Eight ways to enjoy our winter warmer ideas in schools

Winter walking trails

Go for a nature walk around the playground, school grounds or local area. Spot nature using the Woodland Trust guides below and encourage selective foraging (not too much from the same place) to collect items to make a wonderfully wild creation, using our lesson plan and resources.

Winter walking bus

It may be chilly outside but getting children wrapped up and walking to school instead of driving or taking public transport is a great way to reduce air pollution. As well as helping maintain a healthy lifestyle and enjoying the benefits that time outside during the winter months brings. Encourage families and different members of the school community to come together with our tips for creating a walking bus.

Start a walking bus

Wonderfully Wild Creations: Lesson plan for EYFS and KS

Use our lesson plan to help young children explore the concept of celebration while experimenting with the colours, textures, patterns, shape and forms that occur in nature in winter. Aimed at EYFS and KS1, the activities are cross-curricular and offer a play-based approach to teaching and give you a great opportunity to link classroom learning with learning outside!

View the lesson plan

Mince Hi

Give parents an opportunity to connect with a mince hi moment – add some time after the Christmas performances to share mince pies and a warming drink. Or bring the staff team together to enjoy a baked treat and take a moment out of the busy lead up to Christmas.

Organise a Big Lunch at Christmas

Lots of schools take part in The Big Lunch annually in the summer term, but now you can join in for some festive fun too! Use our free resources, including Human Bingo and cracker template to get your pupils and school community together this December – and encourage older children to take the idea home to their street too.

Find The Big Lunch at Christmas resources

Winter dig

Planting bulbs, wildflowers, veg and trees is a brilliant way to cheer up your school and help children to connect with nature and each other. You don’t need as much space as you might think, and you can re-use all kinds of containers to keep the cost down – think wellies, old boots, kitchen pots and pans, anything than can re-purposed as a planter! Discover our top tips for how and what to plant to brighten up your school.

What to plant to brighten your community

Festive windows

Invite each class to decorate a window, wall or space in the school with a winter or festive theme. Displays could be revealed over advent in the run up to Christmas or all at once and used to create a trail.

Learn how to create advent windows

Reverse advent

Build a Christmas hamper over the advent period to gift to a community food bank, local care home, or charity. Ask children to bring one thing in to contribute, if they can, over the period to show the benefit of working together to create something lovely, and the importance of sharing kindness to others in the wider community.

We’ve put together a ‘Scarf of Kindness’ as an alternative advent calendar with some easy ways to spread joy. Pin it up in your classroom and colour it in as you go along, or cut up the segments and pull them from a jar to create your scarf!