to make it shiny and everything lay flat.
• While it’s drying, paint a background piece of paper by dabbing on blue and white paint – mixing the colors with a sponge.
• Add white snowflakes (maybe stickers, stamps, confetti or die cuts) on the blue background.
• Cut out the dry mitten.
• When everything is dry, glue (or hot-glue) a clothespin on to hang the mitten in front.

Pull-off polar bear paint project

Oh my goodness. I love this pull-off painting project with winter colors ! Although – you could totally do it with any shape if you didn’t want to do a polar bear…

Use a combination of strong fingerpaint paper, tempera paints in blue and white, and an artic animal cut from a piece of newsprint paper.

The process is rather simple, a little messy and the final product turns out awesome.

Oil pastel and watercolor snowflakes

We did this and I loved it! {okay, my students loved it too}

Investigate how the shapes of snowflakes are unique (using your favorite books and videos) and then create a snowflake masterpiece .

Students will draw a snowflake using a pattern, outline it with white or gray oil pastels. Then by painting a background in shades of blue and purple watercolors, the final product is just as unique as each snowflake!

Snow crafts

Here are some snow-related crafts that are just right for the kindergarten classroom.

Snowman craft

Cut some simple shapes to make this snowman craft . The perspective of the snowman looking up to the sky is what makes this uber-cute.

You’ll need construction paper, scissors and crayons or markers to make this one happen.

Planning for a sub this month? Stash this project away for them to work on with your class.

Snowman directed drawing

This turns out so sweet! A snowman directed drawing art activity with step by step directions so everyone can do it

Sponge-painted snowflakes

Cut a large, simple snowflake shape from blue construction paper to make these sponge-painted snowflakes .

Make splotches of blue and white paint and then dab to begin blending the colors together. Finish off with some glitter. Beautiful!

Other winter resources

Here are a few more worthwhile-mentions of winter-themed resources I didn’t want you to leave without seeing.

Paper plate snowman

Snap a quick cute photo with this easy paper plate snowman craft . You can also skip the popsicle stick and print an enlarged photo of your students face in the hole.

This would make a great display piece to accompany a writing prompt of “if I were a snowman.”

Winter worksheets

Oh man, you know that I loathe worksheets , right? But, I also know that a time comes when you need to pull one out or find one you like and want to use it in your centers as a rinse-off overhead .

So, if you need some worksheets to stash in your substitute folder for January – this printable worksheet set is just right for kindergarten standards.

Let’s wrap it up

There you have it – winter activities for a kindergarten classroom that are fun and hands-on.

I hope these can help you save time as you plan your lessons.

Need more for January? You might like these  17 Kindergarten Videos for January – Read, Move and Learn!

Woah, wait. Are you about to hit the 100th day of school? So many schools have their 100th day of school fall in January and February.

You may just want to read How to Plan a Not-So-Crazy 100th Day of School (or Any Minor Holiday) so you can use the daily classroom routine you’ve built to your advantage.

And here are 13 Free 100th Day of School Ideas and Activities for Kindergarten so you can pull off a fun, themed day with learning at the forefront.

More Themed Activities for Kindergarten

• 73 Cool Pete the Cat Freebies and Teaching Resources
• 51 Groovy Pete the Cat Lesson Plans and Freebies
• 12 Free Dr. Seuss Activities for Kindergarten

14 St. Patrick’s Day Freebies for Kindergarten

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.

Leslie is the teacher behind KindergartenWorks . She believes in teaching kinders how to be pretty incredible along with teaching them to read, write and think for themselves. She enjoys drinking hot tea, making mud pies with her four kids and sharing what she's learned with teachers.

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Winter Worksheets for Kindergarten and First Grade

It has been a  long time since I published a Kindergarten and First Grade packet for your young learners!  These packets are a bit more time intensive and require some creativity – two things I’m a little short on this year. 😉

However, I’m happy to publish this BIG winter worksheets packet today!  It’s the largest K & 1st packet to date, and is packed with fun activities for your young learners!

Use these worksheets as a supplement to your regular homeschool curriculum.

If you’re a classroom teacher, you can put these in your winter centers, use them as extra practice, implement as homework, or use in your small groups.

Are you an All Access Pass member ?  Go straight to the Themed Worksheets for K and 1st page and download it there!

All Access Pass members have first access to ALL of the paid and free printables here at Mama’s Learning Corner!   Click here to find out more .

This packet includes 35 different printable activities for your Kindergarten or First Grade children , each with a fun, winter theme.

