Christmas & Winter Unit Studies: 15+ Units to Add Fun to Your Homeschool

Cozy down in the cold weather with one of these winter unit studies for your homeschool. {Ideas for preschool – middle school.}

Away go the textbooks, calculators, and pencils.

And out come the picture books, glue sticks, and Christmas glitter. (Oh, the glitter!)

We toured the Arctic circle. We holidayed around the world — El Salvador, Ethiopia, Russia. Weeks went by tracking weather in arctic cities & studying winter weather.

December and January were FUN.

As kids grow up, though, our homeschool changes. My daughter no longer does our winter units. And, now, we do our winter unit studies in more of a morning basket setup.

Make it Happen

I struggled to complete (or, sometimes, begin!) unit studies at other times of the year, but this was easy. Why? Built-in time constraints. Same time every year. Engaging topics. Limits.

And I was okay walking away from something we weren’t enjoying.

• Limit yourself. It’s okay to not do everything in a unit study. Really. And it’s totally fine to not finish even that much. That freedom is one of the reasons we homeschool!
• Unless you’re doing a grab-and-go type of unit, you’ll need to order books, print activities, and track down supplies. Choose a study before Thanksgiving if you can.
• Decide when you’ll do it. Is this your entire December studies? Only one day a week? Afternoon fun?
• Choose topics you’ll actually enjoy. And your kids will enjoy.

Winter Unit Studies for Littles (Grades 3 & under)

1. Celebrate Winter: A Unit Study From His Mercy is New
2. Polar Animals & Lands Unit Study from Gift of Curiosity
3. Travel around the arctic circle Sweeden from Simple Creative Living
4. Arctic & Antarctic Exploration from Beyond Penguins & Polar Bears
5. Let it Snow: A Snow Unit {from Real Life at Home; suitable for elementary} or a Week of Winter Weather
6. Christmas Around the World from Confessions of a Homeschooler and Today’s Child 
7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
8. And one more Arctic Unit Study
9. Love the Snowmen at Night book? This mini-study is perfect for the preschool-second-grade crowd.
10. A Jan Brett Christmas from Build Your Library
11. Arctic Animals, Whales, & Penguins from Sea World

Even Older Kids Can Have Fun (Grades 4 & Up)

1. Iditarod & Alaska from DIYHomeschooler
2. Arctic & Antarctic Exploration from Beyond Penguins & Polar Bears (This site contains lots of great additional resources.)
3. Christmas Around the World from Today’s Child 
4. Exploring the Aurora: Dancing Lights Through Arts & Literature (Grades 3-6)
5. A unique spin on the traditional December topic — White House Holidays; Christmas (check out a free sample)
6. Winter Holidays Around the World from Build Your Library
7. Arctic Animals, Whales, & Penguins from Sea World

And a Few Ideas to Add In

• Preschool Do-A-Dot Arctic Animals
• Arctic Animal Bingo
• Arctic Map Using Salt dough
• Make Inuit-style Snow Goggles (grades 5 -8)