Books and Giggles
Winter kids activities & crafts
Here’s a set of quick and simple paper snowflake activities for preschool and kindergarten. Use these to work on both fine motor and visual discrimination skills this winter. I always love cutting out paper snowflakes. It’s a fun little creative moment, trying to turn out something beautiful and interesting. We rarely get real snow this…
Inside: A hibernation craft and writing activity to go with the book The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett. Use the free printable template to make it super easy! This hedgehog hibernation craft and writing activity goes with Jan Brett’s lovely book The Snowy Nap (ad). The story follows Hedgie the hedgehog as he tries to…
Inside: Teach beginning, middle, & end with these free Bear Snores On printable bracelets. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson (ad) is a terrific book to include in your winter animals or hibernation unit. It also turns out to be an excellent narrative for story sequencing (as are these other books that are great for…
These free printable penguin hats include 5 interesting facts about penguins. Children can color and wear their penguin crowns, and learn a little bit about these birds too. Penguins are a fun classroom theme for winter. You can read some favorite penguin books (see below), do some cute penguin crafts, and incorporate science too. You…
These Christmas letter R activities have a cute reindeer theme perfect for the holiday season. Today I’m sharing a fun, low-prep Christmas printable that’s sure to make learning fun during this most festive month! Catch your kids’ attention with the cute little reindeer, and then keep them engaged by using the pages in a variety…
These books about Santa Claus are sure to delight your kids this Christmas season. You’ll find picture books for children of all ages and tastes. I’ve had way too much fun researching and putting together this list for you! (Disclosure: Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate…
These letter S worksheets are ready for Christmas! Just print them off and grab some everyday supplies for an engaging alphabet activity. I know that when December rolls around, teachers are tired and stressed out – trying to wrangle littles and take care of their holiday to-do list too. However, it’s also that magical time…
Your littles will love these winter alphabet clip cards and related worksheets. You’ll appreciate the easy prep of this free printable letter sound activity. With the festive season just around the corner, I thought I’d share these fun winter alphabet clip cards for your preschool or kindergarten children to enjoy! This is an easy, mess-free,…
Here are some adorable gingerbread man activities for preschool and kindergarten. Add these to your December lineup! Over the past few years, we’ve created a variety of gingerbread man activities for preschool and kindergarten. I’m excited to share them with you all in one place here today. Plus, I’ve added a few more from some…
Inside: These Groundhog Day emergent readers are special – you can personalize them with student names! Groundhog Day always sneaks up on me! I start thinking about Valentine’s Day as soon as I see all that candy in stores, but I forget about Phil and his groundhog friends. I should remember it though. It’s the…
Inside: This Valentine’s Day bee craft made with popsicle sticks wants you to “bee mine”! It’s starting to look like we’re going to have a whole collection of craft stick animals! Today I’m sharing this fun, friendly bee craft with you. He’s ready to show you some love… Valentine’s Day Bee Craft There are lots…
Looking for some fun polar bear activities this winter? Start with this huge list of literacy ideas, STEM activities, sensory play setups, and adorable polar bear crafts. These creative, educational ideas will help you hit it out of the ballpark! Alphabet and Literacy Activities First up, here are some ways to work letter recognition, sight…
Inside: This free printable Valentine’s Day sight word spinner activity helps children to learn any sight words in an engaging and enjoyable way. Valentine season is upon us again and in our house, that means candy and baking! My children love to share their love with their friends with a little something sweet. I designed…
Inside: This polar bear sight word activity uses an editable free printable so that you can use your own word list, or even work on just the alphabet. With the winter weather keeping a lot of us indoors, now is a great time to explore some winter-themed activities. This cute polar bear “fishing” game is…
Inside: This free printable winter vs summer sorting activity helps children understand the differences between these seasons, exploring the weather, clothing, and activities for each season. Most of the kids in my life love Summer! Who wouldn’t? The weather is warm, the sun is shining and drinking ice-cold lemonade every day is a must. But…
Inside: this hot chocolate letter sounds activity will warm up your winter literacy centers and small groups! Nothing beats a warm mug of hot cocoa on a cold wintry day… except maybe a mug of cocoa with marshmallows! We’ve been all about hot chocolate here lately. My kids each have a special cocoa mug that…
Inside: a free printable winter letter tracing activity for preschoolers, with three ways to play. If you’ve been teaching your kids about polar bears, they’ll quickly recognize how silly these scarf-wrapped ice skating polar bears are. In fact, these friendly polar bears inspired me to make this winter letter tracing activity to share with you…
Inside: These arctic animal alphabet worksheets for dot markers include fun facts about each animal for grownups to read aloud to little learners. Whether you’re teaching about lots of different arctic animals, or just one in particular, these free arctic animal alphabet worksheets will keep children engaged. What Animals Are Included? This free set of…
Inside: this printable penguin craft for kids features a dad hiding a baby chick in his brood pouch. Kids can cut out and color this fun interactive winter craft. There’s a scene I love in every penguin documentary and movie I’ve ever watched. It’s where a father penguin stands up to reveal a baby chick…
Inside: This preschool snowman craft is made with a surprising ingredient that gives it a fun texture and helps it look extra snowy! We almost never get snow here, but when we do, practically the first thing my kids want to do is build a snowman. It might be my fault. A few years ago,…
Inside: this free printable Christmas name tracing activity motivates children to practice writing their name and letters. What little Santa believer doesn’t want to pretend to help Old St. Nick write out gift tags? Today I’m sharing a quick free printable to help YOU fit in some holiday name tracing practice with your littles. Christmas…
Inside: how to make popsicle stick arctic animal crafts. Make a cute arctic fox, polar bear, or snowy owl using the free printable template. We’ve finally been having some winter weather here, and it makes me want to break out the wintertime crafts! Arctic Animal Crafts Today I have a brand new set of arctic…
Inside: These free printable gingerbread playdough mats provide a playful experience with sequencing, a valuable early literacy skill. Every year at the holidays we make gingerbread playdough here – it’s turned into a tradition here. I made up the batch shown here to try out the two new gingerbread playdough mats I made for you….
Inside: This penguin mitten craft is simple enough for preschoolers and includes a template to make prep super easy for you too. We painted a mitten and turned it into a penguin for this cute paper craft. The thumb makes it look like he’s waving his flipper! This mitten craft would be a sweet choice…