3 MUST-HAVE Winter Books for Pre-K
Arctic animals and snow…. the perfect combo for your preschool winter theme! Run to your local library or hop onto Amazon (like me!!) and grab these three must-have winter books for your Pre-K classroom this year.
- Penguins Love Their ABC’s by Sarah Aspinall
- Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? By Bill Martin, Jr.
- Snowman Magic by Katherin Tegen
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Why We Love Books
Books make kids think! They help little minds learn new vocabulary and concepts in a meaningful and fun way. Reading stimulates imagination skills and helps preschoolers understand more about the great, big world they’re in.
Through frequent reading opportunities, little ones learn to love the way words sound. They often learn to love books because of the sound of words and engaging illustrations. As they later begin to become aware of words on the pages, they learn to associate written words to pictures. This is a precursor for future written text skills.
Books are also great for teaching and learning about social emotional skills. Little ones are often introduced to different emotions from story characters and begin to develop the ability to recognize and express their own emotions while listening to books.
Attention and listening skills are naturally developed as preschoolers listen to books. You’ll be amazed how they progress in their ability to sit and listen as they go from only listening to a couple of pages at the start of the year to an entire book (or a few books in one sitting!) by the end of the year. Don’t give up on your wiggly little ones… read, read, read!
Finally, books help little learners understand sequencing. Sequencing is a foundational skill addressed throughout Pre-K. Not only is sequencing important while learning to read, it is necessary for comprehension, following directions, writing, spelling, and so much more! Learning this foundational skill as a preschooler is setting up a child for great success later in life as they encounter complex life problems.
3 MUST-HAVE Winter Books
With all of that said, it’s also so fun to choose themed books to read to preschoolers.
Whether you’re already experiencing snow where you live or you’re just dreaming about a day when it’s cool enough for a sweater (hi, it’s me in SoCal!!), winter books are the perfect addition to your classroom after coming back from Christmas break.
These three books are sure to have your little ones engaged and excited for learning!
Penguins Love Their ABC’s by Sarah Aspinall
Penguins Love Their ABC’s is the cutest book about little penguins going on a hunt for their ABC’s. Preschoolers can easily follow along as the penguins find each letter.
Interactive questions are found throughout the story as the penguins find each letter and are easy to use to engage little ones in reading and build phonemic awareness and answering question skills. You’ll be pleasantly shocked at how attentive your little ones are as you read this one aloud!
Pairs perfectly with these activities:
Letter Match Sensory Bin
Set up this low-prep ABC sensory bin with my free letter matching mat, reusable ice cubes, and letter beads. Encourage your preschoolers to “go on an alphabet hunt” like the penguins in the book and find all the letters!
P is for Penguin Craft
Use this activity to help review the letter P while practicing fine motor skills and expanding creativity. Students can personalize their penguin craft to make it their own!
PS: I’ve created an entire A-Z Zoo Animal Letter Crafts bundle that you can find here.
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? By Bill Martin, Jr.
Polar Bear, Polar, What Do You Hear? is a companion book to Bill Martin, Jr’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You Hear?. This book features less familiar animals and a zoo keeper instead of a teacher. This repetitive text in this book helps little ones participate more in reading as they can quickly learn the words to the story. The uncommon animals provide a great opportunity to teach new vocabulary, talk about attributes of the animals, and more.
Pairs perfectly with this activity:
Arctic Bear Book Buddy
Incorporate this fun, arctic bear craft into your literacy instruction. Your preschoolers will enjoy practicing story sequencing, story retelling, answering and asking simple questions, and fine motor skills while they work.
Snowman Magic by Katherin Tegen
In this book, a little boy named George finds himself bored at home on a snowy day. Eventually he decides to put on his winter clothes and go outside to have some fun. One piece at a time, he assembles a snowman. After his snowman is complete, something magical happens!
This book is great for helping little minds anticipate what will happen next. Highlight the steps George takes to assemble the snowman, and help your preschoolers retell this familiar winter activity out loud after you’re finished reading.
Pairs perfectly with this activity:
Snowman Name Craft
Students can build their own snowman while practicing spelling their names with this super cute activity.
This name craft is also low prep for your busy schedule! Use paint and kiddos’ fingertips to make each snow man’s smile a personalized, keepsake item to send home.
Books are magical! Don’t underestimate the power of reading to your little ones!
Other winter ideas
Looking for more WINTER related crafts to go along with these cute books? Check out these in my TPT store!
Watch the short movie The Snowman based on the classic winter story by Raymond Briggs. (It’s free with an Amazon Prime account!)
You might also be interested in these posts:
MORE Winter book favorites on Amazon
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