Come walk through these winter crafts for teens wonderland that I have put together for you. Also, grab more ideas and a free lapbook for winter fun on my page Winter Season Unit Study.
Also, I have a fun DIY snowman spa kit sure to relax away any stress.
First, layer a couple of homemade spa treats like body scrub and bath soak.
Then create a cute little snowman stack to give to friends, family, or even a co-op teacher to brighten up a dreary winter day.
Winter crafts are a wonderful way to break up the writing, research, math, and science of winter unit studies but can be incorporated as just a fun activity.
Winter can lead to increased screen time, family stress, isolation, and boredom but it doesn’t have to do with a little planning and a few great ideas.
Create a balance for them and yourself of down time as well as crafts, activities, and lesson plans that highlight the season.
Instead of letting them spend hours in front of the TV or on tech on long winter days, give them a few options for some cozy winter crafts to keep hands and mind occupied.
BOOKS FOR KIDS TO READ IN THE WINTER
First, add some of these winter reading books for kids.
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.
Next, look at these ultimate crafts for teens.
8 ULTIMATE WINTER CRAFTS FOR TEENS
- Here are 10 Middle School Winter Crafts and Make a Sweet Smelling Hot Cocoa Candle to keep or gift.
- Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids
- How long has it been since your teen has made paper snowflakes? Make it even more epic by showing them how to create these Giant Paper Snowflakes.
- A Snowy Mountain Corkboard DIY is a beautiful way to display notes, pictures, and other light trinkets on the walls.
- These Easy Homemade Trivets with Pipe Cleaners and Yarn are a great craft for long winter days, creating a cozy spot for hot tea or coffee to rest while it warms you up.
- 12 Middle School Winter Crafts & 5 Facts About Icicles | Beautiful Icicle Swag Craft
- These Snowflake Mason Jar Vases are a wonderful way to start herbs or other plants indoors when the weather outside is till too chilly. How cheery and bright would they look in a sunny window?
- Teens will love not only crafting these DIY Solid Sugar Scrub Snowballs Gifts & Winter Skin Care but using them in the shower as part of a little healthy self care routine.
Also, look at this bucket list winter activities.
BUCKET LIST WINTER ACTIVITIES FOR TEENS
Now let’s look at some activities that will get teens up and moving, exploring, getting fresh air and more to keep the winter doldrums at bay.
- Build a snowman, you are never too old for this fun activity.
- Check out winter books from the library.
- Go ice skating with friends or family.
- Have a winter themed movie marathon in warm fuzzy pajamas.
- Write a poem or song about winter.
- Create a vision board for spring.
- Get in the kitchen and make a cold weather recipe like soup or banana bread.
- Have a bonfire, a great opportunity to learn how to build and start a fire.
- Invite friends over for a board game bonanza.
- Forage for winter medicinal plants and fungi.
- Make and enjoy hot cocoa bombs.
- Find somewhere local to volunteer- retirement home, pet shelter, church, etc…
- Go shopping at the thrift store for the ugliest sweater or prettiest sweater and wear it to an event.
- Have a winter picnic outdoors with hot food like soup, tea, and other cozy treats.
Finally, look at how to make this snowman spa kit.
DIY SNOWMAN SPA KIT
Body Scrub:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup oil-olive, coconut, almond
- 10-12 drops essential oil
Bath Soak:
- 1 cup epsom Salts
- ⅓ cup baking soda
- 1 teaspoon oil-coconut, olive oil, almond
- 10-12 drops essential oil
Snowman jars:
You will need:
- Small glass jars
- Fuzzy sock
- Paint pens
- Scissors
- Double sided tape/glue
First, mix up a batch of ingredients for both the soak and sugar scrub separately in bowls.
Add essential oil to your preference, peppermint is a great scent for this project but you can use any scent you like.
Once everything is well mixed, transfer to one of the glass jars with a spoon.
Cut about 3” off the toe of a sock to make a little winter hat and then cut a long strip of fabric from the remaining part of the sock.
Use paint markers to draw a snowman face on the jar, alternatively you can cut out felt shapes and glue them on.
Hot glue the hat to the top jar.
Add some hot glue or a double-sided tape to the top of the jar that will be on the bottom and place the two jars together to hold it into place.
Tie on the scarf around the two jars to finish it off.
We went back and added felt stick arms to give it a little more whimsical detail.
