WINTERKIDS MISSION:
“WinterKids helps children develop healthy lifelong habits through education and fun, outdoor winter activity.”
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Designed by Joan Kaijala of Running Peas, this free printable guide is packed with playful, easy-to-set-up games that spark movement, laughter, and a little friendly competition.
Discover 12+ family-friendly trails in Southern Maine, handpicked by a local mom who turned pandemic hikes with her kids into a joyful mission to explore and share nature. These trails offer year-round adventure, creativity, and connection, perfect for families of all ages and abilities.
Looking for fun and easy ways to get outside with your kids this summer? We’ve gathered dozens of low-cost, high-smiles ideas. Perfect for porches, parks, and backyards, no special equipment required!
The changing of the seasons each fall means incredible foliage, the return of snuggly sweaters, pumpkin-spiced everything, and best of all, an opportunity for children to spend time outside learning about all things Autumn!
Summer is here! The kids are out of school and you want to keep them busy, but where do you start? Our Summer Activity Roundup is full of ideas to keep your kids busy moving, learning, and exploring this summer.
With spring officially here, it’s the perfect time for families to get out and move. Before you know it, summer will be here with its busy schedules and long, sunny days. Make the most of the spring months by incorporating active learning into your schedule, with these fun outdoor active learning activities
We all need to think “safety” when it comes to dressing for winter activities – to keep us warm and dry and stay visible when it gets dark since there are fewer hours of daylight. Here are some simple tips to help keep you and your family safe while you’re outside having fun this winter.
Presented by Hannaford Snack Pals. Watch as April Byron, a nutritionist at Hannaford, walks you through how to combine different food groups to make a healthy snack!
One of the best tools to get your kids moving is music that inspires them to dance! In the classroom, at home, in the yard, on the trail, wherever – here is a great winter playlist to help you and your kids move, learn and explore.
This easy-to-make Vegetable Soup recipe is ripped straight from the pages of our Guide to Active Outdoor Learning for Pre-K, and is a great way to warm up when the weather is chilly! Let the kids do all the heavy lifting!
Download, print, and cut these 8 autumn fun puzzles for preschoolers. In addition to the benefits of working on a puzzle, these can be great for vocabulary development and may spark an interest in getting outside!
The seasons are changing, and Mother Nature is putting on a show, but you’ve got to get outside in order to see it! We’ve put together a fall playlist with 18 songs that will help inspire your kids to move, learn and explore! These songs are great for backyard play, dancing in the living room and more! Enjoy!
This “Blizzard Snack” is ripped straight from the pages of our Guide to Outdoor Active Learning, and is a great way to beat the heat with a healthy treat this summer! Let the kids do all the heavy lifting, and just make sure there’s an adult present to turn on the blender.
Looking for something new to liven up these long summer days? We’ve put together a summer playlist with 52 songs that will help inspire your kids to move, learn and explore! These songs are great for backyard play, dancing in the living room and more! Enjoy!
These fruit & veggie “sushi” roll-ups are fun to make, and even more fun to eat! Whether you have adventurous or picky eaters, this is a great way to get them to try a little something new, along with something already familiar. Making this healthy snack together is fun for the whole family!
Animal Action Cards are a fun and simple way to incorporate nature-based learning with movement. We’ve included 15 animals in this set of action cards – just a few of the many animals that you can find during spring in our Maine wetlands. We hope this activity also sparks an interest in exploring wetlands and learning more about these important habitats.
These banana popsicles are easy to make and require just three ingredients. They’re a fun, delicious, and healthy treat that kids of any age can make for themselves!
Print, laminate, and cut these 9 customizable spring recreation picture puzzles for preschoolers. In addition to the benefits of working on a puzzle, these can be great for vocabulary development and may spark an interest in getting outside!
Our WinterKids Spring Playlist includes music for moving, learning, and exploring throughout the spring season. This playlist is great for backyard play, dancing in the living room, road tripping, yoga, and more! Enjoy!
In this nature-based art activity, students will learn more about trees, then choose something they love about winter in Maine and illustrate it on their tree cookie!
In this activity, students will conduct an experiment in order to find which solid melts the fastest: snow or ice. Many thanks to the 2nd Grade teachers at Helen Thompson School in West Gardiner, Maine for sharing this great activity guide during the 2020 WinterKids Winter Games!
In this activity, students make volcanoes with snow and a few other ingredients. While creating their volcanoes, they will explore the states of matter – including solids, liquids, and gasses! Thank you to the wonderful teams of teachers from: Glenburn Elementary in Glenburn, Maine, Bay Ridge Elementary in Cutler, Maine, and Dr. Levesque Elementary in Frenchville, Maine, that contributed to this activity during the 2020 WinterKids Winter Games!
Bring the story, An Orange in January, to life through a fun relay! This activity is a great way to encourage movement while strengthening the comprehension of the story. Thank you to the team of Kindergarten teachers at Edna Libby School in Standish, Maine for creating and sharing this activity with us during the 2020 WinterKids Winter Games!
These activities were designed for students in Kindergarten and 1st grade, as a fun way to review math concepts outdoors and incorporate movement into their learning. Thank you to the teachers at Glenburn Elementary for creating and sharing these two activities with us during the 2020 WinterKids Winter Games!
Studies show that getting outside helps children to be more positive, creative, and adaptable, and more importantly, has a strong potential to improve mental health in areas of general wellbeing, resilience, restoration, and cognition. We believe that the shorter, darker, winter days make getting outside more important than any other time of year. So what are you waiting for? If it’s cold where you are, bundle your children up, and give some of these ideas for outdoor winter fun a try!
This activity was designed for students in early elementary. After learning about the Properties of Matter, students use balloons and colorful water to create ice orbs for an outdoor winter garden display. Thank you to the team of educators at Ash Point Community School in Owls Head, Maine who shared this activity with us during the 2020 WinterKids Winter Games!
This activity was designed for students in 2nd grade. After researching and learning about snowflakes in the classroom, students head outside to catch snowflakes and study them with magnifying glasses. Created and shared by the amazing teachers at Ames Elementary School in Searsmont, Maine!
Here is a fun, nutrition themed spin of the game The Price is Right, created and shared by the amazing teachers at HB Emery Jr. Memorial School in Limington, Maine!
This fun movement activity brings the classic board game Hungry Hungry Hippos to life! Thank you to the wonderful team of teachers at Edna Libby Elementary School in Standish, Maine for designing, implementing, and sharing this activity! We’ve also included a list of some of our favorite children’s literature books about hockey!
This is a fun, movement-based extension activity for the Creating A Better Plate lesson from the WinterKids Guide to Active Outdoor Learning. Thank you to the wonderful team of teachers at Harrison Elementary School in Harrison, Maine who designed, implemented, and shared this activity!
This is a great activity for connecting a nutrition/healthy foods study to Common Core ELA Standards. Thank you to the wonderful team of teachers at Dr. Levesque Elementary in Frenchville, Maine who designed, implemented, and shared this activity during the 2020 WinterKids Winter Games!
The changing of the seasons each fall means incredible foliage, the return of snuggly sweaters, pumpkin-spiced everything, and best of all, an opportunity for children to spend time outside learning about all things Autumn! We’ve rounded up some fun ways you and your family can get outside this season to celebrate fall.
Print, laminate, and cut these 11 customizable summer recreation picture puzzles for preschoolers. In addition to the benefits of working on a puzzle, these can be great for vocabulary development and may spark an interest in a new outdoor sport!
This swimming animals themed sensory play provides an opportunity for children to work on their fine motor skills, creativity, social skills and literacy skills, as children retell a story and bring it to life using items at the table!
The heat is on this summer, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs to stay cooped up near the air conditioner! We’ve pulled together 15 ways you can incorporate water and ice into your family’s active outdoor play time this summer to beat the heat and still have a blast outside! Activities Using Water Build your own sprinkler using a large bottle (via Housing a Forest) Take it up a notch using PVC pipe & pool noodles for this kiddie sprinkler (via Mom Endeavors) Or, if you’ve been enjoying our Bike Shop Dramatic Play activity, build a tricycle/bike wash to add […]
Connecting to nature can restore our sense of wellbeing. For children, this connection is best made through play – whether outdoors in nature or indoors with natural elements. That’s why the folks behind Outdoor Classroom Day have created a full playlist of ideas from amazing organizations and individuals who are passionate about nature play, to help engage your children in active outdoor learning! 01 Go on a Nature Walk Explore new words with a girl and her father as they go on an exciting nature walk. Source: Sesame Street in Communities 02 Explore a watery world with pond dipping Summer […]
It’s the perfect time of year to learn about the water cycle and explore ice! This fun and refreshing activity is great for a warm summer day. In this activity, children will develop an understanding of the water cycle as they sing and move along to a song, read stories, and observe water changing from a liquid to a solid, and from a solid back to a liquid. These ideas can be adapted and used in a home setting or classroom setting.
Studies show that sensory table play can be calming, and provide an opportunity for children to work on their fine motor skills, creativity, and social skills- if they are playing at the sensory table with another child. In addition to these, sensory tables can also help develop literacy skills as children retell a story and bring it to life using items at the table! They are great for both home and classroom learning environments!
