If you have a middle school student that you are trying to get off their tech for a bit these winter crafts for middle school are a perfect distraction from texting and video games. Also, look at my page How to Successfully Homeschool Middle School and ideas for winter fun on my page Winter Season Unit Study with free lapbook.
Snowmen, snowflakes, and cocoa candles, oh my!
I have rolled up 8 adorable craft ideas to cover a lot of our favorite winter topics and will keep your teen screen-free for at least a little while.
Too, I have an easy tutorial for how to craft a snowman bead necklace as well and it is a great intermediate project for one child, a group of friends, co-op, or even the whole family to create.
You don’t have to stop with just one craft though.
Challenge your middle school child to choose another craft and learn some of these fantastic snowman facts, get outside and build their own snowman, or make a snowman-themed snack.
4 Winter Snowman Facts for Middle School
- In February of 2020 residents in Donnersbachwald, Austria, built a giant snowman named Riesi that towered above at 124.8 feet.
- According to scientists the best snow for building snowmen is moist or wet snow, which forms when the air temperature is hovering just above freezing- 0°C and 2°C. When this happens some of the snow melts and makes water between ice crystals that acts as a glue to hold it all together.
- Everyone’s an expert! There are more than 90,000 YouTube videos that teach you how to build a snowman, there is even a patent out there for the process.
- The classic song ‘Frosty The Snowman’ “Frosty the Snowman” was written by Walter “Jack” Rollins and Steve Nelson. It was first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys and later recorded by Jimmy Durante in the same year, Jimmy’s version being used in the animated movie.
Then add some books for fun winter reading for your student.
I lean toward living books then like to add in some reference books too.
7 Books for Middle School Students to Read in the Winter
These books also make for a great read aloud, even older kids would enjoy piling up on the couch in the morning for a good story together.
Julie of the Wolves is a staple in the canon of children’s literature and the first in the Julie trilogy. The survival theme makes it a good pick for readers of wilderness adventures such as My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, or Island of the Blue Dolphins.
This edition, perfect for classroom or home use, includes John Schoenherr’s original scratchboard illustrations throughout, as well as bonus materials such as an introduction written by Jean Craighead George’s children, the author’s Newbery acceptance speech, selections from her field notebooks, a discussion guide, and a further reading guide.
To her small village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away, only to find herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness.
Four adventurous siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.
The domesticated life of a powerful St. Bernard-Shepherd mix named Buck is quickly turned on end when he is stolen away from his master and put to work as a sled dog in Alaska. His once life of luxury turns into a life of survival and adaptation as he learns the ways of the wilderness.
It's 1934, and times are tough for Trip's family after the mill in their small Wisconsin town closes, leaving her father unemployed. Determined to provide for his family, he moves them all to Alaska to become pioneers as part of President Roosevelt's Palmer Colony project. Trip and her family are settling in, except her mom, who balks at the lack of civilization. But Trip feels like she's following in Laura Ingalls Wilder's footsteps, and she hatches a plan to raise enough money for a piano to convince her musical mother that Alaska is a wonderful and cultured home. Her sights set on the cash prize at the upcoming Palmer Colony Fair, but can Trip grow the largest pumpkin possible--using all the love, energy, and Farmer Boy expertise she can muster?
Ever since Cora's father disappeared through the ice, whispers about her family's "curse" have grown increasingly louder. Desperate to help her mother and siblings survive another bleak season in the Winter King's frozen grasp, Cora begins to bend (and even break) the rules she has kept since she was a little girl. But when she discovers a secret that's much bigger than herself, she realizes too late that she has put herself--and those she loves--in even greater peril.
Orphan Elizabeth Somers’s malevolent aunt and uncle ship her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel, owned by the peculiar Norbridge Falls. Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms―most notably its massive library. It’s not long before she locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Norbridge and his sinister family. But the deeper she delves into the hotel’s secrets, the more Elizabeth starts to realize that she is somehow connected to Winterhouse. As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel’s curse and solve the mystery. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to care for, and even Winterhouse itself?
When a deadly plague reaches the small fish camp where he lives, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, navigating from one danger to the next, unsure of his destination. Yet the deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer he comes to his truest self as he connects to “the heartbeat of the ocean . . . the pulse of the sea.” With hints of Nordic mythology and an irresistible narrative pull, Northwind is Gary Paulsen at his captivating, adventuresome best.
Then, add in these other fun winter crafts for middle school.
8 Cool Winter Crafts for Middle School
- Fun Styrofoam Snowman Art Activity & 5 Facts About The Wonders of Winter.
- With just paper, glue, and scissors you can create a winter wonderland of Curled Paper Snowflakes to decorate the whole house.
- Not only is it beautiful but this Snowflake Soap serves a purpose and makes a great craft to keep or gift to friends and family.
- Check out these 10 Middle School Winter Crafts and Make a Sweet Smelling Hot Cocoa Candle.
- Think of the personality that can be infused into this cute DIY Wood Block Snowman tutorial. I think this is the perfect craft for everyone in the family to make together to represent themselves.
- I just love this Popsicle Stick Winter Bucket List idea. I have found that kids don’t need you less as they turn into teens, just in a different way. Create a list of things you would enjoy doing together throughout the winter season and let your middle schooler turn it into this fun tin pail bucket list.
- Sometimes a winter craft can be longing for spring, like with these Winter Craft Ideas How to Make Fun Pinecone Flowers that can bring a bright touch to a dreary winter.
- Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids.
Okay so maybe this is less craft and more of a snack but it definitely looks like a work of art.
So maybe these Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks can do double-duty as your middle schoolers’ project.
Craft a Snowman Bead Necklace
You will need:
- Elastic string
- Unfinished wood beads
- Unfinished wood spool
- Plastic beads
- Glitter
- Craft paint
- Paint pens
- Hot glue gun/sticks
The first thing you want to do is string your unfinished wood beads for the snowman on a skewer, this is the easiest method for painting.
Next paint the beads with a light coat all over, leaving room between each to dry.
Also, paint a little unfinished wood spool black to make a hat.
If you would rather you can also use a scrap of fabric to make a cloth hat instead.
Once your first layer is dry, paint a second thick coat on them and then sprinkle with fine glitter if desired to give the snow a dimensional and glistening effect.
Allow the paint to dry then hot glue the 3 pieces together, leaving the hole on the beads vertical for the bottom two and going horizontally for the head so that it can be strung on the necklace.
Add your top hat as well.
Use paint markers to add details like eyes, a carrot nose, buttons, etc.
While the details are drying begin adding beads in whatever pattern you like to one side of the necklace.
Slip your snowman onto the string and repeat the bead pattern on the other side, going as far up the string as you like.