16 Winter Themed Centre Ideas for Kindergarten (with 3 FREEBIES❄️)

December 19, 2024

1. Arctic TOOBS Small World Play Centre (Freebie)

This is one of my favourite winter centres and always a hit with my classes too! I bought this set of arctic animals from Michaels and set them out with blue and clear flat marbles (My thinking was the kids could use the blues to be used to create areas of water and the clear marbles for ice) and some white pom poms (you could also use cotton balls!). Then I added a piece of white felt for each seat and set out the word cards to go with the animals!

The invitation is to make an arctic story with the provided materials. I love all of the conversations that happen and it can sometimes lead to a polar animal inquiry!

Not shown, but in the past I’ve also added mini clipboard with blank paper for students to record their stories. Blank mini books would also be a great addition that would give students an opportunity to record their stories/ideas!

You can grab the animal word cards (I included two font choices because I couldn’t decide so just choose the one you like better!) if you would like to use them from my Google Drive by clicking here or on the image below:

2. Animals of Antarctica Sensory Bin (Freebie)

This is a simple but fun sensory bin idea for exploring Antarctic animals! I just added water, a few drops of blue food colouring, ice cubes and 2 pieces of styrofoam to the bin. Then I added animals from the Safari Ltd. Antarctica TOOB!

My vision was that the kids would balance the land animals on the “ice floes” and make stories! To support their story telling, I added these picture cards so they can learn the names of each animal. When I set them up I taped them to the side of a cabinet and then set the bin in front of it😉

You can grab these animal cards by clicking here or on the button below:

2. Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes (Fine Motor)

This is an easy way to get some extra fine motor practice in! Just grab 2 pipe cleaners and cut them in half. Then take two pipe cleaners, make an X with them and then twist the middle to secure. Now take the third pipe cleaner and twist it around the middle again to make the fifth and sixth arms!

Set them out with some pony beads and students can either bead their own design, make symmetrical snowflakes or make a pattern on the arms!

3. Winter Themed Cutting Practice

Winter Themed Centre Ideas for Kindergarten

My classes always loved using scissors but needed lots of practice with them so I like to offer some cutting lines/shapes alongside blank paper at the art centre for students to practice with! It’s a simple way to entice kids to pick up a pair of scissors, especially the reluctant ones who could really use the practice!

All of the printable (except for the freebies) in this blog post are from “Kindergarten Winter Centres: Literacy, Math, Fine Motor & More!” Click this link if you want to see everything that is included: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Winter-Centres-Literacy-Math-Fine-Motor-More-12629673

4. Winter Themed Pre-Writing Lines

Tracing and drawing pre-writing lines is a skill that many Kindergarten students need practice with and it’s the foundation for printing letters so it’s always a good idea to have some practice sheets out!

5. Ice Fish and Cover/Dab/Trace (Freebie!)

My past classes loved fishing activities and ice fishing goes with the winter theme so I thought it would be fun to make an ice fish and cover centre! I know my little guy will love this one🤍

To set this up, simple put magnetic letters in a bin (I covered my bin with parchment paper with a hole cut in the middle to make it look like they are fishing through ice but that’s totally optional!) and then attach string to a dowel (I got mine in the craft section at Dollarama) and then attach magnets to the other end of the string. I used adhesive magnetic magnetic dots and pressed them together over the string. If you have them handy, a magnetic washer would be even sturdier because you can tie the string around them easily! I didn’t want to make a trip to Home Depot so I just used what I had on hand.

I made a few different options so you can easily differentiate for the needs of your students/class! There is a fish and cover mat for letters and beginning sounds and corresponding fish and dab recording sheets.

There is also “Fish and Trace” recording mats and sheets if you want your students to practice letter formation while playing with this bin!

Want to grab the printables for free? Click here or on the image below to grab them from Google Drive!

6. Roll, Say, Find & Cover (Letters and Heart Words)

So many of you told me the fall version of this activity was such a bit hit in your classrooms so I made sure to make a winter themed version!

