2nd Grade Winter Activities for the Classroom
Every winter I notice my students (and myself) going a little stir crazy. I’m always looking for more 2nd grade winter activities! We have less outdoor play time and a whole lot more indoor recess time! Yikes! Throughout January it’s always fun to sprinkle in a few extra winter activities to keep kids engaged and loving school. I put together a list of 5 of my favorite winter activities for 2nd graders including a fun handwriting freebie. Note: Many of these crafts and activities could actually be used across grade levels!
I did include affiliate links below! I promise to only share products I truly love. Shopping through those links does help me out too.
1. SNOW THEMED DIRECTED DRAWINGS
Directed drawings are a super fun reward for students! I started doing these every Friday and noticed that not only do they help improve fine motor skills, but they also help students learn to be ok with imperfection. At the beginning of the school year, students get frustrated with their imperfect drawings. As the year goes on, they learn to laugh and have fun with their creativity!
I found this FREE directed drawing on TeachersPayTeachers by Kristen Mason. You could also do a quick google search for “snowman directed drawing” to find more variations!
2. GROW YOUR OWN POLAR BEAR WINTER SCIENCE ACTIVITY
I’m always a big fan of any science lesson that I can eat! This one is a fun winter science activity for any age. You could choose to do the polar bear science activity with your whole class or in table groups. I suggest leaving them in the solutions overnight so they really expand.
The Grow Your Own Polar Bear Experiment flip books are great because they include all of the science behind the experiment and teach students the scientific method!
3. WINTER HANDWRITING PRACTICE ACTIVITIES
Why is it that 2nd grade students suddenly forget to write neatly when they get back from winter break?! I put together some funny FREE Winter Handwriting Worksheets for you and your students!
If you want a FREE SAMPLE OF WINTER HANDWRITING WORKSHEETS to practice with your students, I’ve got you! If you already know you want to OWN THE BUNDLE OF CURSIVE AND PRINT, these are for you!
4. SENSORY PLAY WITH FAKE SNOW
Whether you teach in an area with snow or not, this fake snow is amazing! This little tub makes 2 gallons of snow. Such a fun sensory activity! Here’s a the link to Grow Snow on Amazon.
5. READ ALOUD “THE STORY OF SNOW”
It’s important that we work towards shifting our read alouds to 50% informational texts and 50% fictional texts. The Story of Snow is a great book for teaching students facts about snow! The perfect addition to any winter themed unit or science activity.
I grabbed a link to purchase the book and also one to listen to it read aloud on YouTube!