As the seasons change, we can look forward to snowy winter days ahead and all the fun they bring! Ice skating, snow forts, and cuddling up with a mug of hot cocoa for a family movie night are just a few of our favorites.
This chilly time of year is also a great opportunity for kids of all ages to observe, ask questions, and explore the changes they see happening around them — from how liquids, like water, freeze and why birds migrate, to how the Earth’s tilt impacts the daylight hours and temperatures we experience.
Enjoy the hands-on activities and crafts, online games, and fascinating videos below to jumpstart your family’s seasonal explorations and to host your own winter weather experiments!
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Learn All About the Season
Seasons | Sesame Street
Grades PreK-K
Learn about the four seasons alongside your favorite Sesame Street characters! Join Elmo and Adrian Grenier, and Zoe, Rosita, and Abby for two sing-alongs about annual weather patterns.
Snow Shelter
Grades 3-5
Watch as the kids on DragonflyTV demonstrate how and why an igloo-like shelter called a quinzhee can keep you warm at night. Learn how snow and clouds affect air temperatures and serve as insulators against extreme cold and heat.
Changing Daylight in Summer and Winter
Grades 3-5
Observe the effect of Earth’s tilt on the amount of daylight that occurs in the northern and southern hemispheres with these videos and diagrams. This resource provides opportunities for students to observe, ask questions, and construct explanations about cyclical patterns, such as differences in the duration of daylight in summer and winter and Earth’s rotation.
Cool Ways Animals Adapt For the Winter | Spot on Science
Grades 3-8
Margaret shares how animals survive the winter, including warm layers, hibernation, and torpor.
Where Do Birds Go in Winter? | It’s Okay to Be Smart
Grades 6-12
As winter approaches, V-shaped flocks glide overhead as the world’s birds begin their long treks to warmer climates. Humans used to have some pretty crazy theories about where birds went for winter, like the moon, or to the bottom of the ocean. How did we learn the real story? And where DO birds go for winter? Find out in this video from It’s Okay to Be Smart!
Activities, Games & Crafts
Homemade Snow Globes
All Ages
A homemade snow globe is a childhood must! The best part about these snow globes is that they give you the perfect opportunity to get rid of some of those pesky plastic figurines lying around the house. Another idea is to use LEGOs — if your child can part with them!
Snow Search Game
Grades PreK-K
In this searching game from Sid the Science Kid, your child can practice spatial skills and learn about using maps while helping uncover toys hidden in the snow.
How to Make Snow Paint
Grades PreK-K
Making two-ingredient snow paint is such a fun craft and sensory activity for kids! The craft is not only a boredom-buster winter activity but is also a great way to open up a conversation with your kids about the changing weather and snow in winter.
Ice Science Experiment: What Makes Ice Melt Fastest?
Grades 1-3
This cool science experiment shows how different variables impact how quickly ice melts.
Surviving Winter | Interactive Lesson
Grades 3-8
In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students learn how animals survive the change in conditions that occurs each winter. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a science focus on varied physical and behavioral adaptations.
Looking for even more games and educational resources for young learners? Go to the Celebrating Winter Collection on PBS Kids for Parents.