The 6th Annual WinterKids Winter Games have wrapped, and things got seriously WILD!

My Wild Winter WinterKids Winter Games 2023

We’ll announce our application date and additional details for next year’s Winter Games in mid-September. Set up a calendar reminder to visit our website when we do:

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January 9 – February 3, 2023

This year’s theme was “My Wild Winter,” Schools across Maine (along with 13 other states!) participated in four weeks of fun, active outdoor learning challenges!

Once again, the WinterKids Winter Games brought a little healthy competition to elementary schools across Maine. The four-week-long program, which spanned from January 9th to February 3rd, featured fun, active, and educational activities that get students moving and learning outside!

For our Sixth Annual WinterKids Winter Games, 3,000 students in 16 schools across Maine competed for $30,000 in cash and prizes in the Competitive Track, AND an estimated 7,000 students across 13 states participated in the flexible Play-Along Track. Ultimately, over 10,000 kids got outdoors and active throughout January!

6th Annual Winter Games Participation Tracks:

Competitive Track Label
  • 3,000 students in 16 schools across Maine competed for $30,000 in cash and prizes!

  • Full-school participation required

  • Each school was outfitted with a WinterKids Learn Outside Guide, a backpack filled with outdoor safety essentials courtesy of our sponsor, Kittery Trading Post, and toolkits with our PLAYBook and weekly incentives for all participating students.

  • Opportunities to win cash prizes from Central Maine Power Company!

  • Access to our private Winter Games Facebook group.

Play Along Track Label
  • We have run out of toolkits, but our PLAYBook and supplemental resources are available FREE here on our website. Register for access!

  • Classes can participate on their own or with other classes in the same school, and all at their own pace (even after the games have officially ended!)

  • The first 7,000 registered students were outfitted with our Winter Games PLAYBook and weekly incentives for all participating students (OUT OF STOCK)

Winter Games Map Legend 1

Our Winter Games PLAYBook Guides the Way!

Our easy-to-follow “My Wild Winter” Winter Games PLAYBook guides students through four weeks of fun outdoor learning challenges, with weekly incentives for all participating students who were registered before the start of the Games.

Playbook Inside Peek
2023 WinterKids Winter Games Playbook Cover

Week 1

January 9-13, 2023

FOCUS: Outdoor Physical Activity
INCENTIVE: Journal

Wild Winter Journal

Week 2

January 16-20, 2023
Sponsored by Backyard Farms

FOCUS: Nutrition
INCENTIVE: Smoothie Cup

Smoothie Cups

Week 3

January 23-January 27, 2023
Sponsored by Subway & Aroma Joe’s

FOCUS: Family Engagement
INCENTIVE: Pedometer

Pedeometers

Week 4

January 30-February 3, 2023

FOCUS: Winter Carnival
INCENTIVE: Recycled Disc Flyers

Flying Discs
Our students are much more aware of the fun they can have in these long winter months and it’s been wonderful to hear the positive feedback from our parents. It certainly made January fly right by!

-Nancy Stover, Prescott Memorial School, Washington ME

The activities gave us new, fresh ways to get the kids engaged outside. Students enjoyed the inquiry, and structure, yet freedom in the way they were able to carry out the activities. It also gave us a great chance to work together as a school, team, and community. “

-Karen Thurston, Andover Elementary

The community has been super excited, the whole school, there's been a different atmosphere and we're just really happy to be chosen to be part of this, this year.
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Hillary Hoyt
Teacher / Leroy H. Smith School
Kudos to you and this organization for mapping out such a wonderful program for Maine schools. I have been blown away by every aspect of this initiative.
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Christine Bertinet
Principal / Waterboro Elementary School
Win or lose, this has been a wonderful experience for our staff and our community.
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Ben Tripp
Principal / Ash Point Community School
Of course we want to win! But I feel like we've already won... It's an immediate result. You can see the difference in the kids."
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Crystal DaGraca
Principal / Swan's Island School
Ok, first and foremost, this is the COOLEST program.  The amount of thought that has gone into it is incredible.
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Sam Person
PE Teacher / Waterboro Elementary School
I am SO thankful for the impact this Winter Kids competition has on our kids. In this short time, the changes in attitudes, physical activity, even the helpfulness of students was very heart-warming.
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School Nurse
Piscataquis Community Elementary School
Because of this competition, my family is now rethinking our snack choices and making healthier ones, our kids and community have formed a wonderful bond coming together for one goal, and you managed to get a Mom, who hates winter and the cold, outside embracing the beauty of Maine having fun with her kids.
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Dayton Consolidated School Mom
How do you combine a community, school, home, nutrition, exercise, team, kids, parents, teachers, school spirit, awareness, and fun? Participate in WinterKids Winter Games!! Seriously had no idea how amazing this would be and what our community was capable of! The support and Camaraderie is incredible. What a positive experience this has been for our kids and all the parents too!
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Christina Barber
It has been inspirational to watch our community unite around a common purpose of healthy, active kids.
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Sarah Maxwell
Assistant Principal / Waldo T. Skillen School
Let's just say several parents told me their students were sleeping better at night and at school we've had much less behavior issues this week! Two very big positives for WinterKids Winter Games challenge week #2!!
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C. Ellis
Principal / Miles Lane Elementary
This was truly an inspiration to the kids, staff and families to embrace the winters here in Maine, more than they already have.
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C. Agreste
School Nurse / Dayton Consolidated School

Recent Winter Games News & Updates

WinterKids Announces Gold, Silver and Bronze Prize Winners in the 6th Annual WinterKids Winter Games!

The 6th annual WinterKids Winter Games wrapped up last week, with 16 schools competing statewide to win cash prizes for their schools!

2023 WinterKids Winter Games COMPETITIVE TRACK RESULTS

The 6th Annual WinterKids Winter Games wrapped up on Friday, February 3rd, and Things got Seriously Wild! Helpful Links: Our 16 Competitive Track schools across Maine finished WEEK 4 of […]

2023 WinterKids Winter Games Week 4 Recap + Moment of the Week Winner

Week 4 of the 2023 WinterKids Winter Games was focused on a wild winter carnival, and check out how much fun these competitive track schools had! Our 16 Competitive Track […]

2023 WinterKids Winter Games Week 3 Recap + Moment of the Week Winner

Week 3 of the 2023 WinterKids Winter Games was focused on Family Engagement, bringing classrooms and families together outside! Week 3 of the 2023 WinterKids Winter Games had our 16 […]

2023 WinterKids Winter Games Week 2 Recap + Moment of the Week Winner

Week 2 of the 2023 WinterKids Winter Games was focused on NUTRITION, and our Competitive Track participants HAD A DELICIOUS TIME! Week 2 of the 2023 WinterKids Winter Games had […]

2023 WinterKids Winter Games Week 1 Recap + Moment of the Week Winner

Week 1 of the 2023 WinterKids Winter Games was focused on Outdoor Physical Activity, and boy, did our Competitive Track participants get WILD! Our 16 competitive schools from across Maine […]

MEDIA COVERAGE

February 23, 2023

WinterKids names Winter Games winners

via CentralMaine.com
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February 15, 2023

Topsham takes silver in Winterkids Winter Games

via Portland Press Herald
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February 2, 2023

Perry WinterKids

via Fox 22 WFVX Bangor
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January 23, 2023

WinterKids is back

via WABI
Read More

THE 2023 WINTER GAMES WERE MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM:

Presented by:

Weekly Sponsors:

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