Winter can be a challenging time for teachers and occupational therapists. Cold weather and shorter days often lead to restless students, indoor recess and low energy levels. To keep kids engaged and motivated during these months, here are practical strategies and activities that can bring a spark of energy to your classroom or therapy sessions. We need quick and easy solutions to keep us going, save our prep time and sanity. Here are a bunch of ideas you might find helpful, many of which I have been using for years.
Fine Motor and Visual Perceptual Activities
Snowball Sorting
Use white pom-poms and have students sort them by size using tweezers. You can also work on 1:1 coorespondence by placing the correct number into small solo cups labeled with numbers.
White Button Sort
Have students sort a variety of white buttons by size, shape and texture. I have bought several sets of white buttons for variety. This takes a little prep ahead of time. I sort out sets of buttons, ususally 8 styles of anywhere from 1-10 of each style of button and store them in snack size ziplock baggies. I make a grid paper for students to sort the buttons on.
Snowball fight or Trash Ball
Have students rip and crumple large peices of white bulletin board paper they can toss it at eachother then play basketball by throwing it into a trash can.
Large Graffiti Art
This has been a simple favorite of my students this year. I put a large piece of white bulletin board paper out on the floor. I put our a vaierty of crayons, markers, Kwik sticks, paper, glue, scissors, snowflake stickers and more and just let them create what ever they want. We hang it for a few days then use it for the snow ball fights I described above.
Snowball Sightwords
Give each student a sight word and a sheet of paper to write it on. Once they’ve written their word, have them crumple the paper into a “snowball.”
Standing in a circle or spread around the room, students take turns tossing their snowballs to each other. When a student catches a snowball, they uncrumple it, read the word aloud, re-crumple it, and toss it into the center before throwing their own snowball to the next person.
Continue the activity until all snowballs have been tossed. Retrieve the snowballs and repeat as many times as time allows.
Hole Punch Snowflakes
Add circles to a snowflake design, have students cut out the snowflake then use a hole punch to make designs.
Build a Real Snowman
If you live in an area that gets snow…Go outside and show your students how to build a snowman. Each year, I’m amazed at how many of my students have never had the opportunity to build a snowman with their families. Similar to playing board games, spending quality family time together seems to be becoming a lost tradition.
Go on a Winter Nature Walk
On a short winter walk, look for animal tracks in the snow, different types of winter birds, or interesting ice formations. Encourage kids to observe how trees and plants change during winter and listen for seasonal sounds like the crunch of snow, leaves or twigs underfoot.
White Play “Snow” Sand
Fun sensory activity for Winter. Want to pay a little more and have a bin and accessories all together? Check out this Winter Wonderland Snow Sand Playset.
Winter Sorting Activities
Sort snowflakes, pompoms, and more, this is a great set to sort by color or object. You can also collect your own supplies.
Winter Animal Mini Eraser Sort
Students sort winter mini erasers into muffin tins or I often have them stack like types on top of each other.
Winter Theme Sticker Scene Writing
Give students a variety of seasonal stickers to use to create a picture. Then have them write about the picture. This set includes Winter and Arctic animals. I have a writing page in my free resource library or you can use any paper that works for your students.
Simple Winter Craft Idea
Materials: scissors, glue, white and blue construction paper, silver sharpie, green tree cut outs, size 1 and size 2.
Directions: Gather materials, draw a wavy line across the white paper, cut the paper, glue the white paper on the bottom of the blue paper, glue the larger tree in the middle and the smaller trees to either side, use the silver sharpie to add snow.
Resource Highlight: Winter Skill-Building Worksheets and Activities
These Winter skill-building worksheets and activities were designed for my occupational therapy students to target handwriting, fine motor, and visual perceptual skills. They’re versatile and can also be used in math stations, literacy centers, morning work bins, early finisher activities, or as emergency sub plans.
When to Use this Resource
- Winter Season: Perfect for incorporating a winter theme into your classroom or therapy sessions.
- Fine Motor Development: Tailored for addressing fine motor goals, making it ideal for occupational therapy.
- Literacy and Math Centers: Engages students in fun and focused activities during literacy and math centers.
- Gross Motor Breaks: Easily paired with gross motor brain breaks to include movement and energy into learning sessions.
My Winter resources make planning easy while helping your students build essential skills.
(This post contains affiliate links. If you use a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.)
About the Author
I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and have been working in a public school system for more than 25 years. My resources can be found on TPT, BOOM Learning, Made by Teachers, Classful, and Your Therapy Source. I appreciate your interest wherever you wish to shop.
My mission is to help you find creative ideas to incorporate fine motor, visual perception, gross motor, and social-emotional learning into your lessons.
I hope you consider signing up for my Free Resource Library with your Email. I send out emails about once a week and share resources, tips, and planning ideas for your classroom or occupational therapy needs. Hopefully, these help your students work on building their skills in a fun and engaging way.
Thank you for your interest in my resources and ideas. I hope you will consider following my journey on TPT or wherever you wish to shop.
