Winter PE Games: 10 Winter Olympic Activities for the Gym
Updated: 3 days ago
Winter is a perfect time to add some fun and excitement to your PE classes. Getting students outside is great, but cold weather keeps a lot of us in the gym. The good news is that with a little creativity, winter-themed games and activities can keep your students moving and excited on even the coldest days!
In this post, I'll share 10 winter-themed activities to keep your students active during the colder months. Most of them can be adjusted for any grade level, so they work in schools, churches, and community centers. Plus, they're a lot of fun!
Quick Answer: Fun winter PE games for the gym include Paper Plate Activate, Bobsled, Winter Biathlon, Hockey Shooting, Ski Jumping, Snowball Target Throw, Curling, Ice Fishing Fitness, Skeleton, and Snowflake Fitness. Most use simple equipment like scooters, mats, pool noodles, and yarn balls, and they bring Winter Olympic events into indoor PE.
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Short on planning time this winter? My PE Winter Activities and Games: Seasonal 6 Set Fitness Super Bundle includes winter sport stations, instant activities, a memory game, and fitness warm-ups, all ready to print and teach. See it on TPT →
Why Include Winter-Themed Activities in Indoor PE?
Winter-themed stations, games, and activities bring PE to life. It can be hard for students to stay motivated during the winter months, and a fun theme gets them excited to move.
A winter theme is a great way to shake up the usual indoor units at this time of year. It lets students be creative with their movement, and it's a perfect time to introduce Winter Olympic events like curling, luge and skeleton, skiing and snowboarding, speed skating, and bobsled. My Winter Olympic Sports Display is a great visual for this.
Winter-themed activities line up with SHAPE America's Standard 4: Develops personal skills, identifies personal benefits of movement and chooses healthy opportunities for movement.* Students see that being active can be fun and challenging all year long. The activities also build motor skills from Standard 1: Develops a variety of motor skills.*
Tips for Setting Up Winter PE Activities
Running winter activities and games in indoor PE takes a little planning. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
Match Their Level: Pick activities that fit your students' ages and abilities so everyone can learn and succeed.
Gather Your Materials: Make sure you have all the equipment and props each activity needs.
Set Up Early: Organize and set up your activities before class starts.
Add Music: Play festive or Olympic music while students are moving.
Keep Directions Simple: Make directions short and clear. Demonstrate, or have students demonstrate, so everyone knows what to do.
Go for the Gold: Talk about the Winter Olympics during your lesson, and decorate your space with Olympic rings to get kids excited.
From My PE Classes
My students really loved our Winter Olympics stations, especially in Winter Olympic years. We'd start by talking about the events and what was happening in the current Games. Then I'd play Olympic-style music, and students would work through the stations. With 20 stations, we had plenty to fill multiple lessons.
Videos by Eric Turrill: Round Hill P.E. - @RHEPE1
Plan Your Transitions: Have a clear plan for moving between activities so your lesson flows with few pauses.
Wrap It Up: At the end of class, review the most important things students learned.
Reset the Gym: Have your class help reset the equipment so the next class can start on time.
10 Winter-Themed Indoor Activities for PE
Try these 10 winter-themed activities to keep your PE classes full of energy all winter long!
1. Paper Plate Activate: Winter Style
A great way to start a winter-themed PE lesson!
Overview
Students move from plate to plate every 30 seconds to do Winter Olympic fitness and skill movements. It's a GREAT warm-up that ties in the Winter Olympics.
Set-Up
Laminate plates with exercises that match Winter Olympic events (for example, luge: leg lifts, skeleton: plank hold, curling: lunge jumps, downhill skiing: squats).
Scatter the plates face up around the playing area.
Spread students out evenly at the plates.
Activity
Explain the activity and turn on some upbeat music. Students do the exercise on their plate for 30 seconds. When the music stops, they move to a plate they haven't been to yet. Keep going for 4 to 6 minutes. My Paper Plate Activate: Winter Olympic Edition has everything ready to go.
2. Bobsled
Bobsled is a winter sport where teams of 2 or 4 race down a narrow, twisting, banked ice track in a gravity-powered sled.
Overview
Students take turns pushing and riding a folded mat on top of scooter boards through a cone course.
Set-Up
Place a folded mat on 4 to 6 scooters.
Set up cones and poly spots for the bobsled course.
Mark an end area where riders turn around and head back to the start.