You’ll find the following pages included in this packet:

→ Winter Word Search – Words go horizontally and vertically only → Winter Patterns: What Comes Next? – Cut & paste to complete the pattern → Color by Number – Simple color by number → Color by Sum – Solve the equations that equal up to sums of 10 → Color by Sight Word – uses words from the Dolch primer list → Count and Graph – Count the winter-themed pictures and make a bar graph → Who Am I? – Write the correct word by the description

Purchase the Winter Worksheets here:

Mama’s Learning Corner has TONS of winter resources. Click here to browse all of the winter worksheets and printables !

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60 Winter Learning Activities For Kindergarten

The winter season is a busy time in the classroom. Whether you’re looking for winter-themed crafts, math worksheets, or fun literacy activities, we have it all! Keep your Kindergarten students engaged and excited with these winter learning activities.

Looking for winter learning activities? You’ve come to the right place. This post features a round-up of free resources that are perfect for kindergarten students and teachers during this season! They are perfect for classroom use or at-home practice! There is something here for every subject, from math to literacy.

Our list of activities is easy to prep and ready for you to use right away in your classrooms. We’ve got everything you need to keep your kids engaged in learning during the winter months! There’s no need to spend hours searching online – we’ve already done it! Download your favorites today!

Let’s Start With Some Great Books

One of the best ways to get into the winter spirit is by reading winter-themed books. There are so many great titles to choose from, and your students are sure to love them! Here is a lovely selection of winter-themed books

Winter Literacy Activities

During the winter, you will be focusing on building your student’s literacy skills. When the weather outside is frightful, why not have some fun inside with these winter-themed literacy activities? Try these

• Winter sight word practice sheets
• Color by code CVC Worksheets
• Free winter sight word game
• Snowman dot to dot ABCs
• Winter writing prompts
• Sight word snowball fight
• Initial sounds hot chocolate puzzles
• Ice fishing for sight words

Winter Math Activities

The winter months are a great time to focus on winter math skills. Why not combine a winter theme with math activities at this time of year? We’ve got many different ideas, and printable worksheets make preparation a snap.

• Snowflake winter math pack
• Winter math sheets
• Snowflake sorting activity
• Winter subtraction activity
• Snowman counting activity
• Snowmen Venn diagrams and sorting
• Count and graph snowflake activity

Winter Science Activities

The wintertime is a great opportunity to incorporate winter science activities in your classroom. We know that many of you study Arctic animals at this time of year, so we have some activities and resources for that. Here are some of our favorites! Snow and snowflakes are other obvious choices.

• Free winter animal worksheets
• Penguin activities
• Teacher approved Arctic animal videos
• How do Arctic animals stay warm in winter?
• How much water is in the snow?
• Videos about snow and snowflakes
• Free printable weather journals for kinders
• 50+ Winter STEM activities

Winter Arts and Crafts

It wouldn’t be winter without some fun winter-themed arts and crafts! Have you been looking for some easy arts and crafts to do in your classroom? Here are a few easy prep, classroom-friendly projects that will keep the kids engaged.

• Snowy trees in winter activity
• Reindeer hat
• Snowmen painting
• Snowmen with crayon noses
• Fine motor skills snowflake craft

Christmas and New Years

Of course, Christmas happens in the winter, so here are some easy holiday activities to enjoy with your students.

• Free letter to Santa
• Christmas story prompts
• Printable Christmas book
• Grinch day activities and Hershey Kiss graphing
• The Gift of Nothing writing activities
• Ornament Sight Words
• Grinch and Hershey Kiss Activities
• Polar express shape activity
• Paper plate Christmas ornaments
• Teacher approved Christmas movies with objectives

Free Christmas Activity Book

We’ve created a Christmas activity book just for Simply Kinder readers. This book is full of activities and coloring sheets. All you need to do is download and print the sheets. Here’s what you’ll get

• The cover and first page are coloring sheets
• 1 dot to dot page
• A match the numbers activity page
• What comes next puzzle
• Spot the difference page
• Color by code addition and subtraction

Use this for early finishers, indoor recess, and just for fun. It is also perfect for sending home for winter break.

Kid Made Gifts

What better way to show your love and appreciation than with a handmade gift? Children love making gifts for their parents and loved ones. We’ve got some creative ideas to help them create something lovely!

• Directed drawing calendar
• Easy sticker Christmas gift bags
• Handprint calendar
• Shrink film keepsake chains
• Printable coupon books for Kinders to fill in

Winter learning activities for kindergarten students can be a lot of fun, and now is the perfect time to focus on winter themes. This post includes some easy prep winter-themed resources that you might find helpful in your classroom or at home with your kids. It’s an excellent opportunity to work on winter-themed math skills, science activities, literacy activities, and arts and crafts.