Like the ones in the fall pack, the letters and words are editable in PowerPoint if you need to practice different letters/words!

Students can play by themselves or with a partner. They can roll the dice until they cover their entire mat or take turns rolling with a partner and whoever fills their mat first is the winner!

7. Building Winter Themed Images with Snap Cubes

Here’s another one that was popular in the fall pack so I made sure to make a set for winter as well! Students can use the mats to help them build the winter item and then trace the word at the bottom to practice letter formation! Building with snap cubes is a great way to strengthen the finger muscles needed for pencil grip and letter formation!

8. Winter Word Chart + Mini Book

This is another staple! We love swapping out our word charts as holidays and seasons come along and setting out the mini books that go with them. The students can use the mini book to draw a picture, label it, write a sentence using the word or to help them complete their mini book! The prep is low and since we usually have already done this activity before, the kids know what to do and it’s one less centre to explain!

9. Winter Themed Build/Dab and Read Mats

Another staple in my centre rotation! My classes always love bingo dabbers so I rotate these for every season/holiday! It’s a great way to work on letter formation without a pencil😉

10. Mitten Match (Rhyming or CVC Words)

There are two ways you can use these mittens! You can set out just the mittens with the images and have your students find the pairs that rhyme. I made these “mitten strings” with pipe cleaner and clothes pins so the kids can clip the matching pairs together. Using the pipe cleaners adds fine motor practice into this literacy centre😉

If rhyming words are too easy for your learners or you want to use these twice, there is this CVC version where you can set out the picture mittens with the word mittens and have students read the word and find the mitten with the matching picture! I included a recording sheet for each short vowel in case you want your students to practice recording their answers!

My own little guy is loves rhyming words and is currently working on decoding CVC words with more accuracy, so these were a hit with him🤍

11. Winter Themed Number Tracing Sheet

Here’s another staple in our writing centre! Kindergarten students need lots of practice with number formation too, so I swap out this sheet in the writing centre every holiday/season so the students always have a resource for practicing number formation!

12. Snowflake Trace + Count Cards

Another activity that is always a hit is anything with play dough! You can simply set these out with white play dough or some snowflake manipulatives and have students practice their number formation and 1:1 correspondence while decorating this snow scene❄️

13. Toss & Trace/Cover/Dab: Snowflake Shapes

The fall version of this one was a HUGE hit with my own little guy (almost 4) so I knew I had to include a winter version in the winter pack! Simply label small paper plates with the printables included and set out with some pom poms and the mat of your choice. Students can toss their pom pom and cover, dab or trace the matching shape on their mat!

14. Snowman Buttons: Search & Sort

This is a simple sensory bin but it was a huge hit with my son! I simply filled a bin with fake snow (you could do any white filler like rice, cotton balls, pom poms etc.) and added some coloured buttons to it. Then I labeled the cups with the snowman cards and told him “Oh no! The snowmen have lost all their buttons in the snow! Can you help them find their buttons and sort them into the right cups?” I wasn’t sure if this would keep his attention but he asked to do it multiple times and then again for several days!

I bought the fake snow at Dollarama years ago (they usually have them every year) and the buttons are from Michaels!

15. My Winter Patterning Mini Book

Here’s another easy prep centre! My classes always loved booklets and this is an easy way to practice/reinforce patterning skills!

There are several versions (colour the core, trace the core, make your own and label the core) so you can differentiate to meet the needs of different groups/your class!

16. Measure & Record

Another staple in our holiday/seasonal centres after December (we typically learn non-standard measurement in November) is this simple measurement centre, “Measure & Record”! Simply set out the cards with a recording sheet and snap cubes and have students practice measuring the winter items!

All of the centres shown in this blog post are in my “Kindergarten Winter Centres: Literacy, Math, Fine Motor & More!” pack. You can see it on TPT here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Winter-Centres-Literacy-Math-Fine-Motor-More-12629673 or by clicking on the image below: