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.
Where Does All the Snow Go | PLUM LANDING™
Grades K-5
Explore how snow, a form of precipitation, affects cities and towns in this animated song from PLUM LANDING™. Snow can’t soak into concrete, so it can easily build up and cause problems for city traffic. Plows and trucks work to pick up the snow and carry it away, clearing the walks and streets. But wait! Plants and animals want to know—what are you doing with our H2O?
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.
Weird Winter Phenomena | Spot on Science
Grades 3-8
A very cold winter brings wondrous icy objects! Did you know everyday bubbles can become hard ice bubbles? And, that Lake Michigan’s waves can roll ice balls? If that isn’t cool enough, learn how rivers and smaller lakes can produce spiraling ice circles when warm weather brings a thaw.
Surviving Winter: Animal Adaption Strategies | Mountain Lake Journal
Grades 6-12
As the season changes and weather gets colder, how do the animals of the Adirondack Park in upstate New York prepare for the tough winter ahead? Learn about the different survival mechanisms of a pileated woodpecker, porcupine, and baby coywolf, and how climate change could impact these animals’ survival strategies.
Activities, Games & Crafts
Science Notebook | Elinor Wonders Why
Grades PreK-K
Encourage you child to be like a scientist and keep track of her winter season learning in this science notebook. Use the charts and tables to organize thinking, document findings, and record data from scientific investigations.
Grover’s Winter Games
Grades PreK-K
Get ready for skiing, showboarding, and ice skating! To play Grover’s Winter Games, little learners practice their number and pattern recognition skills, then watch as the athletes perform their moves.
Make a Super Snowflake Headband
Grades PreK-3
Winter is a wonderful time of year. In places where the weather cools, the air becomes crisp, trees show off their bendy branches, and snow creates a wintry wonderland. Making a super snowflake headband is a great way to celebrate the magic of winter and all the fun it brings!
Sink or Float? The Ice Block Science Experiment
Grades 1-3
Get your child thinking about why some things float and some sink with this easy activity that freezes toys into an ice block. Your child can observe which items stick out on top of the ice, and which items get frozen on the bottom.
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.