What are your favorite winter learning activities? How do you enjoy winter with your students?

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Winter Break Activities: 50 Crafts and Games to Keep Kids Learning

• December 10, 2020

The winter holidays have begun, and school will be out soon! Rest and relaxation are both important for students. But so is keeping the skills they’ve gained over the school year.

These 50 winter crafts and activities are a great way to have fun over the holiday break. You’ll find plenty of ways to practice reading, writing, art, math, and science skills! Plus, we’ve added a few indoor activities to help your family get moving if the weather’s too cold for outdoor games.

1. No snow for the holidays? No problem at all. Whip up some fake snow to play with instead as a chemistry activity for kids!

2. Check out this list of winter children’s books for some themed stories to borrow from the library.

3. Play this snowball alphabet activity to practice your ABCs.

4. This game of Mitten Match helps children practice their numbers and fine motor skills.

5. Print out a game of winter-themed I Spy and see which person in your family can spot the most.

6. Here’s a fun way to learn about a penguin’s life cycle.

7. If you have extra cans lying around, use them to play a game of snowman tin can toss .

8. These winter lacing cards are a great way to help kids learn how to sew.

9. Use the extra time at home to help your child start a journal . You could also use these questions as dinner conversation starters.

10. This ice lantern craft is a great STEAM activity, which means that it teaches both science and art.

11. Kids will love these math and science activities about the winter solstice, which is on December 21.

12. Get crafty and make your own paper plate twirler to watch spin around in the wind.

13. If you have a clear hallway, play a game of indoor hockey using a bean bag and painter’s tape.

14. What do animals do in the winter? Discover the answer in this printable ”Winter Snoozers” picture book.

15. This color-by-letter activity will help children learn their lowercase letters.

16. Play a game of Snowflake Hop to get kids moving on a wintery day.

17. Try out this family winter bucket list for plenty of winter break ideas, like “collect pinecones” or “take pictures of the snow.”

18. This ice fishing activity is awesome for kids who love to fish.

19. Sing these wintery twists on nursery rhyme favorites as a family.

20. Make this frozen sun catcher and set it up for a decoration that should last a little while in the cold weather.

21. Winter break is a great time for science experiments like this igloo engineering activity , which uses toothpicks and marshmallows.

22. Make a DIY bird feeder for a STEM activity that might even bring some feathery visitors to your home.

23. Teach your children about hibernation , then have fun creating this paper plate hibernation craft .

24. Make some “snow floam,” a sensory slime that’s sure to grab your child’s attention.

25. As birds fly south for the winter, teach children why many fly in a “V” formation for a quick and fun home science lesson.

26. See how many entries of this winter reading challenge you can complete, from a non-fiction winter book to a book that became a movie.

27. This snowball catapult craft can help kids learn about science while practicing the alphabet.

28. Do you know how snowflakes get their shapes? Learn how with this crystal snowflake experiment .

29. Borrow “The Mitten” from the library (or read this free print-out of the tale), then use this hands-on activity to learn about the animals in the story.

30. Learn how different liquids react when heated with this hot cocoa experiment .

31. If your child is learning to write, this alphabet tracing printable is a festive way to practice over the break.

32. Set up a hallway maze using painter’s tape, then see who can finish it the quickest.

33. Help young learners practice their shapes with this winter-themed bingo game .

34. This set of arctic animal word cards will expand your child’s vocabulary and help them practice reading.

35. If you have preschool-aged children at home, these tracing sheets will help them practice their fine motor skills.

36. This snow volcano is a fascinating twist on a classic science experiment.

37. Build a pretend ski jump that children can use with their toys.

38. Play a game of winter-themed Minute to Win It as a family, with exciting challenges like “snowball toss.”

39. Break out the finger paints and create a beautiful winter tree.

40. Sharpen your art skills by learning to draw an arctic fox .

41. Set up a game of snowman toss for a simple way to have fun as a family.

42. Mix up some simple snow paint , then take it outdoors to see what kind of creations your children can make.

43. Try this winter storm in a jar activity to learn all about the weather.

44. This game of Snowflake Swat can help young children learn to distinguish between letters.

45. Print out this winter word search from Scholastic and see how many vocabulary words you can find.

46. Read “The Snow Lion,” a tale about siblings Mei and Fu who make a snow lion that comes to life.

47. Practice writing as a family by filling out these winter-themed prompts and sharing your answers.

48. Channel your inner Van Gogh by making a wintery scene out of tinfoil art.

49. Learn all about Snowflake Bentley, the man who discovered that every snowflake is unique, with this read-aloud .

50. Regardless of the weather outside, you can build a snowman with this fun craft .

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Back from Winter Break Activities for Kindergarten

Returning from winter break can be a challenging milestone in the kindergarten school year! Your students were just getting into the swing of being kindergarteners and then they left for two weeks! I’ve put together a post to help you choose back-from-winter-break activities that will help you get your classroom back on track as soon as possible!

