Specials during the school year can be a bit sporadic or in some areas, nonexistent. One area that always seems to take a “hit” when it comes to budget cuts in art. However, art can help your students connect to the subject you are working on. If you’re not super crafty and need ideas, here are 10 simple winter crafts for students that will enhance your curriculum! And if you’re in need of an easy to prep idea, scroll down to the bottom for a free template to make this adorable activity.
1: Snowy Owls Scrape Art, a Winter Craft for Students that will be a Hoot!
A fun winter craft for students that can go with a story or a study of animals is the Snowy Owls Scrape art. This simple activity involves few materials and little experimenting. With some paint and a fork, the students spread the paint out to give the owl a “feathered” or “fluffy” appearance. This winter craft is not time consuming and will look great in the hallway!
2: Chalk Pastel Northern Lights
This colorful winter craft for students is perfect for learning about the wonders of the Northern Lights. Where I live, you don’t get to see them too often, but this year we did! With this craft, you can talk about how the Northern Lights are created. In addition, you can also read stories about the Northern Lights and then create them. On top of learning about the Northern Lights, this winter craft for students is great for learning about colors that blend together as well as a new medium: pastels.
3: A Unique Winter Crafts for Students: Quilled Paper Tube Snowflakes
Quilling can seem difficult, but this craft is perfect for any grade even first graders! The quilling process is made easier with the use of toilet paper rolls. These make beautiful snowflakes that are as unique as the students making them. With winter crafts for students like this, you can do anything from learn about the weather, read a story about snow, or have students write a story with snow as the leading antagonist! You can even pair this with Bear Snores On and other Picture Book Pals! The possibilities are endless with this fun craft!
4: Winter Crafts for Students that are Rink Worthy: Paper Plate Ice Skating
Every year, we take all of our students for ice-skating lessons. This winter craft always pairs perfectly with this experience. It not only incorporates a big activity in my area, but it has a standing skater that you can put your students picture in. If you don’t have this same experience with skating lessons, you can always use this to have students tell a story about what happened at the ice-skating rink. To mix it up, you can add different characters instead of the student as well.
5: Clear Plate Snow Globes are a Winter Craft with Versatility!
My colleague makes this adorable crafts every single year with her students but mixes them up. With the use of simple supplies and photograph of her students in their snow gear, she creates a unique craft that is perfect for a gift for parents. This 3D snow globe is something that parents can set on the table and keep. During the holidays, gifts can be something children love creating for their parents and this is the perfect way to do it. To add some writing, have your students tell a story about their favorite day in the snow. Pair the story with the snow globe and it’s a memory for students and parents that will last a lifetime.
6: Winter Crafts for Students with Easy Steps: Draw a Snowy City
I teach in an urban area. Many of my students never leave the city; therefore, they can really connect to this winter craft for students! This craft has simple steps to create an adorable picture of a city. Your students can draw their neighborhood or different areas of the city. Put them on your wall to create a skyline around your classroom. You can do this project for fun, when talking about the differences between urban and rural areas, or as a class story starter!
7: Winter Hat Scratch Art
I haven’t done the scratch art with this specific project, but I have done it before for Halloween and my students loved it! This project teaches a lot about how long things can take to make. In addition, because it is a process, this craft can take a few days to get done which means it’s not as time consuming up front. Much like the Northern Lights winter craft for students, this craft uses pastels as well as acrylic paint. You can have your students draw a face to go with the hat or tell a story about the magic inside the hat. Pair this with Frosty the Snowman and tell a magnificent fantasy story!
8: Newspaper Polar Bear
This fun winter craft for students always comes out so cute and is great for getting rid of newspapers that people just toss. With few materials, students can make a cute bear that literally has a story on it. Like the snowflake craft, students can pair this with a Picture Book Pal like Bear Snores On! Once all the bears are made, it is a cute display for your classroom.
9: Winter Rain Watercolor Resist
Where I live, we see a lot more rain than we do snow! If you live in a similar climate, your students will love this piece that takes a little bit of brain power and some fun imagination! You can pair this with a weather unit. Much like you talked about Christmastime Around the World, you can discuss winter around the world! In some places, the weather is frigid, icy, and snowy. In others, it is rainy, wet, and chilly. What is it like where you live? Ask your students what the perfect winter would be to them as a fun journal entry.
10: An Iconic Winter Craft for Students: Draw a Snowman Easy Tutorial
All students know how to draw a basic snowman with two or three circles, some dots, and an orange nose. Maybe they add a hat or a broom, but it doesn’t go much further than that. This step-by-step tutorial teaches students how to draw a realistic snowman they can hang on the wall at home. Not only is this project great, all of the winter crafts for students on this site are so fun and easy to do! You can pair this activity with a story or a re-telling of a classic tale.
Crafts are a fun way to get your students motivated about learning whether it involves science, reading, or writing. You can use any of these simple winter crafts for students to liven up your classrooms as well as the hallways! You get a cute new look and your students have a blast!
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