winter Archives

25 Fun Penguin Crafts and Activities for Kids

November 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson 5 Comments

It’s mid-November down here in the Southern U.S. and we’ve (finally) started to get some cold weather. So there’s no doubt that winter’s around the corner.

I have to be honest: Winter is probably my least favorite season. Me and cold weather just do not get along. (I’m from Florida. What can I say?)

But I do love making winter-themed crafts with the family, so I thought I’d find some super cute penguin crafts for kids to share today! And I’m not just saying that. These are really, really adorable.

These penguin crafts for kids would be a great way to add art to a winter or Arctic unit!

If your kids like these, don’t forget to check out some snowman crafts for kids you can make too!

25 Fun Penguin Crafts and Activities for Kids

1. Coffee Filter Penguin Craft – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Tacky the Penguin Craft – I Heart Crafty Things

3. Penguin Sensory Bottle – Teaching Mama

4. Penguin Feathers Science Experiment – Raising Little Superheroes

5. Sledding Penguins Frozen Banana Snack – Reading Confetti

6. Easy Penguin Bookmark Corner – Red Ted Art

7. Paper Heart Penguin Craft – Crafty Morning

8. Penguin Coloring Page Craft – Kids Activities Blog

9. Round Penguin Craft – Easy Peasy and Fun

10. Girl Penguin Craft for Kids – Housing a Forest

11. Penguin Footprint Art – Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

12. Paper Cup Penguin Craft – The Imagination Tree

13. Easy Origami Penguin Cards – Red Ted Art

14. Penguin Ice Cube Counting Game – Preschool Powol Packets

15. Skating Penguin Small World – Adventures of Adam

16. Macaroni Penguin – Parenting Chaos

17. Penguin Snowball I Spy Game – Simple Fun for Kids

18. Penguin Lacing Cards – Living Life and Learning

19. Penguin Water Bead Sensory Bin – 3 Dinosaurs

20. Circle Penguin Craft – Reading Confetti

21. Clay Penguin Photo Holder – Artsy Craftsy Mom

22. Penguin Puppets – I Can Teach My Child

23. Royal Penguin Kids’ Craft – I Heart Crafty Things

24. DIY Penguin Math Counters – The Educators’ Spin On It

25. Popsicle Stick Bow Tie Penguin Craft – Crafty Morning

If you loved these penguin crafts for kids, check out more of our winter learning ideas!

And you can get more fun winter teaching tips on my Winter Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

This post is part of the Penguin free unit study roundup! Stop by to read more penguin learning ideas from my fellow bloggers!

Toilet Paper Roll Penguin – Playdough and Popsicles

Children’s Books about Penguins – The Jenny Evolution

Fun Penguin Life Cycle App – iGameMom

Penguin Sight Words – Adventures of Adam

Do You Want to Dress a Penguin? – Sight Sound and Reading

Penguin Dress Up Activity – Schooling a Monkey

Penguin Videos for Kids – Tales of Education at Home

Slippery Ice Science Experiment – Craft Create Calm

Penguin Notebooking Pages – The Natural Homeschool

50 Winter Books for Kids

October 28, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

It takes a while for cold weather to reach us all the way down here in the South. But once it comes, it tends to stay for the rest of the season. Around the middle of November, we pull out our coats and we typically wear them without a break until April. 🙂

Last year, I shared plenty of free winter printables for kids and this year I wanted to follow up with a fun book list: Winter Books for Kids! I hope you love these stories! There are beautiful board books, cozy stories, and even a few nonfiction books to help kids learn more about this season!

50 Winter Books for Kids

1. Bright Baby Touch-and-Feel Winter by Roger Priddy

2. Animals in Winter (Let’s Read and Find Out Science) by Henrietta Bancroft

3. Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston

4. Winter Walk by Virginia Snow

5. The Mitten by Jan Brett

6. The Berenstain Bears’ Winter Wonderland by Jan & Mike Berenstain

7. The Storm Whale in Winter by Benji Davies

8. Winter Woes by Marty Kelley

9. The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming

10. Daniel’s Winter Adventure (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) by Becky Friedman

11. Winter: A Pop-Up Book by David Carter

12. Let It Snow by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

13. The Animals’ Winter Sleep by Lynda Graham-Barber

14. Before Morning by Joyce Sidman

15. A Warm Winter Tail by Carrie A. Pearson

16. Winter Lullaby by Barbara Seuling

17. Mouse’s First Snow by Lauren Thompson

18. It’s Winter! (Celebrate the Seasons!) by Susan Swan

19. Ride the Big Machines in Winter: My Big Machines by Carmen Mok

20. Bugs and Bugsicles: Insects in the Winter by Amy S. Hansen

21. Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen

22. All About Animals in Winter by Martha E. H. Rustad

23. No Two Alike by Keith Baker

24. A Winter’s Tale (Peter Rabbit) by Beatrix Potter

25. Winter by Gerda Muller

26. Winter, Awake! by Linda Kroll

27. Winter Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty

28. One Winter’s Day by M. Christina Butler

29. How Do You Know It’s Winter (Rookie Read-About Science) by Lisa M. Herrington

30. A Bed for the Winter, Level 1 by Karen Wallace

31. Little Critter: Just a Snowman by Mercer Mayer

32. Winter is Here! by Heidi Pross Gray

33. Winter Eyes by Douglas Florian

34. Guess How Much I Love You in the Winter: Deluxe Paper-Cut Edition by Sam McBratney

35. Winter on the Farm (Little House Picture Book) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

36. Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman

37. The Science of Snow: The Story of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino

38. Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow by Sharon Gibson Palermo

39. Lemonade in Winter: A Book about Two Kids Counting Money by Emily Jenkins

40. Winter’s Tale by Robert Sabuda

41. Winter Friends by Carl R. Sams II

42. When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan

43. The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Snow by Joanna Cole

44. Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser

45. One Winter’s Night by Claire Freedman

46. Winter Snow by Liesbet Slegers

47. The Winter Visitors by Karel Hayes

48. I See Winter by Charles Ghigna

49. Waiting Through Winter by Jason Farley

50. Baby Loves Winter: A Karen Katz Lift-the-Flap Book

Love these cold weather stories? Grab more of our winter learning resources!

Need more winter activity inspiration? Follow my Winter Activities for Kids board on Pinterest!

Fun Snowman Crafts for Kids

October 21, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I have to be honest. Winter is not my favorite season. There’s just something about cold weather that makes me want to curl up in bed and never get up. What I’m saying is that I’m basically a bear. 🙂

But I do love sharing winter crafts with my kids! Since we live in the South, we almost never see actual snow during winter, so we have to make our own. And these fun snowman crafts for kids are a simple way to do it! Check out these easy crafts you can share with your children this winter!

If you love these, don’t miss our All About Snowflakes Unit – a learning pack for kids in grades K-3! And if you have younger children, our Winter Sight Word Flashcards are an easy way to reinforce reading skills!

Fun Snowman Crafts for Kids

1. Borax Crystal Snowman – Science Kiddo

2. Cupcake Liner Snowman – I Heart Crafty Things

3. Snowman Factory – Buggy and Buddy

4. Melting Snowman Baking Soda Science Activity – Little Bins for Little Hands

5. Magic Foaming Snowman – Fun at Home with Kids

6. Build a Snowman Activity Tray – Happy Hooligans

7. Shredded Paper Snowman – Housing a Forest

8. Snowman Suncatcher – Craftulate

9. Squishy Snowman Sensory Bag – Mama Papa Bubba

10. Easy Snowman Footprint Craft – Teach Mama

11. Paper Snowman Craft – Easy Peasy and Fun

12. Tin Can Snowman – Hands On as We Grow

13. Snowman Stick Puppets – I Heart Crafty Things

14. LEGO Snowman – Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls

15. Name Snowmen – Fun-A-Day

16. Build a Snowman Bottle – Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

17. Melting Snowman Slime – Little Bins for Little Hands

18. Egg Carton Snowman – Sugar Aunts

19. Paper Plate Snowman – I Heart Crafty Things

20. Cotton Ball Snowman – Easy Peasy and Fun

Make winter even more fun for your kids with these activities!

Plus, get more winter activity ideas on my Winter Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

Stop by and get more winter craft and activity inspiration from these posts!

Snowflake Printable Math Activity from Playdough and Popsicles

Exciting Children’s Reading List about Snow from Crafty Mama in ME

Board Books Celebrating Winter from The Jenny Evolution

Snow Science from iGameMom

Snowman Ornament from CraftCreateCalm

Melting Ice Science Experiment from Tales of Education at Home

Want to Build a Snowman? from Mrs. Karle’s Sight and Sound Reading

Literacy Games for Kids: Outdoor Ice Scrabble from Schooling a Monkey

Snow Games for Kids Outside from FrogMom

5 Fun Winter Crafts for Kids

January 26, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Is anyone else kind of “over” winter? It seemed like the weather was never going to get cold and then BOOM! we all got hit with a massive winter storm and I was like “Okay, that’s enough cold for now.”

To get back to enjoying the fun of winter, I put together a quick roundup of fun winter crafts for kids that you can do in just a few minutes!

Today is also another Laugh and Learn linky party! Check out our favorite posts from last week and read more great posts from awesome bloggers below!

5 Fun Winter Crafts for Kids

Honestly, crafting is not one of my natural gifts. I’m the type of person that needs step-by-step directions to do most tasks. But these crafts are so easy even a non-crafty person (like myself) can do them in no time!

To get the scoop on how to make these crafts with your kids, stop over at Thinking Outside the Sandbox to get the details!

5 Fun Winter Crafts for Kids – Thinking Outside the Sandbox

Resources to Make Winter Crafts for Kids:

To make winter crafting even easier, try these great resources!

