Make the best of the chilly season and plan some outdoor activities. There are plenty of ways to keep warm when it’s cold outside.
- Explore snow: On a snowy day, catch snowflakes on black construction paper and examine with magnifying glasses – great for geometry units.
- Track it: Learn about seasonal cycles, hibernation, and what species are native to your region. Then take a nature walk after a fresh snowfall to identify bird, animal and kid tracks.
- Freeze it: freeze blocks with different materials: food colouring, sand, found natural objects. Great connections to the Arts and Science curriculum.
- Keep it Cozy Campaigns: Consider participating in National Sweater Day on Feb. 5th, collecting gently used outdoor clothing for donation, hosting a knitting bee, or a ‘re-gift’ party after the holidays.
- Celebrate winter solstice: Embrace the darkest time of year and celebrate the shortest day of the year right before the holidays (solstice is on December 22nd this year). Topics to explore: poetry, arctic communities, personal reflection, climate change.
Additional Resources:
Outdoor lessons in winter: how to get outside and learn, whatever the weather (The Guardian)
Winter play (Natural Learning Initiative)
Outdoor learning: Winter (Teach Early Years)
*Outdoor environmental lessons can be claimed in the Curriculum section of the Ontario EcoSchools certification application*
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