Choosing Your First Activities After Winter Break

Ultimately, the specific activities you use after winter break will depend on your curriculum and the needs of your students. However, be sure to choose activities that help you accomplish these things:

Create a Flexible Arrival Time

Try to choose an arrival activity that will help that first morning go smoothly. You will likely have parents that want to talk with you, students who are having big feelings, and other students who have forgotten the arrival procedures. Choosing an open-ended, flexible activity to welcome students back to class will make it easier to have a smooth first morning back from winter break.

Check In With Students

It’s helpful to choose activities that students can complete mostly independently. This will give you time to circulate the classroom and check in with each of your students. You can quickly see which students are ready to jump back into the routine and which students might need a little bit more TLC on that first day.

Practice Procedures

Give yourself and your students some time during the first day back to practice some basic classroom procedures. Simple classroom activities are a great way to incorporate this practice! For example, you could use a simple cut-and-paste activity to help your students review the classroom procedures for using glue and scissors. Taking the time to reteach these procedures will help you have a smooth second half of the school year! 

Review Academic Skills

It doesn’t take long for students’ literacy and math skills to get a little bit rusty. This is especially true for kindergarteners! Use the first few activities after winter break to help you review those important academic skills before moving on to new content. This will also help you gauge where students are at so you can prioritize skills for your future lesson planning.

Ease Back Into Routine

Finally, your students have all had different experiences during the holiday break. While they will all benefit from the consistency of your daily learning routine, some students might not be as ready as others to dive back into the regular learning tasks. You can use engaging activities to grab your students’ attention as you restart the daily routine.

5 Back from Winter Break Activity Ideas

With that in mind, here are some fun and engaging activity ideas that will help your students have a smooth transition back to school after winter break.

1. Winter Dot-to-Dot

Dot-to-dot activities are a great option for the first few days back at school. Students will review either letter or number formation as they fill in the grid at the top of the paper. They will then practice alphabetical and numerical order as they connect the dots in the winter-themed picture. After completing the picture, students can color it in!  

A packet of dot-to-dot puzzles could be a great morning work option as your students get back into the swing of your arrival procedures. You can find this set of dot-to-dot printables in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on TPT . 

2. Winter Mystery Puzzles

To help your students practice classroom procedures like using scissors and glue, grab these free winter mystery puzzles ! Each puzzle practices a different academic skill, so you can choose which puzzle would be best for your students. Students will cut out the puzzle pieces, determine where they go on the puzzle, record their answers, glue the pieces down, and then color the mystery picture!

Would you like to try out this freebie in your classroom after winter break this year? Just fill out the form and I’ll send these mystery puzzles straight to your inbox!

3. Winter Centers

One of my favorite routines to get back up and running as soon as possible after the break is the centers rotation! Students are easily engaged in the hands-on activities and it’s a great time to review procedures like working with a partner, rotating through learning stations, cleaning up learning supplies, and so on.

Seasonal centers are a great way to grab your students’ attention and keep them engaged! Your students might be a little disappointed to return to school and see all of the fun holiday decor taken down.

Winter-themed centers are a great way to incorporate seasonal fun into your classroom and avoid the post-holiday gloom. Be sure to check out my blog post where I share some of my favorite hands-on activities to use for winter centers.

4. Winter Mystery Pictures

When it’s time to review important academic skills, mystery pictures are a fun resource to use! These customizable mystery pictures can incorporate any sight words, letters, phonics patterns, or even number words that you’d like your students to review. Just type in the words and the mystery pictures are automatically generated! You can customize your post-holiday skill review to best meet the needs of your students.

You can find these winter mystery pictures in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on TPT . Just click below to take a closer look!

5. Thematic Unit

Finally, thematic units can be a great way to get your students back into the swing of the classroom routine. This is especially true if you regularly use thematic units to supplement your curriculum! Your students will be excited to dive into a new unit study! 

Check out my blog post where I organize an entire year’s worth of thematic units organized by month . You can quickly see which thematic units I like to use after winter break.