For more winter fun, follow my Winter Activities for Kids board on Pinterest!

Onward to the linky!

This week we have some great links to share with you. We are very excited to bring you another great opportunity to linkup with us!

Welcome to our 67th week of Laugh and Learn – Home & Family Linkup! Laugh and Learn Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.
New: We have decided to expand our linkup to home and family categories! You are still welcome to share homeschooling or parenting posts with us. That will always be part of the #LaughLearnLinkup!

Each and every week, all of the hosts will pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on three blogs.

We are also sharing the top four posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!
Reminder: Please share this linkup! You can help us build a great family, home, parenting, and homeschool group.
Laugh and Learn Linkup was created by Tina from Los Gringos Locos. We want to thank her for this opportunity and send her big hug on her new adventure.

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Selena

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!
Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
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Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help them learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids, and their funny antics. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
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Most Clicked on Link

Selena’s pick for this week…

Note from Selena:
I love these ideas for making geography fun and hands-on in your homeschool!

Sarah’s pick for this week…

Note from Sarah:
We’ve actual conducted an experiment this year. With bipolar, ADHD, aspergers, and anxiety all in the mix, January is our most difficult month. So this year we just took it off. It’s been nice not feeling guilty about being to tired to get school done. I love Lindsey’s ideas for easing back into the routine.

Haley’s pick for this week…

Note from Haley:
These look amazing and I may even be able to get my kids to eat them!

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image. If you enjoyed these picks as much as we did, please share them also!

Have you joined our Pinterest Board yet?

Follow Tina Ernspiker’s board #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites} on Pinterest.

Now give us your best posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

Snowflake 2nd Grade Math Factors Craft

January 21, 2016 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

We actually had a chance of snow flurries in our forecast this week! In Georgia, that’s a huge deal. A chance of snow flurries means a state of emergency.

Turns out that we didn’t actually get any snow, which was disappointing to my kids. But we kept the snowy theme going with a fun paper snowflake craft featuring 2nd grade math factors!

Check out our winter-y math craft below!

Snowflake 2nd Grade Math Factors Craft

Before we could start talking about math factors, though, Pooh needed a quick primer on multiplication. So we talked about making equal groups – one of the ways we can teach multiplication.

First, we started with a simple multiplication fact – 3 groups of 3 equals 9.

Then we learned that you can also make nine by using 1 group of 9 dots.

Which means 9 has three factors: 1, 3, 9. All three can be multiplied in different combinations to make 9.

Time to make our math factor snowflakes! We used our Snowflake Math Factor Printables and a set of Unifix Cubes to help Pooh visualize how to find his multiplication factors.

As we made equal groups of 8, 4, and 2, Pooh discovered the missing math factors that make 24: 3, 6, and 12.

As we discovered the missing factors, Pooh filled in his snowflake.

Now to cut it out!

Roo was in the kitchen as we worked. He came upon one of the paper scraps and declared it “a great white shark’s tooth”. Alrighty then.

We added masking tape to the back and hung our snowflakes on the window.

Ta-da! We got some “snow” after all!

This was a really fun, hands-on activity that also served as a nice way to talk about multiplication without overwhelming my 2nd grader.

If you’d like to make this craft at home, grab a set of our free Snowflake Math Factor printables! There are combinations up to 144, so you can easily use this with 2nd to 4th graders. Plus, the answers are included!

For even more winter weather fun, pick up our All About Snowflakes unit study! It has our snowflake math factors, as well as plenty of other science, grammar, and Pre-K activities about snow!

We’re not the only ones having fun with snow this week! Check out the other snow and ice activities from the Early Elementary Blogging Team!

More Snow & Ice Learning Activities from the Early Elementary Team:

Snow Shapes with Penguin Shape Printable from Life Over C’s

Snow Prints Process Art from Still Playing School

Letter Learning & Spelling With Ice Pens from Preschool Powol Packets

Snow & Ice – Kids Arts & Crafts Activities from The Natural Homeschool

Lego Snowflake Symmetry from Rainy Day Mum

Simple Winter Science How to Catch Snowflakes from Lemon Lime Adventures

Antarctica Activity with Snow Dough from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Snowflake 2nd Grade Math Factors from Look We’re Learning

20 Kid Crafts for Winter

December 12, 2013 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Winter’s fast approaching and it’s a great time to break out some winter crafts for the kids! I’m not in love with winter, but I do love to make cute crafts and that’s usually enough to perk me up out of the winter blues. 🙂 Now that we have a very active preschooler, she always wants to make things with scissors and glue, so crafting is a perfect way to spend some time with her.

I’ve rounded up some of our favorite kid crafts for winter from around the web and I’m sharing them here today! We’ll be trying out a few of these this month and through the season, but I’d love to hear which ones catch your eye as well!

By the way, if you want more winter craft ideas, don’t miss our lists of penguin crafts for kids and snowman crafts for kids!