Winter Activities for Transitional Kindergarten
I’m not gonna lie, I am not a fan of the cold weather. That’s why I live in Southern California! I consider 60 degrees to be freezing (this is an actual snapshot of my face 🥶) and it totally justifies me breaking out my Uggs and thick winter sweaters. 😂 But I love the idea of winter, so naturally I bust out all the thematic wintery things you can think of (think blue hues and penguins everywhere). So I get the best of both worlds, Winter Wonderland in my classroom and 70 degrees just outside my room! And this is why I pay the premium for living in So Cal (or so I tell myself as I sob loudly while writing my rent check). But truly, I just get so excited to switch over my classroom each month for the next theme, so I couldn’t wait to use these winter activities for my small groups and centers. And I even included some hilarious activities, like ice fishing alphabet letters and “snow” much fun letter writing (you know I couldn’t resist throwing in a good pun). 🙈
January can be a tricky time for Transitional Kindergarten. Kindergarten curriculum becomes no longer developmentally appropriate and Preschool curriculum doesn’t seem to be quite challenging enough. I created these winter activities to fill in that gap. It has different options depending on where your students currently are. The math activities have 1-10 options as well as 11-20. The alphabet activities include both uppercase and lowercase options. Hopefully these activities will support your students no matter where they are!
“Snow” Much Fun Letter Writing
My kids absolutely love doing shaving cream letters! They squeal with delight, which makes my heart so happy, but I love that they’re learning at the same time. Grab some shaving cream at the dollar tree along with your fun hat for this one!
Tip ✨ Have a TON of baby wipes/paper towels on hand for this! If you have a kiddo that doesn’t like the feel or texture, I recommend having them use a paintbrush to write the letters. 🖌️
Winter Do-a-Dot
I try to include a fine motor activity in at least once a week for my TK kiddos. Do-a-dots are a fun way to get that fine motor practice while also working on color matching. And I absolutely love these blue tweezers from Lakeshore. They’ve held up so well over the years, and I use them all the time!
Tip ✨ Use easy grip safety tweezers for this activity. I found mine at Lakeshore Learning (click here to grab them!) You can also get these pom-poms at Dollar Tree.
Ice Cube Patterns
I really love using manipulatives that I already have in the classroom with hands-on activities. And I love taking those manipulatives and using them as “pretend” items! Cue the ice cube tray and all of sudden you go from simple unifix cubes to colored ice cubes! 🧊 TOO FUN! 😄
Tip ✨ You can grab a pack of 2 ice cube trays for $1 at Dollar Tree! Score! 🎯
ABC Ice Fishing
I had WAY too much fun making this ABC Ice Fishing game! 😂 My students were SO excited to do this activity! Anytime you bring out the fishing poles, they get so excited. Plus, it’s nice to switch things up from pencil and paper! 📝
Tip ✨ You can find this magnetic fishing pole at Lakeshore. It comes as a set of 2! (I know, I have a problem, I get a lot of my stuff at Lakeshore 🙈).
Freebie! Penguin Roll, Add, and Cover
Here is a fabulous freebie for you, my teacher friend! This Penguin Roll, Add, and Cover is also included in my Winter Activities set!
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You can find all of these cold weather winter activities in my store. Click here to grab them now! 🙌
