Engaging Kindergarten Activities for January
The fresh start of January is always such a great feeling, especially in kindergarten! Students have learned so much in the first half of the school year and everyone has had a long break to recharge. Here are some fun Kindergarten Activities for January that you can use to get the new calendar year off to a great start in your classroom!
6 Kindergarten Activity Ideas for January
The hands-on activities in this post are a great way to get back into the swing of things after winter break. These activities will help you review important skills and reestablish your daily learning routines while keeping your students engaged and on task!
1. January Morning Work
Welcoming your students back from winter break with a familiar morning work routine will help them transition back to school. They will know whatโs expected of them when they walk in the door on that first day back. This gives you time to check in with each of your students and tie up any additional loose ends before you start the day.
Since the format of these activities is similar from month to month, your students will be able to complete this morning work with minimal help from you. Plus, the winter kindergarten activities on each page will grab their attention to help them stay engaged in math and literacy practice.
2. Literacy Centers for January
Itโs also helpful to get your centers back up and running as soon as possible after winter break. Kindergarteners thrive on the routine of these hands-on and engaging learning activities!
With this cocoa-themed literacy center, your students can practice identifying initial and final sounds in CVC words. Students are given the vowel sound that goes with the picture on each card. As they name the picture, students can listen for the beginning and ending sounds so they can write them on the card.
If your students are ready to spell out the full word, this snowglobe CVC activity is a great option! They can use letter tiles, magnet letters, or a dry-erase marker to spell the word that goes with the item in each snowglobe.
For either of these activities, you can adjust the difficulty based on the needs of your students by pre-filling some of the letters on the card. For example, on the snow globe task cards, you could fill in the first two letters of each word. Students would just need to practice listening for the final sound.
3. Math Centers for January
You can also incorporate winter fun into your math centers! With just a few task cards and manipulatives, youโll have some engaging activities to help your students practice important math skills.
This counting activity can also serve as a comparison activity with the addition of clothespins. After counting the dots on each snowman and writing the number on the hat, students can add a clip to the larger number. This is great fine motor practice! You can make this a self-correcting activity by adding a sticker to the backside of the card, behind the correct answer.
For more snowman fun, your students can explore addition with this roll-and-add activity. Students will roll two dice to determine how many pom poms to add to the snowmanโs hands. Then they can write and solve an addition equation to go with it!
4. New Year Writing Craft
You can welcome your students back in January with this New Year writing craft. Itโs fun to take time to reflect on everything the students have already learned in kindergarten and set goals for what theyโd like to learn in the new calendar year.
After writing about what theyโd like to learn, students can create an adorable craft to go with it! The final product makes a perfect low-prep bulletin board or classroom decoration. Students are always eager to look for their work on the wall, which can be so motivating for budding writers!
5. CVC Word Practice
The second half of the school year is always so exciting when it comes to literacy! After working hard on mastering the letters and sounds, students are ready to put everything together. It is so fun to see their eyes light up as they start to decode CVC words.
These CVC task cards are an engaging way to bring some additional reading practice to your daily routine. Students will first read the CVC word on the top of the card. Then they will build the word with letter tiles or magnets. If youโd like them to practice letter formation, you could also make this a dry-erase activity. After building the word, students will then choose the picture that matches the word on the card.
6. No-Prep Printables for January
As helpful as it is to get back into the daily routine as soon as possible, your students might need a few refreshers on classroom procedures after the long break. These no-prep printables can help students practice those procedures while reviewing academic skills.
Since many of these printables are cut-and-paste activities, you can take the opportunity to review with your students how to be responsible with glue and safe with scissors.
No-prep printables are also helpful to have on hand for those inevitable sub plans that youโll need to write this winter. There always seems to be at least one new illness that circulates the school after winter break!
Printable Bundle of January Activities
To save you some time, I have put together all of the activities mentioned above (and more!) into one easy-to-download resource.ย These low-prep activities are a great way to get back into the learning routine after winter break. Youโll be able to get your students ready for a productive second half of the school year! Just click below to take a closer look at everything included in this bundle of Kindergarten Activities for January.
January Activity Bundle
Save These January Kindergarten Activities
Be sure to save this post if youโd like to come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. Youโll be able to quickly find these engaging activities when youโre ready to put together your January lesson plans for kindergarten.
