Winter Fun

Hello Winter! Where are you? When it is in the 70's, even 80's, in January you begin to wonder if we just skipped winter and moved on to spring.  But, it is winter in our classroom! We might not see snow, we might not feel the cold, but that doesn't keep us from talking and learning about it! The kids are so excited they can't stand it! Read this post to see some of the fun things we are doing.  Be sure and read all the way to the bottom to see how you can win a great prize!

We made a cut a sentence snowman book. The children sequenced pictures and sentences to show how to build a snowman. I made fun step books and cut them into the shape of a snowman for that little touch of novelty.

How fun is this song? We used this song during math to build number combinations for 5. We also used it as a center! The kids are reading, singing, and making number combinations all at the same time.

This was a super fun game. The kids work with a partner and use unifix cubes to compare who has more. To play the game, each child breaks their cubes in half. They place one half of the cubes on the game board and compare. Spin the spinner to see who wins. Record the results on the recording page.

We learned about the 4 seasons and how winter fits in. We made this 4 seasons tree map where we recorded information about each season. The kids made their own lift the flap craftivity. Under each tree flap, they recorded information about the seasons.

A true class favorite! The kids lay the cards in an array showing only the blank card for each suit. The first player turns over one card. They look at the array and located the position where that card belongs. They pick up the card that is laying in that position and replace it with the card in their hands. Continue until all the cards are face up in the correct position.

This is such an easy game that we can play all year and just change the clip art and dice to create new games. To play, put the marker in the middle of the strip. The first child rolls the dice and moves the marker that many spaces towards themselves. Then, the second child rolls the dice and moves the marker that many spaces towards themselves. See who can move the marker off of the strip first.

Here are a few more games that are super easy and can be played all year just by changing the standard and the clip art. "I have who has" is a old time favorite. "Roll, say, keep" is another game that is great for early finishers. To play, put one of the snowballs in each of the squares on the snowy game board.  Roll a dice. Locate that square on the game board. Read the word on the snowball in the square. Move the square off the game board and replace it with another snowball.

 This is a great way to teach measurement, comparisons, and counting all at the same time. The kids use the snowmen to measure how tall they are and how tall their friend is. Record the results. 

Another fun all year game is this number line game.  To play the game give the child a number line. Invite them to put a snowflake on each numeral.  Make a game piece by attaching a paper clip to the back of a snow kid. Invite the children to roll the dice. Move the snow kid down the number line that many spaces. Remove the snowflake. Roll again. The child can move forward or backwards on the number line as they capture all of the snowflakes.

These are 4 of the titles from the January Guided Reader unit. We used them to help us develop schema, since most of them have never even seen snow!

These cut a sentence books are simple yet meaningful. The kids cut apart a mixed up sentence. They get the sentence in order. The kids are learning to look for the capital letter to begin the sentence and the period to end the sentence.  They manipulate the remaining words until the sentence makes sense. Then, they find the picture to match the sentence.

This is a fun survey graph, perfect for The Snowy Day.  The kids take a survey to see which activity their friends would like to do on a snowy day! Perfect way to practice using a graph to compare!

All of these activities are included in this special priced Winter Mega Unit.