Six Winter Activities for the Classroom

Winter is approaching, and Education World has you covered with activities for students in and out of the classroom. The following activities have options for students to exercise and be creative. Here are six winter activities for the classroom:

KidActivities:

1. Footprint Tag: Children can play tag like normal, but will have to step in their classmates' footprints. 
2. Snow Treasure Month: Teachers can hide a chest (somewhere in the playground or park)with the following materials:

What you need:

• Cooler
• Treats
• Magazines
• Paper
• Markers
• Plastic bags

What to do:

• Pack a cooler full of treats and then hide the "treasure chest."
• Create a series of clues leading to the chest. 
• Place each clue in a plastic bag and hide it in the snow. 
• Begin the hunt by handing the players their first clue. 

3. Freeze Tag: "Play this just as you would indoors and any other time of the year," KidActivities says. 
4. Snowy Self-Portrait: This activity, KidActivities says, "doubles as a tasty treat for animals who might stop by to admire and sample your work."

What you need:

• Birdseed (such as sunflower seeds and cracked corn)
• Fruits and vegetables (like apples, kale and carrots)
• Food coloring
• Pump bottles

What to do:

• Start by prepping your art materials; fill the pump bottles with different hues of food-color-tinted water and cut up various fruits and vegetables. Then take the materials outside.
• Next, start your masterpiece by lying back in the snow to make a body print. Gently rock your body to pack the print, then carefully get up (you may need a friend's help).
• Create a portrait by filling in the shape with the seeds and vegetable pieces and adding details with the colored water.

5. Winter Wonderland Spotter Sheet: With this worksheet, students can see how many winter sites they can see outside on a winter hike or adventure:

• fresh snow
• icicles 
• snow that looks "sprayed on"
• frost
• icy "jewels"
• snowflakes
• frozen stream 
• footprints
• melting snow

6. Winter Bulletin Board: Gather the class together to create a snowman bulletin board. 

What you need: 

• Snowmen (children created)
• Blue poster board
• Epsom salt
• Chalk
• Quilting batting
• White circles (snowballs)

What to do:

• Ask the children to design a snowman.
• Mix the epsom salt with water and encourage the children to take turns painting the mixture on the poster board (this creates a snow effect).
• When dried, staple to your bulletin board, the add snowman, snowflakes (with chalk) and batting to create hills.
• Place the snowmen on the hills as if they are playing in the snow with snowballs.

Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor