As the winter months are approaching, classroom instruction can feel crazier and crazier. The kids are always so excited during this season, and I think we could all use some winter magic this year. As you are continuing your guided reading instruction or any small group instruction, the need for engaging December center activities holds strong. Not only do you need the activities to be engaging, but you also need them to be done in a safe way. Here are some December center activities for kindergarten and first grade students that could be a great fit!
**Amazon affiliiate links are used below at no cost to you.
One of my favorite holiday read alouds is If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff. This beloved mouse from her books pops up all the time in the classroom–back to school and visualizing are some of my favorite places to introduce this series of books.
This story is great for students to work on sequencing events, too. One of our favorite activities was having the students illustrate the events on a movie reel.
You can grab this FREE If You Take a Mouse to the Movies Retell Activity HERE!
When it comes to word work, having many kinds of letters available is key! Magnetic letters, bottle cap letters, paint stick letters, popsicle stick letters, easy DIY letter tiles–the possibilities are endless! This is one of my favorite center activities for kindergarten and first grade because the concept of building words remains the same. I simply change the tools.
With this FREE December center activity for your kids, they can use the letter cards provided and build as many words as they are able while they search for the mystery word!
There are 3 mystery word activities in this one freebie!
Click HERE and get the Winter Word Making FREEBIE!
Everyone’s station time looks different this year. Some are able to mix kids as long as they are wearing masks and others are not no matter what. If you are able to have kids work in small groups, this is a fun math subitizing station activity that you can add to your December center activities pile!
This fun game is played much like war. Students will work to compare numbers that are in number form, random dot formations, and dice dot formations. This game is fun for the kids and since there can be up to 3 players, it allows kids to work on comparing 2 numbers and 3 numbers!
For a challenge, you can have them flip two cards, add them up, then compare their sums!
Click HERE to get this Reindeer Run Subitizing FREE game!
If you are looking for more easy to use center ideas for the winter months, you will love these winter station activities for kindergarten and first grade!
These easy to use literacy station activities target skills your readers are read to practice as they continue to move forward! CVC words, short vowels, endings, adverbs, adjectives, ABC order, digraphs, and more are covered between the two sets.
Get the 6 Kindergarten Winter Literacy Stations HERE.
Get the 7 First Grade Winter Literacy Stations HERE.
No matter where you are with your December center activities, do what you can, the best that you can, and know that it is enough! Grab these free activities and have something that is easy to use for sure!
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I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your students love and that are easy to implement for teachers. Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
2 Responses
Thank you for so many freebies!! My students love them.
You are very welcome!! I am so glad!!