It is a December morning, and the children are coming in from the cold with red cheeks and wet mittens. The teacher has a stack of winter pages on the table, and each child takes one and sits down. A boy is counting snowflakes in a ten frame, touching each one as he counts. A girl next to him is tracing a sight word in the snow. Nobody is waiting for instructions, because the page is the instruction, and the winter pictures are the invitation. By the time the teacher has taken attendance, the morning work is already happening.
The Kindergarten Winter Packet is built for those mornings. It has 46 pages of no prep math and literacy with answer keys, with winter pictures throughout: counting, ten frames, make 10, addition and subtraction, teen numbers, shapes, patterns, graphing and measurement, plus beginning and ending sounds, CVC words, rhymes, syllables, word families and sight words. December, January and February calendars, a winter writing page, a study plan and a skills tracker round out the set. The pages are black and white on US Letter paper, and the listing states 46 pages. Answer keys are included for every page with right answers. The packet is written for kindergarten, with Pre-K enrichment and 1st grade review listed among the uses; the listing's Highlights field says PreK–1st.
What Is in the Packet
The Kindergarten Winter Packet has 18 winter math pages and 14 winter literacy pages, and the split is the point: a morning work routine that covers both, every day, without the teacher having to find two sets of pages. The math pages run from counting to graphing, and the literacy pages run from beginning sounds to ABC order, and a child who works through the packet has practiced the whole kindergarten year in winter clothes.
The three monthly calendars — December, January and February — give the packet its shape. A calendar is a page a child can do every day, and a child who does the calendar every day has a routine that holds the winter together. The winter writing page, I Can Write About Winter, is the page for the children who finish early, and the My Skills Tracker is the record of what the child has done. The study plan, How to Use and Teacher Notes with standards are the teacher's part, and they are short on purpose: the packet is no prep, and the teacher's part should be too.
The winter pictures are not decoration. A snowman to count, a mitten to trace, a snowflake to color — the pictures are what make the page worth doing on a cold morning, and a page worth doing is a page a child will do without being asked. The pictures are the reason the packet works as morning work, and morning work that runs itself is morning work that gives the teacher back ten minutes.
The Math Pages: Counting to Graphing
The math pages cover the kindergarten year in order of difficulty, and the order is worth following. Count and write comes first, then ten frames, then make 10, then addition and subtraction, then teen numbers, then shapes, patterns, graphing and measurement. A child who works through them in order is building on what they just learned, and a child who jumps to graphing before they can count to ten is a child who will guess.
The ten frames are the pages to linger on, because ten frames are the picture of ten, and a child who can see ten in a frame can see it in a number. The make 10 pages are the ones that make addition easy later: a child who knows that 7 and 3 make 10 is a child who will add 7 and 3 without counting. The teen numbers pages are the ones that trip children up, because 13 looks like 31, and the pages give the children the practice of writing the teen numbers and seeing them as ten and some more.
The graphing page — count and graph — is the one the children like best, because it ends with a picture they made. Count the snowmen, count the mittens, color the bars, and the graph is the answer. A child who has graphed is a child who has counted, sorted and recorded, and the graph is the proof. The measurement pages — longer, taller, heavier — are the ones to do with real objects in the room, because a picture of a long scarf and a short scarf is a start, and the real scarves are the lesson. The shapes and patterns pages are the quiet ones, and they matter just as much: a child who can name a 2D shape and a 3D shape, and who can finish a pattern of snowflakes, is a child who is seeing structure, and seeing structure is what the shapes and patterns pages are for. Do the shapes pages with the real shapes in the room — the ball, the box, the can — and the pictures on the page become things the children can hold.
The Two Levels
The core math pages come in an easier Level 1 and a harder Level 2, so every child can start where they are. Level 1 works within 5 or to 10; Level 2 works within 10 or to 20. The two levels cover the same skills — count and write, addition, subtraction — so a class can work on the same page at two levels without anyone knowing whose is easier.
Use the levels the way they are meant to be used: not as a fixed track, but as a ladder. A child starts in Level 1, and when the numbers within 5 are easy, the child moves to Level 2. The move is the evidence of learning, and it is visible on the page. A child who has moved from within 5 to within 10 has grown, and the teacher who moves them is teaching them that they are ready.
The two levels also mean a mixed kindergarten class can do morning work together. The child on Level 1 and the child on Level 2 are both adding, and they can talk about it together. The conversation is the same conversation — what did you add, and what did you get — and the two levels mean the conversation includes everyone. Watch for the child who stays in Level 1 too long: a child who has done three Level 1 pages correctly does not need a fourth, and the teacher who moves them is teaching them that they are ready.
The Literacy Pages: Sounds, Words, Sight Words
The literacy pages cover the sounds and words kindergarteners are working on all winter. Beginning sounds and ending sounds come first, because a child who can hear the first sound in a word can hear the word, and a child who can hear the last sound can spell it. Build a CVC word and middle vowel are the pages where the sounds become words, and the rhyme time and syllables pages are where the words become patterns.