Save These Back from Winter Break Activities

If you’d like to find this post later, be sure to save the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest! You’ll be able to quickly and easily find these activity ideas when you’re putting together your lesson plans after coming back from winter break.

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Last updated on March 17, 2023

Oh What Fun! A FREE Winter Break Reading Challenge

All i want for christmas is… a free reading challenge.

Nothing brings me more joy than a student asking ME if they can go read a book! 😍 That’s where the FREE Winter Break Reading Challenge comes to play! All I want for Christmas is for my students to LOVE reading! Am I right? 🎄

Why use the Winter Reading Challenge for Students?

When students love to read, it is a game changer! The more they read the more they grow and I love seeing them blossom. It’s almost infectious. 

I also can’t get enough of the quiet whispers in the classroom library of one student telling another how great  their book is, or when they share/switch books. Makes my little teacher’s heart explode! 🥰

The Winter Break Reading Challenge is enjoyable for your students. The goal of the reading challenge is to encourage your students to continue reading over break. Which is a win for students, teachers, and parents! Wooohooo! 🥳

Plus, we all know students can get a little antsy during the holiday season (remember my post on the Christmas classroom management strategy ☕️), so you can even use the reading challenge as a way to bring something new to their attention/routine this season!

What is the Winter Reading Challenge?

The FREE reading challenge for students is winter themed ❄️☃️, BINGO style, and a whole lot of fun for your students!

Students can use this over their winter break or just because!

It’s not about reading for X number of minutes a day, or X amount of pages, it’s just about READING!

That’s right READING…just for the fun of it! 📚

ALL readers can participate, meaning it doesn’t matter what reading level they are on, EVERYONE can participate!

How to Use the FREE Reading Challenge

Students work to get 5 in a row covered on their board.

Or, honestly, YOU choose how you want them to go about it.

Teaching is all about being flexible and you know your students best. So use it how you see fit, but let’s get our students READING! 🤩

Did I mention that this product comes in two versions, printable 🖨 AND digital 💻 ! Woohoo!!

Download the Printable Winter Reading Challenge PDF

Download the digital winter reading challenge google doc, more winter resources.

Winter Blends Activities- NO PREP Phonics Worksheets

Winter CVC Activities- NO PREP Phonics Worksheets

Winter Decodable Readers

Winter Digraphs Activities- NO PREP Phonics Worksheets

Winter Letter Sounds Activities- NO PREP Phonics Worksheets

Winter Poems – Poetry

Editable Winter Color-by-Code Activities

January/Winter Phonemic Awareness Activities: Segmenting & Blending Sounds

Winter Reading Comprehension

Winter Reading Comprehension – Pre-Primer and Primer – Kindergarten

Winter Spelling Activities – EDITABLE

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FREE Phonics Sentences Bundle

This is no ordinary bundle! When you sign up, you’ll get:

• Ready-to-use pages for 100+ skills so you have exactly what you need for every phonics lesson without wasting precious time prepping materials!
• 3 phonics lesson tips to ensure your students master phonics skills the first time they’re taught!
• My secret to raising reading levels without spending all day teaching reading groups!

Primary Playground

Free Printable Winter Break Bingo

December 10, 2017

Winter break is coming up quickly so I created a fun Free Printable Winter Break Bingo to give to the kids.

Winter Break Bingo

With winter break quickly approaching, I created this bingo to send home with the kiddos.  Instead of homework over break, I wanted to encourage the students to read, play, and spend quality time with the families. I’ve included fun things like draw a winter picture, have soup for dinner, read in front of the fireplace, have an indoor snowball fight. Lots of different options for the students to choose from.

THIS RESOURCE WORKS WELL WITH

You can make suggestions too, such as if a student doesn’t have a fireplace, they have fire videos on Netflix or Youtube. Maybe you live in Arizona like us and don’t get snow, but you can still build a snowman out of play doh. Encourage the students to think outside the box and be creative. Winter break is a great time for us all to regenerate and take a break to get ready for the second half of the school year.

If the students bring back the bingo card after winter break with a, “bingo’, they get to take a trip to the treasure box. I’ve made the printable in both a color option and a black and white option so you can print what best fits your needs. You can download the free bingo below from my TeachersPayTeachers store. 

If you’re looking for more ideas like this to send home, we also have a free math bingo here , a free screen free bingo here , a free summer reading bingo here and a free reading bingo here. 

Wishing you a fantastic, relaxing winter break!

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Kindergarten Winter Break Homework Packet

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