Now that the holidays are over and we have welcomed the new year, we can jump into what we are going to be teaching our littles this January!
With the Christmas fun and ringing of the new year having passed us by, easing them into a new year or learning will be a total success with these January preschool themed activities.
Winter time still feels magical even with the holidays being over. Make it extra wonderful with some engaging educational material that follows the wintery theme.
How Can January themed Activities Enhance Learning for Preschoolers?
Using these themed activities throughout January are a fantastic way to combine fun with education while enjoying learning all about their favorite themes to match up with the season.
These activities often include activities like coloring, matching, and simple puzzles that help young children develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and early literacy and numeracy skills.
By engaging with these activities, preschoolers can learn and have a blast doing it. Not only will you have fun participating but you can utilize items around your home, Christmas events and even the changing season.
What Types of Crafts Can Preschoolers Create Throughout January?
Crafting is an excellent hands-on activity that allows preschoolers to express their creativity while learning, growing, and even bonding with you.
Projects like creating handprint art, making sensory bins, coloring, and other awesome crafts will make an impact on their everyday growth.
These crafts also encourage imaginative play and help develop important skills like following instructions and problem-solving.
How Do Worksheets and Crafts Foster a Love for Learning?
Worksheets and crafts centered around different themes can instill a sense of time awareness and knowledge while mixing their days/weeks up.
By engaging in these activities, children can develop a deeper understanding of the importance and beauty that comes with the month of January.
Additionally, creating art related to these themes can build a personal connection with following their instincts, senses, and current knowledge to grow and expand their minds, thoughts, and interest.
What Are Some Easy-to-Implement January Themed Activities at Home?
Printable worksheets, coloring pages, and cut-out shapes are easy to find online and can provide hours of educational fun.
Combine these with craft supplies like glue, scissors, and colored paper to create a these themes right in your own home.
Reading themed books and watching educational videos can also complement these activities by creating a well-rounded learning experience.
January Preschool Themes
Choose from any of the themes below that will compliment your month of January following a busy season of life! These are great options to get your littles back into the groove of learning after their breaks.
Some of these activities will be great for throughout the colder months. Click the link to head to the entire theme page filled with mostly free activities and printables for that theme.
Chinese New Year Theme- Chinese New Year-themed activities not only expose children to cultural diversity but also provide countless opportunities for learning in a fun, hands-on way. Chinese New Year is a perfect opportunity to introduce preschoolers to the rich traditions and customs of another culture. Through stories, songs, and celebrations, children learn about the significance of this holiday, which is celebrated by millions of people around the world. Activities such as making lanterns, learning about the zodiac animals, or discussing the meanings behind colors like red and gold help foster cultural awareness and appreciation for diversity.
Winter- Celebrate the holiday season by embracing all the winter magic that’s filled with snowflakes, frosty adventures, and holiday celebrations. This is the perfect theme to engage preschoolers in fun and educational craft activities that celebrate the beauty of this chilly season. This winter theme will enhance fine motor skills but also encourage creativity, imagination, and exploration.
Gingerbread Theme– Gingerbread is one of the most quintessential things that scream the Christmas season. Kids love making gingerbread cookies, hanging homemade gingerbread ornaments, and decorating gingerbread houses which makes this a must try theme for the month of December!
Evergreen Trees Theme – An evergreen tree theme is a wonderful way to learn about nature during the winter season. The classroom can be decorated with small pine trees, pinecones, & forest animals to create a cozy woodland setting. Activities might include sorting pinecones by size, counting “tree” decorations, and learning about how evergreen trees stay green all year long. Kids can make their own “evergreen trees” from green construction paper or create pine-scented playdough for sensory exploration.
Germs & Hygiene Theme– The colder months are ahead which means those colds will be passing around like wild fire! Use this time to start setting or putting an emphasis on good hygiene. Washing their hands and brushing their teeth are important life skills that this lesson plan can help you teach!
Snowflake Theme- When we bring snowflakes into the classroom, we’re not just celebrating winter- we’re opening up a world of engaging, hands-on opportunities that promote growth in many areas of development. Snowflakes are built on repeating, symmetrical patterns. Littles will create their own snowflakes from paper or other materials, they can practice recognizing and creating symmetrical shapes. These activities foster important math skills, like patterning, shape recognition, and an early understanding of symmetry. They’re not just making crafts—they’re learning foundational concepts in geometry and pattern recognition.
Penguin Theme – Penguins and winter go hand in hand since these little animals love all things cold, snow, and ice! This makes the penguin theme a perfect one for the holiday season. These crafts will make great enhancement activities to your littles day!
