Winter Ideas

Happy Sunday!  I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.  It's a snowy day here in Ohio...hopeful for a snow day tomorrow or later in the week!  Speaking of snow and winter, today's post is dedicated to all things WINTER!  Maybe you'll find some new ideas!

Mini-Book: I love a mini-book!  Been using them my entire teaching career.  They are great for building vocabulary and reviewing trick words.  I also love leaving a mini-book for a sub!  This "winter" mini-book is perfect for the first day of winter, and really any time during the winter season!  To use, I pass out copies.  Students cut, order, raise hand for a staple, and begin searching for trick words (or whatever you call your high-frequency/sight words).  *The color the trick words yellow, or use their highlighter to highlight them...FUN!  Finally, students are allowed to color.

All of my seasonal/thematic mini-books are available in a bundle below, but you can snag each one individually as well!  Click the cover page to check out the mini-books.

Winter Centers: My students visit one center each day.  Most are themed around Fundations Phonics, which is the phonics curriculum I use.  However, I do like to sprinkle a holiday-themed center in each week.  In addition to my Fundations Phonics centers, I always include a listening center.  This is compiled of multiple copies of books as well as a cd or tape (LOL) that reads the book aloud to students.  After students finish listening to the story, they grab a listening center report page and complete a picture and/or sentence about their favorite part.  Grab the free report page by clicking the cover below.

Below are more of my winter-themed center activities.  First is a winter parts of speech match.  I have these for all seasons.  You can grab them by clicking the cover page below.  These are perfect for use in a pocket chart.

Here is a winter rhyming pocket chart activity.  It comes with a corresponding recording sheet.  You can grab it in my seasonal rhyming bundle below, or grab it individually.

Winter Crafts: Who doesn't love a good craft?!?  With the demands on instruction being so intense, you MUST create time for art!  Our art projects are few and far between, so when I do choose to do one, I make sure it's a good one!  

Incorporating picture books with art projects is a great way to sneak in literacy!  "Snowballs" by Lois Ehlert is the perfect book to go with the winter aspen tree/cardinal art project!

The idea for this craft came from I Heart Crafty Things several years ago and it's been a favorite art project of mine since!

Crafty Bee Creations also has great art projects...think trace, cut, build for her crafts.  They are awesome for practicing fine motor skills.

This penguin craft was a new addition to my winter crafts last year.  The idea came from All Students Can Shine.  I'm obsessed with crafts that incorporate tissue paper squares.  Hahaha!

I Have, Who Has: We absolutely love playing "I Have, Who Has" as a morning meeting activity or time-filler throughout the day.  Shown below is my winter version, but I have a bundle which includes many holidays and themes.  Click the cover below to check it out!

I sure hope you found some new ideas.  Happy Winter!

xo

Megan 

Winter Resources & Ideas

 Hello, friends!  Hope you are doing well and staying healthy.  This has been an interesting two weeks, hasn't it?  Sickness, sub shortages, and for me, the end of the quarter.  Lots going on and little time plus many student absences has made things more difficult than they already are.  I am SO thankful for the day off on Monday.  Today's post is all things WINTER!  I'll be sharing some of my favorite resources and art project ideas to get you through January/February.  Enjoy!

First up are these adorable winter cardinals.  I've been making these with my students for several years now.  The idea is from I Heart Crafty Things.  Reading "Snowballs" by Lois Ehlert (affiliate link) is a perfect literature connection!  

For centers, my students use my "Level 1 Phonics" games and activities (I created these to align with the First Grade Fundations Phonics program).  However, I sprinkle in 1-2 seasonal centers each week.  During the winter, I place my seasonal (winter) parts of speech matching activities.  

We love playing "I Have, Who Has" during Morning Meeting!  I have a huge, seasonal pack full of various themes.  Below is the winter edition.  *Games available for individual purchase, as well.  

Here's a simple snowman craft from Crafty Bee Creations.  I love having her crafts on hand if I have some extra time or need to take a sub day.

"The Mitten" is one of my favorite winter picture books!  We read two versions and compare/contrast them.  We also design our own mittens and practice retelling the story.

