One of my favorite things to do for our homeschool is changing out our morning tubs. I usually theme them depending on the season, holiday, or unit study we are working on. December is usually when I change out our tub for more winter-themed books and items. My kids love our morning tubs and look forward to seeing if there is anything new and exciting inside. So I thought it would be fun to share some fun winter theme ideas for your morning tubs! Whether you’re a homeschool parent like myself or a primary teacher, maybe these can act as some inspiration.
Idea #1 ~ Holiday Books
The first thing I focus on for my morning tubs is books! Books are such a vital part of our homeschool routine, so finding books to match the holidays we celebrate is always fun! For our family, we celebrate Christmas, so I try to find books on Christmas, Giving, Family, as well as some on the New Year.
#2 ~ Seasonal Books
I also really love finding books specific to the season, so books on snow or weather. Maybe some books on Alaska or countries that go through hard winters. Winter Sports is always a fun one too since you can try playing some of the games with your kids.
#3 ~ Snowball Counting Activity
I’ve created a fun FREE snowball counting activity for you! You use cotton balls for the snowballs, using them to teach counting and basic math in a fun way!
Idea #4 ~ Holidays Around the World Unit Study
I recently did a blog post on our Holidays Around the World Unit Study, which you can find here on the website! I had so much fun doing this with my daughter and learning about holidays in different countries. You can easily set up your morning tubs to have a new country each day!
#5 ~ Winter Themed Color By Number Worksheets
My kids love to color! It’s one of their favorite things to do and can entertain them for quite a long time. Which for me is bonus points! You can find some fun printable color by number worksheets that fit into the winter theme. It’s a fun way to incorporate more math into your bin, while they just think they are having fun coloring!
Idea #6 ~ Paper Snowflake Cutting Activity
Papercutting activities help boost hand-eye coordination. Cutting out snowflakes can be fun, and also make for wonderful decorations for the season! If you string them together, you can even make a pretty garland to hang up. For extra pizazz, you could add glitter and sequins if you are brave enough, and don’t mind the mess afterward. This is an idea for your winter morning tubs that students will want to continue doing everyday!
#7 ~ DIY Snowman Playdough Kit
I love adding activities to just let my kids utilize their individual imaginations! So Playdough is a fun one to use. For this activity, you can get white playdough, buttons, pipe cleaners, and other fun snowman building supplies. Watch as your kids have fun building their own snowmen. I actually like to join in too, I’m a big kid at heart lol!
#8 ~ DIY Felt Ginger Bread Kit
Similar to the DIY snowman, except you precut a base gingerbread cookie shape out of felt, and use buttons, yarn, ribbon, and anything else you’d like to use for your gingerbread men. When you’re finished, you can put a hole punch in the top, string a ribbon through it and turn them into ornaments!
Idea #9 ~ Penguin Dice Game
Another FREEBIE I’ve included is a fun Penguin Dice Game! You simply roll dice, they find the penguin that matches the number on the dice and cover it with a cotton ball (snowball). You continue until all the penguins have a snowball. Super fun & educational!
#10 ~ Snow Letter/Sight Word Tracing
This one is great for those who like sensory bin activities! You simply put white sand into a tub and pick letters or sight words to practice tracing into the sand. The sight words can be themed around winter and holidays! It’s a great way to instill reading and writing, as well as having fun with sand!
I hope these Ideas for Your Morning Winter Tubs were helpful for your classroom, and if you have any more ideas please make sure to share it with us in the comments! I’d love to hear how you were able to utilize them and make them your own. Feel free to include pictures as well.
Written by: Brittany Coleman
Thanks so much for stopping by! If you enjoyed this post, we’d love it if you could share Education to the Core with a friend, and BOTH of you can receive $5 off a purchase of $10 or more with the code: FRIEND5.
At Education to the Core, we provide done-for-you curriculum that is simple, fun, and engaging! In order to be an effective educator, you have to take care of you first! We strive to make a healthy work-life balance a reality for you each and every day.
If you enjoyed this blog post about ideas for winter morning tubs, be sure to join my email list to get exclusive FREEBIES, exclusive content, updates, deals!