The word family sort is the page that makes the patterns visible. A child who sorts words into the -at family and the -og family is seeing that words that look alike sound alike, and the seeing is the learning. The two sight word tracing pages and find the sight word are the pages for the words the children need to know by sight, and the big and little letters, ABC order and color words pages are the ones for the children who are still learning the alphabet.
Read and draw is the page that closes the literacy set, and it is the one the children like best. Read the sentence, draw the picture, and the drawing is the proof the child understood the sentence. A child who reads "the snowman is big" and draws a big snowman has read the sentence, and the teacher who looks at the drawing can see it. The literacy pages are the ones to use in centers as well as in morning work, because the pages are short and the skills are the ones the centers are for. The ABC order and color words pages are the ones for the children who are still learning the alphabet, and they work best as a pair: order the letters, then color the words, and the alphabet becomes a game. Big and little letters is the page for the children who mix up their capitals, and the page is worth doing with letter cards on the table, so the child can hold the big A and the little a side by side and see the difference.
Calendars, Writing and Tracking
The three monthly calendars are the routine that holds the winter together. A calendar page a day, from December to February, and the child has a habit: sit down, find the date, do the calendar. The calendars are simple on purpose, because a routine that is simple is a routine that lasts, and a routine that lasts is a routine that teaches. The I Can Write About Winter page is the writing page for the children who finish early, and it is the page that turns the packet from practice into writing.
The My Skills Tracker is the record of the packet. A child who colors in a box for each page finished has a visible record of their work, and a teacher who looks at the tracker can see what the child has done and what they have not. Put the tracker in the front of the child's folder, and let the child mark it themselves. A tracker a child fills in is a tracker a child cares about, and a tracker the teacher fills in is a tracker nobody looks at.
The Winter Learning Star certificate closes the set, and it is worth giving out for the work, not for the scores. A child who has finished the packet has done 46 pages, and the certificate says so. The certificate is a record of the work, and the work is what the child controls. The study plan, How to Use and Teacher Notes with standards are the teacher's part, and they are worth reading before the first page is handed out.
Running It as Morning Work
The packet is built for morning work, and morning work has three rules: it starts itself, it is not graded, and it ends on time. The packet starts itself because the pages are the instruction — a child who picks up a page knows what to do — and it is not graded because the answer keys are for the teacher, not for the child. The child does the page, the teacher checks it later, and the morning is not spent grading. The packet ends on time because the pages are short, and a page that takes ten minutes is a page that fits the morning.
Put the pages out in order, one day at a time, and the packet runs itself. The math page on Monday, the literacy page on Tuesday, the math page on Wednesday — the alternation keeps the mornings fresh, and the children never know which kind of page is coming, which is the point. A routine that alternates is a routine that does not get boring, and a routine that does not get boring is a routine that lasts until February.
The packet also works as homework and winter break packets, sub plans and early finishers, and the uses are listed in the listing for a reason: the pages are short, self-contained and answer-keyed, and a page like that works anywhere a child needs something to do. The winter break packet is the one to send home in December, because the break is long and the packet is the work that keeps the skills warm. Send the packet home with the skills tracker on top, and the parents can see what the child has done and what is left. A tracker that goes home is a tracker the parents will look at, and a parent who looks at the tracker is a parent who knows what their child is learning.
What to Watch For
Three things go wrong with a winter packet, and all three are easy to prevent. The first is the packet handed out all at once. A child given 46 pages on the first day will do them all in a week, or lose them all in a day, and neither is the plan. Hand out one page at a time, in order, and the packet lasts the winter. The order is the teaching, and the one-page-at-a-time rule is what protects it.
The second is the level never changed. A child who stays in Level 1 all winter is a child who has not been moved, and the move is the teacher's job. Watch the answer keys: a child who is getting the Level 1 pages right is a child who is ready for Level 2, and the move is a sentence — "you are ready for the harder one" — that the child will remember.
The third is the morning work graded. A child whose morning work is graded will rush it, or copy it, or hate it, and the hating is the worst of the three. Morning work is practice, and practice is not graded. Check it, note what the child needs, and move on. The answer keys are for the checking, and the checking is for the teacher, not for the child.
Frequently Asked Questions
What grades is the kindergarten winter packet for?
It is written for kindergarten, with Pre-K enrichment and 1st grade review listed among the uses. The listing's Highlights field says PreK–1st. The core math pages come in two levels, so every child can start where they are.
How do the two levels work?
Level 1 works within 5 or to 10; Level 2 works within 10 or to 20. Both levels cover the same skills — count and write, addition, subtraction — so a class can work on the same page at two levels.
What does the packet cover?
Counting, ten frames, make 10, addition and subtraction, teen numbers, shapes, patterns, graphing and measurement, plus beginning and ending sounds, CVC words, rhymes, syllables, word families and sight words. December, January and February calendars are included.
Is there an answer key?
Yes. Answer keys are included for every page with right answers.
How long does the packet last?
It is built for December, January and February, with a calendar for each month. Hand out one page at a time, in order, and the packet lasts the winter.
Can it be used for homework or sub plans?
Yes. The pages are short, self-contained and answer-keyed, and the listing lists homework and winter break packets, sub plans and early finishers among the uses.
