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By Kim Vij

Looking for Signs of Winter with Kids

Winter journal for kids featuring ways to look for signs of winter sampled in images like icicles, snowflakes, snowman and more

Use our Winter Observation Journal with your child and go out to search for the signs of Winter with your kids. Whether your neighborhood is covered in snow or not there are little signs to look for as the season changes.

What signs of winter will you discover together?

Winter journal for kids featuring ways to look for signs of winter sampled in images like icicles, snowflakes, snowman and more

This is the time of year when we get a little jealous of everyone else with snow. Here in the south, closer to the equator, we will probably never see it with our children. 

However, it’s still important no matter where you live to teach our children about the changes in season.

DOWNLOAD WINTER JOURNAL

Winter Observation Journal for Kids

So… what do you do to find Winter?

  • Go for a Winter Walk

Take your child on walks and have them search for signs of Winter.

Learning about Winter Clothes with kids, a child in pink winter jacket with scarf and gloves.
  • Observe your Clothing

One of the biggest signs is in the clothing that we wear. Yes, we have to wear a jacket in the Winter!

signs of winter frost on car with child scraping windshield
  • Observe the changes when it’s cold

One really fun sign is to look in the early morning at the car windows and rooftops… what do they have? FROST! And if we’re really lucky the grass might get it too.

Another sign is to find a few trees with missing leaves.

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 2.4 Review by Kim Vij

Or if you’re lucky you can plan a trip to a winter spot to wake up to your car covered in snow like this photo above! This is from our visit to Colorado last winter.

child holding frozen ice demonstrating temperatures below freezing
  • Make Your Own Cold

Sometimes we turn to alternative measures to see winter. We make ice at night! It’s so much fun to fill a few containers in the backyard with your child and see when it freezes.

It helps them to get an understanding using a thermometer and what below 32 degrees really means.

water beads on ice

We use our water table to explore. Look how we used it to explore frozen ice and water beads in winter.

Don’t forget to check the changes throughout the day with your child, it’s a great science experiment.

Winter bird feeder shaped like heart with bird seeds
  • Look for Winter Birds

We’re excited because it also means more birds for us in the South! Do you have any special winter birds that visit your bird watching station?

Here’s a fun little bird feeder that we make each year for Valentine’s Day. Click here for Directions

  • Make a Winter Journal

Here’s a fun Winter Observation Journal we’ve created for our friends with snow and without snow.

Go out in your community and search for the signs of Winter with your kids. Record the changes you see throughout Winter.

Click here to print your own Observation Sheet and Winter Journal

Winter Journal and Observation Sheet Printables

You can try out these winter activities for school at home too! Below we’ve featured some of our favorite winter activities to do with your child to go along with Winter Observation Sheet and Journal.

Winter Science Activities for Kids with Snow and Ice
Winter scenes of snow covered mountain, sledding, ice castles and evergreen trees for winter virtual field trip for Kids
Winter Activities for Preschool inspired by Children's Books

Explore these Winter Virtual Field Trips with your child!

Snow Themed Activities for Kids

Or explore these Winter Science Activities with Snow and Ice

Already looking for Signs of Spring? Check out this Spring Journal and Checklist!

Want more activities for Winter? Sign up for our free January Activity Calendar!

~ Learning never ends even after the dismissal bell rings ~

Like this idea? Pin for later or share now with a friend!

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Filed Under: Science, STEM Tagged With: grade school, Preschool, printable, School Ages, Science Fun, Senses, Snow, STEM, Winter

About Kim Vij

Early childhood teacher, author, speaker and mom of 3. Kim shares ways to make learning fun and parenting an adventure by sharing developmentally appropriate activities.

« Valentine Card Idea with Winter Birds
Teddy Bear Writing Activity for Kids »

Comments

  1. Jen Farr says

    January 17, 2013 at 3:02 pm

    Great collection of ways to look for winter. I wish it looked a little more like winter here in Toronto (Canada). Maybe soon! Thanks for sharing on the Outdoor Play Party.

  2. Karyn Tripp says

    January 11, 2013 at 3:56 pm

    Love this post!! We are looking for ways to help inspire our nature study in this FREEZING place where we live. Pinning this post.

  3. Deb Chitwood says

    January 7, 2013 at 7:55 am

    Thanks so much for featuring my post with more than a year's worth of freebies and Montessori-inspired activities! I love your hunting for signs of winter! I featured your Hunting for Signs of Winter Journal as the Free Printable of the Day at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow and on Pinterest.

  4. maggy, life at the zoo says

    January 6, 2013 at 6:28 pm

    Our Winter is virtually non existent! It is wet and quite warm 🙁

    Thanks for the party invite!

  5. Raising a Happy Child says

    January 6, 2013 at 5:23 pm

    We have similar temperatures here in Silicon Valley. No snow, but occasional cold morning with frost. Fun ways to look for signs of winter!

  6. PragmaticMom says

    January 6, 2013 at 5:20 pm

    Winter is upon us too here in Boston. What a nice chunk of ice you guys found! We are noticing winter by sledding and using a friend's homemade ice rink in their backyard. They made it sound easy to do and used it for a very active game of broom ice hockey. Only one kid got hurt!

  7. Aleacia says

    January 6, 2013 at 3:41 pm

    What a fun post, I really like the journal idea. We are lucky if we get snow in southern NC but that's okay with me 🙂 I'm already looking for signs of Spring!

  8. Kelly at Little Wonders' Days says

    January 6, 2013 at 12:37 pm

    I love your winter ideas! We had such a mild fall that I have one iris that has sent up a bloom. We had some cold nights, but so far it hasn't seemed to freeze it. I'm expecting a bloom sometime this week. Crazy!

  9. Kylie @ Octavia and Vicky says

    January 6, 2013 at 6:06 am

    I loved reading your post as I sat here in my airconditioning and looking ahead at the forecast for 104 degrees F tomorrow 😛 Thanks for helping to keep me cool x
    Visiting from The Sunday Showcase

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Kim Vij

Early childhood teacher, author, speaker and mom of 3. Kim Vij shares ways to make learning fun and parenting an adventure by sharing all kinds of easy kid crafts, activities, recipes and even travel ideas for families!
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