10 Easy Winter Activities for Preschoolers

Fun, friendly, and perfect for chilly days!

Winter is the perfect season to slow down, explore the world with fresh eyes, and bring a little magic into your preschool classroom. Whether you’re teaching during snowy weather or simply celebrating the cozy winter theme, these simple activities blend learning with play — and require very little prep.

Here are ten engaging winter activities your preschoolers will absolutely love!

1. Snowflake Cutting Practice

Give children coffee filters or white paper circles and help them fold them into fourths. Let them snip tiny shapes around the edges and unfold to reveal a snowflake!
Encourage children to compare their snowflakes and talk about how each one is unique, just like in real life. You can hang the finished snowflakes in your classroom windows for a wintery display.

Learning Focus: fine motor skills, scissor control
 Fine Motor Worksheets

2. Winter Playdough Tray

Offer white playdough with blue beads, buttons, pipe cleaners, and snowflake shapes so kids can build winter characters or snowy scenes.
For added sensory exploration, mix in peppermint extract (optional) to give the dough a fresh winter scent. This tray also works beautifully as a calm-down activity during busy days.

Teacher Tip: Sprinkle a tiny bit of glitter for a frosty effect.

Learning Focus: creativity, sensory play

3. Snowball Toss (Indoor Gross Motor)

Crumple white tissue paper into “snowballs” and let children toss them into baskets or bins.
Turn it into a group game by calling out different ways to throw—overhand, underhand, or two-handed—and watch your little learners practice coordination in a fun, playful way.

Variations:

  • count the snowballs
  • sort by size
  • play “snowball freeze dance”

Learning Focus: gross motor, counting
Math Worksheets

4. Ice Painting

Freeze water in muffin trays with a drop of food coloring to create colorful ice “paint sticks.” Kids use them to make beautiful swirled art on thick paper.
Talk about how the colors blend as the ice melts and describe the cold texture on the paper. This is a wonderful activity for introducing simple science vocabulary.

Learning Focus: cause & effect, sensory exploration

5. Mitten Letter Match

Cut out paper mittens and write uppercase letters on one side and lowercase letters on the matching pair.
You can also turn this into a center activity by placing the mittens in a basket and having kids sort them onto a clothesline with clothespins — building fine motor skills at the same time.

Learning Focus: literacy, letter recognition
Literacy Worksheets

6. Winter I Spy Bottles

Fill clear bottles with cotton balls, beads, tiny pom-poms, snowflake shapes, or small toy animals.
Children love turning the bottles upside down to search for hidden items, and you can add simple checklists or picture cards to help guide vocabulary and observation skills.

Learning Focus: visual discrimination, vocabulary
Puzzle Worksheets

7. Build a Marshmallow Snowman

Give kids marshmallows, toothpicks, googly eyes, and small paper cutouts to design their own snowman.
Turn it into a STEM challenge by encouraging them to build a snowman that can stand on its own or make a snowman family with different sizes.

Teacher Tip: For food-safe classrooms, use playdough balls instead.

Learning Focus: STEM building, creativity

8. Winter Nature Walk

If weather allows, head outside and observe bare branches, winter birds, icicles, or animal tracks in the snow.
Bring along magnifying glasses for a closer look, or take photos to discuss back in the classroom. Even a short walk can become a rich sensory and science experience.

Learning Focus: observation, sensory awareness
Nature Walk 

9. Hot Chocolate Counting Activity

Cut out paper mugs and write numbers on them. Children place the correct number of cotton-ball “marshmallows” into each cup.
For an extra challenge, add simple addition cards or have children trace the number after completing each mug. This activity works beautifully in math centers.

Learning Focus: counting, number recognition
Math Worksheets

10. Arctic Animal Sensory Bin

Fill a bin with cotton balls, shredded paper, or rice “snow” and add small arctic animals such as penguins, polar bears, and seals.
Invite children to create habitats or simple stories about their animals. This type of open-ended bin supports both scientific thinking and imaginative play.

Learning Focus: imaginative play, science concepts
Arctic Animals Theme

Winter brings so many opportunities to blend creativity, learning, and seasonal wonder. With just a few simple materials, you can keep your preschoolers engaged, exploring, and excited — even on the coldest days!

Try one or two of these activities this week, and watch the winter magic unfold in your classroom.

More Preschool Resources for Your Classroom

Looking for easy, print-and-go activities to support your teaching routine? Explore our most-loved worksheet collections:

 Preschool Worksheets Hub
 Literacy Worksheets
 Math Worksheets
 Fine Motor Worksheets
 Coloring Pages
Puzzle Worksheets

These resources are simple to use, thoughtfully designed, and perfect for hands-on preschool learning.

Happy teaching!