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Preschool Winter Animals Theme
Winter Animals are all around this time of year-not all animals hibernate in the cold weather! This Winter Animals Preschool Theme page is filled with preschool activities and ideas for all areas of your classroom.
You'll find more themes to help you with your planning on my preschool themes page.
Let the Theme planning begin! You can either scroll down through this page to see all of the preschool activities for your this theme or click the link below to go to specific preschool activity types you are looking for.
Click here for a Winter Theme Activities page
Click here for a Hibernation Theme page.
Click here for a Ground Hog Day Theme page.
Winter Animals Theme Art
Black and White Penguin Collage
Materials Needed: Pictures of penguins; black and white scraps of paper; wiggly eyes; small orange triangles (for beaks!); school glue; construction paper to glue collage on.
Encourage the children to tear the black and white scraps of paper to make their own penguin! Some of your children may comment "I can't make a penguin." Oh yes they can! Children are very used to being told, step by step, how to "make" something that they don't have the option to just create and creating, after all, is what art is all about!
Show them the pictures of penguins. Discuss what they look like: Black bodies, white stomachs, eyes, beak, etc.). Tearing the paper is great for their fine motor skills.
VARIATION: If you want to encourage scissor cutting skills, give each child a rectangle shape of black paper (about 8" X 4") and a white rectangle of paper (about 5" X 3").
The teacher takes one piece of the black paper and says "I'm going to make a penguin body. (Get your scissors and start cutting with no specific shape in mind and say) "Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut..." Continue until you've cut out a random shape. Say "That's the body. Now I'm going to make the white belly. (Do the same with a white piece of paper saying) Cut, cut, cut, cut....". Continue until you have a white shape cut out. Glue the white to the black and tell the children "There, I made a penguin! I'm going to give it 2 eyes and a beak...there! Now you make your own penguins! I think all of our penguins will look different!"
This was remarkably successful with our preschoolers! We had tiny, baby penguins, large penguins, etc.! They looked great and the children were quite proud of their artwork!
Hedgehogs
We like to make clay hedgehogs. The children really enjoy this. The make the shape of hedgehogs using white modeling clay, then put either small sticks, straws or toothpicks in for spikes, leave them over night then paint them brown.
Thank you, Nuala, from Belfast, United Kingdom for submitting this idea!
My Many Colored Animal Sun Catcher
Materials Needed: Winter animal shapes (precut on wax paper); variety of colored tissue paper (pre cut into small squares or other shape you are working on); paintbrushes; white school glue.
Have children choose an animal that you have pre cut and then cover it with different colors of tissue paper using the glue.
When dry, you can hole punch the top and hang with ribbon from a window. Very pretty!
Winter Animals Theme Block Center Ideas
Winter Animal Homes
You could use either small, plastic winter animals OR beanie baby animals OR large stuffed animals in your block area. The children can then make homes for them with the blocks or the toy animals can make homes for themselves! This usually provides some great dramatic play in the block area!
Winter Animals Theme Circle Time Ideas
Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your Winter Animal Theme!
Puppet Show!
Materials Needed: A winter animals puppet!
Introduce the puppet to the children. "Hi everyone! I'd like you to meet my friend___!" Give the children time to introduce themselves or just say "Hi" to each child with your puppet!
Puppet: Shivers a lot and looks around at the children.
You: _______, you're shaking. Are you scared?
Puppet: "No, I'm not scared. I'm FREEZING! Why am I so cold today?
You: Perhaps because of the season it is. Boys and girls, do you remember what season it is, the one that comes after fall?
Puppet: OH! Is it REALLY winter already? That's why it's cold outside! You know, a lot of my friends have to get ready for the cold. Boys and girls, what do you do to get ready for the cold?
Encourage the children for winter clothing answers such as "What do you put on your hands in winter so that they don't get too cold? What else do you wear in winter (coats, scarves, boots, etc.).
Puppet: Those are great ways to stay warm! My animal friends do different things to get ready. Want to know what they do?