Click the product cover below to snag this best-selling literature companion pack!

Another seasonal literacy center I mix in with my Fundations centers is stamping.  These mini books are a perfect center!  The kids adore using the stamps.  When they finish stamping, there's an option to write sentences with the words.

Grab the winter stamping by clicking the product cover below!

Click the product covers below to grab additional resources for winter!

Do you follow me on Instagram?  I share most of my content over there and I'd love to have you!  My page is @mrswheeler44  Head over and say "Hi!"  

Favorite Winter Picture Books

In Late November, I shared my favorite December/Christmas picture books with you.  In case you missed that post, you can check it out by clicking HERE.  This month, I'll be sharing my favorite books for winter!  If I know of a great resource to go with each book, I've included pictures and links below them!  I do try to only link quality activities, so most of what I find will be paid items on TpT.  To order any of the books below, simply click the Amazon boxes.  *Affiliate Links*

Sneezy the Snowman-This is a fun book about Sneezy, a snowman, who is freeezing cold!  He tries various tactics to warm up.  The kids love finding out what makes Sneezy feel "just right!"  I've paired this book with a pack I just discovered from Teach, Love, and Iced Coffee.  It looks like a great little pack to teach cause/effect.  I especially like the written responses and retelling activities!  I can't wait to use this with my class on Friday!

Winter Wonderland-Part of National Geographic's "Picture the Seasons" series, this beautiful picture book takes kids through the season of winter and all the changes that go with it.  It's an excellent addition to your classroom library!  I am pairing this book with a bubble wrap snow tree from Arty Crafty Kids.  I know the kids would have a blast with bubble wrap!

image from Arty Crafty Kids

The Snowy Day-This ties with "Corduroy" for my favorite book of all time.  I remember reading it over and over again as a little girl.  As an adult, I love sharing it as a read-aloud with my first graders!  This is a CLASSIC that every teacher should have in their library!  I've paired it with a book companion by Michelle Oakes.  She's included seven days of lesson plans covering a plethora of skills to go with the book!

The Mitten by Jan Brett & The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt-Another great, timeless classic is "The Mitten!"  The kids love reading these books each winter.  Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations are captivating and we all enjoy predicting which animal will crawl into the mitten next!  Alvin Tresselt's version is older than Jan Brett's and slightly different, but enough the same to use as a compare/contrast activity.  I've paired this book with my "The Mitten" pack, which has activities for both Jan Brett's version and Alvin Tresselt's version, linked below.  The kids especially love the Venn Diagram activity as well as creating and writing about their own mittens with adjectives!  *Because I know you will ask, I've linked the large, Venn Diagram pocket chart below!*

Snow-Another beautiful book!  People don't think the snow will amount to anything in this story...until it starts to really add up.  Once that happens, everyone learns how to have fun and enjoy the beauty of snow.  I've paired it with this adorable (and free) "Catching Snowflakes on my Tongue" craft by A Year of Many Firsts.

image from A Year of Many Firsts

Sleep Big Bear, Sleep-This is a cute, rhyming book about hibernation for Big Bear.  Old Man Winter keeps telling him to sleep, but Bear's hearing isn't the best...the kids will crack up seeing all the crazy things Big Bear *thinks* Old Man Winter is telling him to do!  For an online version on YouTube that could be a re-read, click HERE.  I've paired it with sequencing activity that I found on TpT.  I recommend this activity for pre-k or kindergarten.  It looks too simple for first grade.

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow-I remember reading this fun rebus/rhyming book during my student teaching days way back when!  I loved it at the time and it was one of the first books I bought for my classroom!  The kids love helping with reading aloud and the rebus pictures make it easy for them to do so!  This books lends itself to tons of sequencing activities!  

Snowballs-This is an adorable book about building snowmen and snow animals.  Lois Ehlert uses collage and a variety of unique objects to bring her snow creatures to life!  The kids always enjoy this book!  I've paired it with a fantastic art project by I Heart Crafty Things.  I can't wait to do this with my first graders next week!!!!

image by I Heart Crafty Things blog

There you have it!  A few of my most favorite books for winter!  Hope you found some new ones to add to your library!

xo

Megan