Winter Sports Unit Ideas
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo begin on February 6th and we are EXCITED!!
I’m not a Winter person, but skiing and skating are a blast and I’m always in awe of what the athletes at the Olympics can accomplish. My kids are excited too. The Olympics are such a great learning opportunity. We’ll be learning about geography, empathy, sportsmanship, numbers and more as we watch and discuss them.
Below are some great Winter sports related activities for ages preschool and up. Share yours in the comments!
affiliate links may be included below.
Winter Games Unit Ideas
Field Trip Ideas
What better way to bring the Olympics or Winter sporting events to life (assuming you don’t get to actually go to South Korea this year) than to try your hand at some winter sports? Some little kid friendly ideas include:
- Ice Skating
- Sledding (we’ll call it bobsledding)
- Skiing
- Snow Shoeing
Activity Ideas
The following are divided into developmental and curriculum areas to help you plan.
Literacy Activities
- Best Picture Books about Winter Sports for Kids from My Storytime Corner
- Picture Books about Ice Skating from Homeschool Preschool
- Winter Olympics Writing Prompts – get those here!
- More Winter Olympics Literacy Printables from The Wise Owl Factory
- Explore Ice Skating Through Art with KidArtLit
- Research one of the athletes competing in the Olympics and create a bio of them – either a written bio, video bio, powerpoint, etc.
- Compare and contrast (or just experience) different kinds of writing about Winter Sports. For example, we read; a magazine article, a nonfiction book, some poems. Then write your own – either of your favorite genre of writing or pick one sport and write about it in a variety of formats.
STEM Activities
- Cookie Tray Ice Rink from Yoga Pants & Pearls
- Hockey Science Experiment from Creative Family Fun
- Winter Counting with Snowflakes and Ice Skating from Homeschool Preschool
Social Studies Activities
- Find Milan, Italy on the Map
- Don’t put it away yet – also use the map to find different competitors home countries and/or route a map from your home to Italy just for fun.
- Learn about the history of sports. We started with the Timeline of Sports in TIMELINES OF EVERYTHING (which is one of my absolute favorite history books for kids).
Gross Motor Activities
- The Science of Sledding (also great STEM!) from There’s Just One Mommy
- Learning About Friction While Playing in the Snow (also STEM!!) from From Engineer to Stay at Home Mom
- See the above field trips – all are super gross motor themed.Â
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