Puppet: Let's listen! Our teacher is going to read us a story about winter animals!
Have the puppet sit on your lap, or near you. We sometimes have to put the puppet away at story time if it becomes too much of a distraction! You can tell them that the puppet will be in the library for them to play with later on in the morning!
A great story to follow up this puppet show with is When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan. However, any winter animal story will do!
What Am I?
Play this guessing game with the children relating to Winter Animals.
I am small. I am white. I have long ears. I hop. What Am I?
Ask similar questions for each animal that you have talked about this winter.
Snack Recipe Ideas to Cook Up for Your Winter Animals Theme!
Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them to learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific Winter Animal theme questions while making these fun snacks!
Winter Popsicles
Ingredients and Items Needed: Fruit juice, ice cube trays, aluminum foil, craft sticks, small (1/8 cup) measurer.
Have children fill an ice cube tray compartment with fruit juice. I listed a 1/8 cup measurer, but you could also use eye droppers.
Cover the ice cube trays with aluminum foil and gently place a craft stick in the middle of each compartment, through the foil.
Freeze! Enjoy a snack later in the day or the next day!
Winter Animals Theme Ideas to Transform Your Dramatic Play Area
The Three Bears
Materials Needed: Set up your dramatic play area with 3 place settings (for porridge), three chairs, three small towels (for beds) and, of course, a few versions of the book The Three Bears! 4 children at a time should be in this center to act out the story. They may not act it out, they may just be the bears living in a cave in winter! Go with it!
Winter Animals Theme Ideas for your Easel--More Than Just Painting (Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom!)
Snow on My Home
Provide sidewalk chalk, cups of water and black and brown paper.
The children can color with the wet chalk to cover the paper as an animal's den would look after a snowstorm! The appearance of the wet chalk is always exciting to the children!
Winter Animal Theme Large Group Games that help build their muscles while they have fun together
Parachute--Catch the Animal
Materials Needed: Parachute (or large sheet to use as one) and stuffed animals.
With children holding handles or ends of parachute, show them how to raise the chute from their waist to over their head while all counting together to 4 (1,2,3,4..hold it up a little more---poem to use!).
Then count to 4 slowly as you all lower the chute to your waists. Practice a few more times.
Instruct them to do it again, counting slowly, so you can put toys under the parachute..but they should NOT let go of the parachute.
When done, tell them that when they count to 4 and the chute is up high, you will call one of their names and that person and ONLY that person, should run UNDER the parachute, grab a stuffed animal and come back out. Remind them that they need to do this QUICKLY!
Give each child a turn.
EXTENSION: If time allows, place some of the animals ON the parachute and try to shake them all off!
Winter Animals Theme Ideas for Your Library and Literacy Activities for your Preschool Classroom
Book Suggestions for the Library
(I LOVE Amazon, and some of the links below will take you to the Amazon website. If you do choose to purchase yours through Amazon, they do send me a few cents--which supports my coffee habit! )
Animals in Winter (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science) by Henrietta Bancroft & Richard G. Van Gelder
Bear Snores On (The Bear Books) by Karma Wilson
Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1) by Millicent E. Selsam
Cuddly Dudley by Jez Alborough
Flip and Flop by Dawn Apperley
The Hat by Jan Brett
Hopper by Marcus Pfister
The Mitten< by Jan Brett
One Snowy Day (level 1) (Hello Reader) by Jeffrey Scherer
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? (Brown Bear and Friends) by Bill Martin Jr.
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lister
Walpole by Syd Hoff
When Will It Snow? by Bruce Hiscock
When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan
Who's Been Here?: A Tale in Tracks by Fran HodgkinsLibrary Wall Winter Animals Theme Decor
Hang pictures of as many animals as you can! Polar Bears, squirrels hamsters, birds, penguins, etc. Don't forget to add environmental pictures too, if you have any, such as snow covered mountains, Alaska, etc.
Winter Animals Theme activities to help your Preschoolers develop those small muscles in their hands and work on math skills!