Step aside, lemonade stand! Enter: bike shop! This activity can provide hours of creative and imaginative fun, while also fostering a love for bikes! Here you will find fantastic children’s books about bikes, steps and resources for creating your own dramatic play bike shop, and our favorite children’s songs about biking. Move, learn and explore!
If your kids were looking forward to summer camp, but are, instead, staying home this summer, we’ve got great news: Our friends at Back40 and The Trail Van have partnered up to deliver summer camp to your back yard! Best of all, they’re offering a 20% discount, just for you, as part of our WinterKids community, and will be donating 10% of proceeds from your rentals using the discount code below to WinterKids.
This learning activity is a fun way for students to reinforce math skills and be active during summer break. Please be sure to follow social distancing guidelines while working on this outdoor activity. Stay safe, stay active! Move, learn and explore!
Exploring the outdoors is a fun learning experience for kids of all ages. This activity will encourage children to observe the world around them by looking for natural items and collecting them in a unique and reusable container. Enjoy getting outdoors in every season, while enhancing your child’s powers of observation with this Spring Scavenger Hunt activity, straight from the pages of the WinterKids Guide to Active Outdoor Learning.
With playgrounds, gymnastics, swimming pools, sports teams, and more currently closed for our safety, we’re having to find other ways to keep our children moving and active. Yoga can be a great option for all ages and levels! No gear is needed, it can be practiced in a small space, or outdoors, solo, or together.
LEARN, EXPLORE, and MOVE with us! These ideas can be adapted and used in a home setting or classroom setting. Follow along for our book recommendations, fantastic resources for learning more about birds, a simple binoculars craft for backyard bird watching, bird-themed Simon Says, songs about birds, and even bird-themed yoga!
Let’s Dance! These DIY Wind Streamers are a fun art project, and they’ll help inspire curiosity and movement while they learn basic earth science lessons.
Take the kids outside-your yard or a park or other outdoor space where trees may have dropped branches. Time to play “pick up sticks!” Seriation is arranging objects in order by size, location or position. Sorting and ordering are the building blocks of mathematics.
We were inspired by “I LOVE the Rain” (one of our books of the month) to make little stick rafts for bugs and fairies! We anxiously waited for a rainy day to bring enough puddles and streams, so that we could give this a try. Next time it’s raining where you are, gather your supplies, slip on those rain boots and raincoats, and head outside to create your own stick rafts!
Looking for an indoor project? Try this art project with your children Seed Mosaics from the WinterKids Guide to Outdoor Active Learning, Preschool Edition. Kids (and adults) can get creative and make attractive, edible (for our bird friends) art to hang outside for the birds.
Spring is in the air, it’s a fun time of year to teach the kids about all the new things they can see and do outside whether rain or shine!
Our March books of the month will keep your kids busy and curious as we transition out of winter and into…spring!
Our book of the month for February teaches how nature stays warm and busy when it’s snowy outside. Whether you’re dealing with cabin fever or just looking for a fun new perspective when getting the kids outside in the snow, Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner (author) and Christopher Silas Neal (Illustrator) will reveal nature’s secret life beneath the snow.
Here is a simple activity for kids as you are gearing up for the new season and taking inventory for upcoming snow adventures. This is a great opportunity for kids to familiarize themselves with snow sports gear while working on their measuring skills.
December’s book of the month selections will help inspire a love for skiing and get them excited to say hello to winter…our favorite season!
Enjoy some time together outside while working on identifying patterns and creating patterns with natural objects. This activity is great for preschool to 2nd-grade level for either introducing the concept of patterns or for practicing and reinforcing understanding of patterns.
November’s book of the month selections will give you tools to help increase their awareness and engage their senses as you head outdoors this fall and winter!
Let’s get our bodies ready for winter fun! These stretches and agility challenges will help kids develop the balance, coordination, and quickness needed for many winter sports and activities.
Our picks for October books of the month will fuel curiosity on fall hikes, and help you as a parent or teacher learn creative ways to get outside, even when the weather is “bad”.
An outdoor, dramatic play activity inspired by the book Summer Supper!
After reading the story, children are invited to head to the farmers’ market to buy ingredients and make their own farm-to-fork dish! Succotash recipe card and farmer’s market shopping list downloads are provided in this blog post.
Fall is in the air! Can you feel it? Teach your kids how to fall in love with nature and the changing seasons with these picks for books of the month!
Inspire your kids’ curiosity for ways to eat healthy and local, and for playing in nature, with these picks for book of the month!
Fuel your child’s desire for an active summer outside by teaching them to start a summer outdoor adventure journal.
Our July picks for book of the month are all about kindness, thoughtfulness, and problem-solving skills…and of course, learning while enjoying nature!
Happy Groundhog Day from team WinterKids! We’ve put together this fun little maze to add a little extra fun to your day. Can you find your way from beginning to end?