January Themes for Kindergarten

It’s always so exciting to welcome students back from winter break! Students have had a chance to recharge and are (usually) eager to be back at school. One of my favorite ways to welcome students back to school after the break is with a thematic unit. In this post, I’m going to share some of my absolute favorite January themes for kindergarten. 

The Benefits of Thematic Units in January

Thematic units can be a very helpful addition to your classroom in January! 

• Get Back Into Routine – The hands-on and engaging activities will motivate your students to get back into the learning routine after winter break. The activities in a thematic unit can be used throughout the daily routine, such as centers, morning work, and more!

• Increase Engagement – You’ll also be able to bring a little bit of seasonal fun to your classroom to keep students engaged during a time of year when it can be difficult. 

• Practice Procedures – The crafts that are often created in a thematic unit are a great way to help students practice procedures like using school supplies and following directions.

• Review Academic Skills – Thematic units can help your students review academic skills after winter break. You can make sure that students are ready before moving on with the curriculum. 

4 Fun January Themes for Kindergarten

If you’re looking for a fun thematic unit for your classroom, here are some of my favorites! These January themes for kindergarten are a great way to bring some seasonal fun to your classroom while reviewing important academic concepts.

1. “The Mitten” Theme

One of my favorite books to read with kindergarteners in January is “The Mitten” by Jann Brett. You can easily create an entire week focused on mitten-themed literacy and math activities!

Students can put together a story elements book where they review the characters, setting, sequence, and more. 

There are also many ways that you can incorporate mittens into math practice. This lift-the-flap addition activity is a fun way for students to solve equations.

You can also incorporate a class vote and graphing practice into your classroom. In this vote, students will decide if they prefer gloves or mittens. After everyone has had a chance to vote, each student can complete their own graphing worksheet. 

2. Snowman Theme

Another fun theme for your kindergarten classroom is snowmen! There are so many great picture books that you can read with your students during a snowman week. I like to read “Snowmen at Night” and “Snowmen All Year” by Caralyn Buehner. 

After reading both stories, students can compare and contrast the books using a snowman-themed Venn diagram craft. They can cut and paste each word strip to the correct place on the Venn diagram.

Your students can also practice math concepts with a snowman twist! This fun snowman craft is a great way to help students practice decomposing numbers. Beads on a pipe cleaner become the snowman’s buttons that students can move around in different combinations. They can record the different number combinations to create various addition equations.

This 3D craft is another fun addition to a snowman week! Students can write and illustrate a sentence for each season of the year. These snowmen make a great winter classroom decoration!

3. Penguin Theme

Penguins are perfect for another January kindergarten theme! You can spend time learning about penguins by reading a variety of nonfiction books together as a class.

Students can work to put together a graphic organizer with all of the facts they’ve learned about penguins.

This graphic organizer will be helpful as they complete this cute penguin-shaped book of facts. These penguin crafts look great on a bulletin board but they can also stand up on a bookshelf or desk.

Your students can also create a craft to go with math practice. Students can model a subtraction equation using fish. They will start with a set number of fish in the water and then add some fish to the penguin’s stomach to show how many fish the penguin has eaten. These math stories also look great on a bulletin board!

4. Winter Theme

Finally, a winter theme is a great option for January! There are so many fun ways to incorporate this season into your literacy and math practice.

One of my favorite books to read during a winter thematic unit is “The Snow Globe Family” by Jane O’Connor. Students always enjoy reading and discussing this fun story as a class.

This story can also inspire a writing craftivity! Students can write a sentence about what they would do if they lived in a snow globe.

Then they can attach their writing to this fun snow globe craft!

You can also use the word “winter” for a fun word-building activity! Students can rearrange the letters of the word “winter to see how many words they can create. They can write each word on their recording sheet. This is a fun literacy center idea!

Your students can also practice math with a winter twist! For example, this mini-book gives students a chance to practice making ten. The ten frames in this mini-book can help students visualize the relationship between number combinations of ten.

Printable Thematic Units for Kindergarten

Would you like to use these themes in your kindergarten class this January? To save you some time and money, I’ve put together a bundle with all four of the themes I shared above. It includes all of the printable activities, book suggestions, and unit plans that you will need to use these themes in your own classroom.

To take a closer look at everything included in this bundle of thematic units, you can find it in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on TPT.

Save These Kindergarten Themes for January

Be sure to save this post if you’d like to come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly and easily find these January themes for kindergarten when you’re working on your lesson plans.

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