Mittens Theme- Mitten-themed activities are not only fun, but they’re also an excellent way to engage preschoolers in both learning and creativity! When we incorporate mittens into lessons, it opens up opportunities for hands-on, interactive experiences that support various areas of child development. Mitten activities often involve tasks like cutting out mitten shapes, lacing up mitten patterns, or even buttoning and zipping. These activities strengthen the small muscles in their hands and fingers, which is crucial for writing, drawing, and other everyday tasks.
Marshmallow Theme – Marshmallow-themed activities are a sweet way to engage preschoolers in fun, hands-on learning while developing important skills! Whether we’re using real marshmallows in art projects, math games, or even sensory exploration, they open up endless possibilities for creativity and learning. Marshmallows are an excellent item for crafting. They can be glued onto paper to create pictures, used as stamps with paint, or making sculptures!
Woodland Animals – Kids love to learn about furry friends like bears, squirrels, rabbits, and hedgehogs. Kids can learn about why their favorite animals disappear in the winter months and hibernate.
Read stories about the forest and woodland animals, make forest-themed art, and count forest friend toys.
Weather Theme – Weather activities for preschoolers are hands-on learning experiences that introduce young children to the concepts of weather, seasons, and atmospheric phenomena. A new season comes with weather changes that your littles may have a questions about. These activities are designed to be interactive, engaging, and age-appropriate, allowing children to explore and understand different aspects of weather playfully.
Family Theme – This is an important time when families gather for the holidays. Teach your math and literacy concepts while also incorporating the elements of a family. Family-themed activities help children learn about the world around them, discover more about the people they love, and understand what makes their family unique.
Ice Theme – Ice-themed activities are not only a fantastic way to cool off during winter months, but they also offer endless opportunities for fun, discovery, and learning for preschoolers! Exploring the science of freezing and melting, engaging in sensory play, and even practicing early math skills, ice provides a rich context for developing many important skills. Ice provides a multi-sensory experience! Preschoolers can touch it, feel how cold it is, watch it melt, and listen to the sounds it makes. They can even add food coloring or glitter to the ice for added visual effects.
Hot Chocolate Theme- These hot chocolate themed activities are a delightful way to engage preschoolers in learning while also indulging in some cozy fun! Get ready to make some pretend hot chocolate, measure ingredients, or create hot chocolate-inspired crafts. The activities provide wonderful opportunities for children to develop a variety of skills in an enjoyable and hands-on way. Making hot chocolate involves measuring ingredients like milk, cocoa powder, and sugar, which makes it an excellent way to introduce preschoolers to early math concepts.
Kindness Theme – A heartwarming way to teach preschoolers about caring and empathy during the holiday season. The classroom can feature a “Kindness Tree” where kids add paper leaves or ornaments for every kind act they do, helping to create a visual reminder of the joy that kindness brings. This theme brings warmth and positivity, encouraging children to spread kindness all month long!
Pets Theme – Little kids love cats, dogs, fish, guinea pigs, and basically any and all animals! Perhaps it’s because pets are always willing to play. And they comfort you when you’re sad. Animals make wonderful friends! Children have a natural interest and curiosity which makes pets a great topic to include as a weekly theme.
Emotions and Five Senses Theme– Emotions and Five Senses Theme lesson can never go out of use! There is a lot going on during the holidays and it’s a great theme to follow to help your littles get and stay in check with their senses. It will be a fun and open way to teach your littles about how their body and brain work together. They will develop a deeper connection with their surroundings, while also building skills motor and learning skills.
This month offers a wonderful opportunity for both fun and learning. From snowy day sensory play to the excitement of celebrating New Year’s, January provides a perfect backdrop for engaging activities that help little ones develop key skills.
The winter theme allows for plenty of opportunities to introduce science concepts like temperature, weather patterns, and the changes that happen during the colder months.
Incorporating these January-themed activities into your classroom or home routine doesn’t just make learning fun—it also helps children connect with the world around them in a meaningful way.
As your littles explore the themes of the season, they’re building their language skills, enhancing their social-emotional development, and gaining a deeper understanding of the world’s ways. January is the perfect time to embrace learning through play.
With just a little creativity, you can turn every activity into a meaningful experience that will set the tone for the rest of the year!
Marissa is a pediatric Occupational Therapist and mom of three children. She started this website to help moms, teachers, homeschool parents, and therapists find resources and ideas to teach their young children and students through play-based learning.