March 13, 2026
Winter Lesson Plans
Winter doesn’t have to mean staying cooped up indoors. In fact, the colder months offer some of the most powerful opportunities for hands-on learning. Snow, frost, crisp air, and even shorter days can all become tools for exploration, creativity, and discovery.
If you’ve been looking for ways to bring learning beyond the classroom walls, you’re in the right place. Below, you’ll find a curated list of engaging lesson plans designed to help get outside this winter. Whether you’re working with a full class or learning at home, these activities make it easy to turn chilly days into meaningful outdoor adventures.
Lesson Plans
Critters in a Manitoba Winter
What does a fox, a frog, or a goose really do in the winter? This lesson focuses on Manitoba animals and what they do during the winter months. It discusses migration, hibernation, brumation, and the adaptations that make survival possible.
Forest Meditation and Creative Writing
Can’t get your students outside due to the weather? Stay inside with this lesson plan to bring nature into the classroom! Help students de-stress through a guided meditation and ignite imagination through a creative writing exercise about the lives of animals in the forest.
Students will use visualization and imagery techniques to calm their nervous systems and provide an opportunity for creative writing. Meditations can help students manage emotions, improve focus, and reduce stress.
Nature Journaling
Nature journaling is about slowing down and truly appreciating the world around you—taking a moment to “stop and smell the roses,” as the saying goes. It is documenting in a notebook what you experience in nature. This can be through drawing, writing, painting, collaging or anything that works for you (find more ideas here). By observing, recording, and reflecting on life around you, students develop a deeper connection with the outdoors, offering a better understanding of the world we live in.
Observing and Recording Animal Tracks
ver stumbled across tiny paw prints in the snow or mud and wondered who passed by before you? Every track tells a story — if you know how to identify it! Take your students on an adventure to track animals in their schoolyard!
Snowflake Exploration
This time of year can be a little unpredictable, one day you have rain and the next day there’s snow! Next time the snow is falling, get students outside to explore the intricacies of snowflakes by catching and observing them.
Student Voices Campaign
Explore the importance of maintaining biodiversity any way in your classroom or extra-curricular group and show students their voice matters! Engage students in learning about biodiversity and worksheets to submit responses to include in our Student Voices Campaign! (deadline extended to March 27, 2026)
Winter Survival
Teach students about the reality of animal survival through an experiential running game.
Conclusion
Getting outside is important year-round, even when the temperatures drop. Winter offers unique opportunities to explore, learn, and connect with nature in new ways, in and outside the classroom.
No matter what the weather looks like, we have lesson plans designed to get kids outdoors, helping them connect with nature while learning about the local environment.
Learn More
Book CPAWS Manitoba for an Outdoor Education Program in your classroom!
Check out more CPAWS Manitoba Outdoor Education Lesson Plans!
CPAWS Manitoba’s Outdoor Education Program is made possible with funding from Manitoba Habitat Conservancy (MHC) through the Conservation Trust. Established by the Province of Manitoba, the Conservation and GROW Trusts support lasting, nature-based solutions that protect wildlife habitat and help address climate change, supporting opportunities for youth to connect with and learn from nature.