Winter Learning Journal Activities
16 Winter Learning Journal Activities for Kids
Learning journals are one of my very favorite ways to keep little hands busy and little brains engaged — especially during the winter months when we’re inside a lot more.
They’re calm, open-ended, easy to pull out, and you can customize every single page to what your child is working on right now.
👉 If you’re brand new to learning journals and want to know exactly what they are, what supplies you need, and how to get started, I have a full step-by-step post here: How to Start a Learning Journal.
For this post, I’m sharing 16 winter-themed learning journal ideas, organized by age group so you can pick what makes the most sense for your child.
The links provided in this post are affiliate links, and your support through these links earns me a modest commission if you choose to make a purchase.
❄️ Toddler Learning Journal Ideas (18 months–3 years)
These activities are simple, hands-on, and all about exploring colors, shapes, textures, and early motor skills — without needing perfection.
Add Poms to the Winter Hats
Kids match colorful dot stickers to the winter hats. Peeling and pressing the stickers builds finger strength while they practice color recognition and one-to-one correspondence in such a fun way.
Polar Bear Color Match
Toddlers match the colorful bear noses to the bear outlines. It encourages color recognition, color matching, and lots of fine motor sticker practice.
Polar Bear Shape Match
Your child matches each bear face with the correct shape outline. They’re hearing and seeing shape names while working on visual discrimination — noticing what makes each shape unique.
Rainbow Snowflake Color Match
Kids use dot stickers or dot markers to match colors to snowflakes. It’s bright, repetitive, and wonderful for color recognition, spatial awareness, and hand-eye coordination.
Secret Snowflakes
Draw snowflakes with white crayon (make sure you press down really hard!), then let kids paint over them with watercolor to reveal the “magic.” This one brings so much wonder and keeps little artists engaged longer than a typical painting page.
Snowman Feelings
Kids match feelings faces to each snowman using dot stickers. It’s a gentle introduction to naming emotions and noticing how facial expressions change, while you model simple words like “happy,” “sad,” “mad,” and “surprised.”
⛄ Preschool Learning Journal Ideas (3–5 years)
These ideas start layering in early math, pre-writing, and literacy — still playful, still low-pressure.
Complete the Snowmen
Kids complete the missing curved side of each snowman. They’re practicing the same curve they’ll use when writing letters like c, a, e, and g — all disguised as a simple winter drawing invitation.
Count the Buttons — Match the Hats
Each snowman has a different number of buttons, and kids match the numbered hats. It connects counting with written numerals and builds early math confidence.
Feed the Penguins
Do this one at snack time! Each penguin has a number, and kids feed them the matching number of fish. Great for one-to-one correspondence and counting — and the pretend “feeding” keeps it extra engaging. Reward your child’s hard work by letting them eat all the goldfish when they’re done!
Mitten Roll and Cover
Children match each hat to the snowman with the same letter. It gently introduces uppercase letter recognition without pressure to read yet. Try using uppercase and lowercase letters if your child is ready!
Snowman Letter Stamp
Kids use alphabet stamps and washable ink pads to match or find letters. Stamping builds hand strength and repetition makes letters feel more familiar — a favorite they will likely want to revisit.
Snowman Sorting — Numbers vs. Letters
Kids identify each number or letter written on the stickers then sort them accordingly. This activity works on differentiating between letters and numbers, identifying them all, and peeling stickers builds fine motor skills.
❄️📚 Kindergarten + Early Elementary Learning Journal Ideas
These pages support early reading and writing skills while still feeling playful and approachable.
Sight Word Snowflakes
Each snowflake has a sight word, and kids match stickers to the same word as they read them. Repetition builds recognition, and kids love hunting and reading them again and again.
Snowman CVC Stacks
Kids read the word family on the hat and build new words by adding different beginning sounds. They’re practicing sounding out CVC words and noticing patterns — a big confidence booster for new readers.
What Rhymes With Snowflake?
Kids blend different beginning sounds with the –ake ending to create rhyming words. This builds phonemic awareness and helps them hear how words change when only the first sound changes. PS these writing lines stamps are a game changer for journal prep with children who are learning to write!
📒Need Links to Supplies?
Here is a list of all my favorites including the BEST blank journal, my all-time favorite markers, dot stickers, dot markers, and more!
SHOP ALL LEARNING JOURNAL ACTIVITY SUPPLIES
✨ Grab the Free Master Word List
If you enjoy creating learning journal pages for this age group, it’s so helpful to have ideas ready to pull from — especially on busy days.
I put together a free Master Word List that includes:
common kindergarten sight words
tons of CVC word families
helpful spelling patterns and blends
It’s what I reference again and again when planning activities like these.
➡️ Grab it here! (link)
❄️ Need Even More Winter Ideas?
If you’re looking for additional ways to keep kids busy, learning, and playing during the colder months, I also put together:
👉 20 Easy Indoor Winter Activities
They’re simple, low-prep, and your kids will LOVE them!
💛 Want Even More Learning Journal Support?
If you loved these ideas, my Learning Journal Membership goes much deeper.
Inside, you’ll find:
hundreds of learning journal activity ideas organized by age
modifications for different skill levels
links to materials
and a growing library of printable journal pages
It’s designed to make learning journals easier, less overwhelming, and way more fun.
You can learn more and join here
I hope you can use these ideas and resources with your children and if you share on social media, don’t forget to tag me @ohheyletsplay!