Winter Rabbits
Materials Needed: Rabbit shapes for the children to trace (best if drawn on cardstock or some other stiffer paper); markers; scissors; a bin of cotton balls, glue; 2 large wiggle eyes for each child; construction paper to trace on.
Encourage the children to trace a rabbit and then cut out their rabbit (as best they can!). Provide glue, 2 wiggle eyes and a bin of cotton balls for them to make their rabbit! So much fine motor development going on with the tracing, cutting and gluing on the cotton balls! This activity also helps them to develop their eye-hand coordination. Add counting skills by asking, "How many cotton balls did it take to cover your rabbit?"
Winter Animals Theme Music and Movement Activities and Ideas to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin'!
Polar Bear Song
Sung to the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
A polar bear lives in Alaska.
He never gets cold in a storm!
He swims in icy cold water
His heavy coat keeps him warm.
Warm, warm, warm, warm.
His heavy coat keeps him warm.
Warm, warm, warm, warm.
His heavy coat keeps him warm.
Penguin Songs!
To the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb:
The penguin has a coat of black, Coat of black, coat of black.
The penguin has a coat of black, Watch her waddle up and back.
The penguin has a body of white, Body of white, body of white.
The penguin has a body of white, Watch her waddle out of sight.
To the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:
Penguins, penguins having fun,
Waddling in the winter sun.
Waddling fast and waddling slow,
Waddling to and waddling fro.
Penguins, penguins having fun,
Waddling in the winter sun.
Winter Animals Activities for the Senses!
Ice Fishing
Materials Needed: Add water and ice cubes to your water table. Add a plastic fishing game (you can purchase them at teacher stores or department stores). Add some plastic penguins or polar bears!
"Snowball" Fishing
Materials Needed: Add lots of cotton balls (and colored pom poms if you wish!); bowls and spoons or tongs.
Encourage the children to "fish" for the snowballs and put them in the bowl!
Burrows and Tunnels
Dampen the sand in your sand table. Provide small, toy animals that would live in the ground (chipmunks, etc.) and encourage the children to make tunnels in the sand for the animals to run, play and sleep in!
Winter Animals Theme Science Activities--for your Preschool Scientists in Training!
Safe Bird Food
Materials Needed: Store bought refrigerator rolls, bird seed, yarn (or string or ribbon). Have the children make a hole in the middle of the UNCOOKED refrigerator roll. They should then press the roll (both sides) into the birdseed.
Place them on a cookie sheet and bake as directed.
When done, tie a ribbon, string, or piece of yarn through the hole! They've now made a bird feeder that is safe for the birds.
Many activities still call for peanut butter to be used to make bird feeders. We don't use peanut butter or peanuts at all in the classroom for several reasons:
- There are high incidents of preschoolers developing peanut allergies during these years.
- The birdseed itself is made from crushed peanut shells.
- It has been reported that peanut butter is a difficult texture for birds (especially baby birds) to swallow and to digest.
Explore their Homes
Materials Needed: Old bird nest or bee hive; magnifying glasses; journal and crayon (to encourage children to draw what they see!).
Many preschool teachers have nests and/or inactive beehives they have found or that are given to them. We tend to bring these out for the children to explore in the springtime. However, winter is a GREAT time as well to show them the types of homes the animals live in during winter!
Writing Activity Ideas for Your Preschool Classroom's Winter Animals Theme!
Our Polar Bear Book
Materials Needed: Paper, colored pencils
Following the same idea as Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear by Bill Martin, Jr., encourage the children to draw a picture of what they might see if they were a Polar Bear! Also, encourage them to write their own name on the page.
Go to MAIN THEMES Page for more theme ideas!
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Hey there! Welcome to Preschool Plan It! I’m Cheryl, a preschool teacher of over 20 years.
I KNOW, I know, you spend hours of time developing your preschool themes, activities and preschool lesson plans each week. You are commited to planning preschool themes and activities that are engaging hands-on, interactive, fun AND meet the goal of supporting each child’s level of growth and development.
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