Winter Clothes in Kindergarten

I’ll never forget my first snowy day teaching kindergarten. We get lots of snow, and “SNOW DAYS” are usually pretty rare and only happen when we are having blizzard-like snow. Simple snowy, cold weather doesn’t stop us from coming to school! My students were so eager to go outside and play – but when they went to get their gear on, the first thing on was their mittens! So many of my kindergarteners came up to me, frustrated, because they started with mittens or gloves and then couldn’t put on anything else. The others started with boots and were frustrated they couldn’t get their snow pants on next!

Snow gear is a big job. I know many of the kids had very helpful moms and dads dressing them at home, and I get it! It can take a LONG time for a five-year-old to get dressed with snow gear (mostly) independently. But kindergarten is the perfect place for this learning! Of course it is also just a necessity, as there is no way one kindergarten teacher can efficiently help twenty-some kindergarteners get dressed all at the same time.

Wanting to reduce everyone’s frustration, I created this Winter Clothes Chart. I’ve used it faithfully every year, usually having to pull it out in October in Iowa! I post it all over. Classroom, hallway, lockers, you name it! Students don’t have to go far to reference one of these charts when getting dressed. It is pretty adorable to see them reference it, step by step. When I say it’s a tried and true resource, I really mean that!

I’ve also had fellow teachers throughout the years use these charts in other awesome ways. A preschool teacher asked me to put them four to a page, which she then cut apart and laminated. She zip tied the winter clothes chart to each of her preschoolers’ winter gear bags and gave it to them for a Christmas gift! She said it was a lifesaver because not only could they reference the chart, but they could remember exactly what needed to come to school.

I’ve also printed out little sheets with the winter clothes and circle what students didn’t bring to school that day. I send these home in their take home folders for a gentle reminder to parents to pack their correct gear the next day. (I do this when I know the families already have the winter gear and they simply forgot it at home. If they don’t have the winter gear at all, I handle that differently, see below.) In our school, if a students doesn’t have the full winter gear ensemble, they are not allowed to play off of the blacktop. This is truly for safety as it gets COLD and windy where I live!

There are some families who cannot afford all of this winter gear, and things like snowsuits and winter boots really add up. Because of this, at the end of each winter season I ask families to consider donating their child’s winter gear to me if their child has outgrown it and they don’t need it anymore. I save it in my cabinet to gift to a student the next year. If I have extras, I keep a set at school for anyone who forgot their gear that day to borrow. Families are really generous with donating used winter clothes at the end of the season!

I will say that in recent years, I have noticed a trend with less kindergarteners knowing how to put their coats on independently. I am a huge fan of the Coat Flip method in these cases, as it seems to click with students who haven’t mastered the coat quite yet. I even send youtube videos to their parents to see this in action and ask them to practice lots at home! Being able to follow the winter clothes steps is one thing, but being able to do each task is another!

Inspired by this blog post, I’ve created a winter freebie (limited time) to offer you. I hope you enjoy using this winter clothes reminder sheet, helping parents remember to send back their children’s winter gear.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out the freebie!