Winter is a magical time of year, filled with snowflakes, hot cocoa, sledding, and wonderful memories. The magic of the season slowly drifts from the sky and into our hearts and minds; and hopefully some of these winter math activities for preschool will also stick with some of our students as they learn and grow throughout the season. They sure are memorable to me!
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Winter Lesson Plans
Hot Cocoa Recipe Cards
Counting Sensory Bin
Winter is here to stay for quite some time, so warm up with one of my favorite treats: hot chocolate. ☕
My little ones love all things hot cocoa, partly because it is the perfect winter treat, but also because we have our hot cocoa stand set up this time of year. And this sensory bin is one of our favorites, too!
But to make hot chocolate, we need to gather and count the ingredients! This easy-to-prep hot cocoa sensory bin is filled with pinto beans, snap cubes, pompoms or cotton balls, and candy canes. The perfect winter math activity for your kiddos to practice counting and to follow step-by-step instructions!
Plus, you know it, there’s a song. We sing this every time we make hot cocoa now. LOL!
Materials:
- Hot Cocoa Recipe Cards
- tub filled with dried pinto beans or hot cocoa powder
- plastic or real candy canes
- white pompoms
- brown snap cubes
- cups
- scoops
Igloo Count
Winter Math Activities for Preschool
I’d like to know if there are any parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, etc. that enjoy the game Don’t Break the Ice. Game set-up time: 3 minutes. Game play time: 30 seconds.
I seriously considered throwing it out the window, but the dang teacher side of me thought, “I could use this.” Since I kept it, that also means I have to begrudgingly continue to set up (I mean, play) that game.
That actually worked out since, when it came to winter, they were the perfect igloo building blocks.
First, count the number of ice blocks in the igloo on the card. Then, use a clothespin to show that number and (if working on number formation) write the number in the box. Finally, build an igloo with the same number of ice cubes out of blocks.
Your little builders will love this igloo counting activity.
Materials:
Snow-cans
Counting Activity
This winter is different. It’s sunshine and rainbows compared to the blizzard of ’97. The one where we dug a snow igloo in the alley and our snowman stood tall for months.
So we have to work with this 65 degree weather we’ve got in Colorado and simply pretend we can make a snowman with this snowman counting and stacking activity.
Look at the Snow-Cans card to see the numbers on each can. Then, count the pieces of coal in each snowman’s mouth and stack the cans according to the arrangement on the card.
Not only are the kiddos identifying numbers, counting, and working on visual perception skills, but since there is only one set of cans, they have to work as a team. Woot!
And if you let them throw snowballs to knock the cans over, you’ll basically be the coolest (no pun intended) teacher in town.
Materials:
- Snow-Cans
- 10 tin cans or cups (enough for 1 set)
Snowball Switch
Winter Math Game
Regular Snowball Switch or bump games = cool.
Snowball Switch combined with Tic-Tac-Toe = bloody brilliant!
I was begging my kids to play with me over and over again, which means they were getting tons of math practice. That’s a win for both of us.
Pick a spinner to work on a specific skill: numerals, tally marks, ten frames, fingers showing numbers, or dice. Then, place a pompom on top of the number spun on the game board.
First to get three in a row wins. Ah, but here’s the trick: if the other player spins the same number that you are already on, they get to switch your snowball for their snowball. Tricky, tricky!
Materials:
Shovel & Weigh
Sensory Bin
I am always looking for ways to add skills to the sensory bin, even if it is just exploring a concept. In this case, we incorporated the balance scale into our “snowy” sensory bin to explore weight.
The kids placed a certain number of plastic ice cubes on one side of the balance scale, and then carefully shoveled snow to try to make the scale balance.
Fair warning: You may want to place a tub within a larger tub (aka tub inception) to prevent some of that salt from going all over your floor.
Materials:
- sensory bin filled with salt
- balance scale
- shovels
- plastic ice cubes (Dollar Tree)
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MORE Winter Activities
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