Winter clothes visual schedule and snow day board

Who it’s for

Children for whom getting ready for the cold is a battle: lots of layers, in an order that matters, with fingers that get clumsy in mittens. It suits preschool and school-age children who use pictures to follow a routine, and children who don’t speak or don’t speak much and need a way to say too cold or wet. Classrooms can post it by the coat hooks for winter recess.

How to use it

1. Lay the clothes out in the order of the steps, left to right, before you start.
2. Point to step 1 and hand over the snow pants. Point, wait, and help only with the part that’s hard, like the zip.
3. Pull the snow pant legs over the boots, so the snow stays out.
4. Take page 3 outside in a sheet protector, or tape it to the door, and model the words as you play: “More snowballs!” “Too cold? Let’s go inside.”
5. Coming in, follow page 2: mittens first, snow pants last, then hang the wet things up before the warm-up.

Why the order matters

Snow pants before boots, coat before hat, mittens last: the order on page 1 keeps the snow out and leaves the fingers free for the zip and the hat. It also means a child who can do steps 1 and 2 alone gets to do them, and help only comes in at the hard part. If your child wears a one-piece snowsuit, write snowsuit on step 1 and cross out step 3.

Words for a snow day

A snow day is full of things to talk about: a snowman, a sled, a snowplow going by, catching snowflakes. Page 3 has twelve things to do in the snow, words for playing together, and the weather. Too cold, wet and slippery are there on purpose: a child who can say too cold can come in before it gets too much. On days you stay inside, the weather row works just as well at the window.

What’s on the PDF

Getting dressed for the snow

• snow pants
• boots
• coat
• zip up
• hat
• scarf
• mittens
• play in the snow

Coming inside

• mittens off
• hat off
• scarf off
• coat off
• boots off
• snow pants off
• hang up to dry
• warm up

In the snow

• build a snowman
• snowballs
• sled
• shovel
• snow angel
• catch snowflakes
• ice skate
• ski
• snowplow
• jump
• make tracks
• ice

Talk

• more
• again
• my turn
• help
• too cold
• wet
• slippery
• fun
• I like it
• go inside
• hot cocoa
• all done

Weather

• snowing
• freezing
• cold
• windy
• cloudy
• sunny

Printing tips

• Laminate page 1 and tape it at child height by the coat hooks or the door you go out of.
• Print a second copy, cut out the eight steps, and tape each one to the hook or bin where that piece of clothing lives.
• For everyday clothes, the getting dressed visual schedule; for the weather at circle time, the weather and calendar board; and for December, the holiday board.
• Just starting with pictures? Start with one routine: getting ready to go out happens every day, which makes it a good one to practice. Visual supports for everyday routines has more.