Do you use task boxes in your classroom? I love putting together these types of activities where kids are not only working on math and literacy, but improving their fine motor skills.
Task boxes are also a great way for kids to take ownership of their learning as they complete them on their own. These four task boxes are great to put together this winter to use in centers or as independent work.
The following winter-themed activities are all focused on shapes and colors. These are great for preschool and prekindergarten-aged students to be hands-on as they familiarize themselves with different shapes and identify and match colors.
All four activities are a part of my printable Winter Task Cards. Setting up the task boxes takes a little bit of prep (printing, cutting, and laminating) but you create activities that can be easily pulled out all season long.
Mitten Match
There's nothing worse than getting bundled up to get out the door and realizing you are missing one of your mittens! This is the problem students are solving in this activity. The match card has the colored right mitten and a blank other side.
Students will draw a match card and then search through the colored mittens to find the corresponding color. This could also be used when accessing students on their colors or in a small group where students use communication skills to problem solve ("Oh no! We're missing a red mitten, can you pass me the red?").
Build A Snowman
I am pretty sure all kids will agree that their favorite snowy day activity is building a snowman. In this task box, they get to build a colorful one! Students will draw a task card that will show them the colored snowballs they need to search for to build their snowman.
I would suggest printing multiple copies of the colored snowballs so that students can continue making snowmen until they run out of time or cards, whichever comes first. To extend this activity in a small group or one on one, you could practice using ordinal numbers ("What color did you put first? Which was second?").
Hot Cocoa Shapes
Who doesn't love hot cocoa and marshmallows?! This center is sure to be a favorite during this cozy season. All you need to do is print the hot cocoa shape mugs and the marshmallow shapes, and laminate them for future use.
After drawing a hot cocoa mug, students will identify the shape and find the matching marshmallows to put in their mug. There are nine different options for shapes, including pentagons and hexagons. What is great is that this task box can be easily differentiated by focusing on a couple shapes at a time.
Snow Globe Shapes
There is something magical about a wintery snow globe that kids are always drawn to as soon as the holiday decorations come out. In this activity, students will choose their own snow globe, identify the shape by the picture and also see the word underneath, then use their fine motor skills to fill in each shape.
This activity also uses small manipulatives, mini erasers or dot markers. You can find my favorite mini erasers on my Amazon Storefront right here. As with the cocoa activity, this one can be modified by focusing on any of the12 shapes to suit your class or students' needs.
You can find all these task boxes here on Teachers Pay Teachers. If you are looking for more winter activities, check out my Winter Name Crafts.
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