Activity
In small groups, students take turns pushing and riding the bobsled through the course. Time each run with a stopwatch or race other teams. Stress safety while pushing and riding, and keep the bobsled inside the course. Option: Connect 2 to 4 scooters together and do the same activity without the mat. My scooter board games post has more ideas.
3. Winter Biathlon
Biathlon is a Winter Olympic event that combines cross-country skiing and target shooting.
Overview
Students "ski" across the gym floor to a target station, where they get 3 throws at a target.
Set-Up
Set up several relay lines with poly spots and cones. Keep lines short (3 or 4 students per line).
Put paper plates and pool noodles at the start of each line.
Place 3 flying discs at the end of the course.
Set up a target area for each line, like a wall target or a ball on a cone.
Activity
In relay lines of 3 or 4, students use paper plates or carpet squares as skis and pool noodles as ski poles to "cross-country ski" to the target area. There, they pick up a flying disc and try to hit a wall target or knock a small ball off a cone. After 3 throws, they ski back to the start and the next person goes. Option: Throw a ball instead of a flying disc.
4. Hockey Shooting
Hockey is a fast team sport where players use sticks to move a ball or puck into the other team's goal.
Overview
Students take turns stick handling a ball or puck down the floor and shooting at a goal past a goalie.
Set-Up
Set up several relay lines with poly spots and cones. Keep lines short (3 or 4 students per line).
Place a goal at the end of each line: a hockey goal, small soccer goal, or 2 cones a few feet apart.
Place a ball and hockey stick (or pool noodle) at the start of the shooting area.
Put down a marker where shots must be taken from (for safety).
Activity
In relay lines of 3 or 4, students take turns stick handling a soft ball and shooting at a goal with a goalie in front. Only 1 shot per turn (no rebounds), and shots must be taken from the marker. After shooting, the shooter becomes the goalie, and the goalie brings the ball back to the next person in line. Option: Use hockey sticks and a small foam ball for a 2 vs. 2 or 3 vs. 3 game. My floor hockey post has lots more ideas.
5. Ski Jumping
Ski jumping is a Nordic skiing event where athletes speed down a ramp, launch into the air, and try to fly as far as they can.
Overview
Students run down a short path and jump as far as they can from a takeoff line onto a crash mat.
Set-Up
Place a cone or poly spot as the starting line.
Set up a short, straight running path with a taped takeoff line at the end.
Place a crash mat just past the takeoff line for a safe landing.
Activity
In relay lines of 3 or 4, students run down a straight path, take off with 2 feet at the takeoff line, and land on their feet on the crash mat. Mark each jump to see how far everyone flies. Only one jumper on the mat at a time. Option: Try a 1 foot takeoff.
6. Snowball Target Throw
A winter PE lesson isn't complete without a classic snowball throw!
Overview
Students take turns throwing yarn or fleece balls at targets in a station area.
Set-Up
Make, print, and laminate some wall targets.
Set up several throwing lines and targets in one area of the gym.
Place yarn balls at the throwing lines.
Use targets like a wall target, a cone on a chair, an upright hula hoop, or bowling pins.
Activity
In small groups, students take turns throwing soft yarn or fleece balls to hit targets, knock down pins, throw through hula hoops, or land them in cones. Option: Partners or trios can play catch with the yarn balls. My throwing stations post has more target ideas.
7. Curling
Curling is a winter sport where players slide stones across the ice toward a target of rings called the house.
Overview
Students take turns sliding 2 flying discs toward a target made with tape or chalk.
Set-Up
At each station, mark a line to slide from and put 2 flying discs on it.
Make a target on the floor away from the line with tape or chalk.
Activity
In groups of 4 (2 teams of 2), students take turns sliding a flying disc toward the target. Score 1 point when a disc stops in the larger target area and 2 points when it stops in the inner circle or square. Play to 15 points. Option: On some floors, beanbags slide better than discs.
8. Ice Fishing Fitness
Ice fishing means catching fish with a line or hook through a hole in the ice on a frozen lake or pond.
Overview
Students take turns "fishing" over a wall of mats and doing the exercise on the card they catch.
Set-Up
Set up several fishing poles with a string and a magnet on the end of each.
Write exercises and reps on index cards and laminate them.
Attach something magnetic to each card.
Stand some tumbling mats up on their sides to make the frozen lake or pond.
Activity
Students take turns dropping their fishing line over the mats (the frozen pond). Poles can be pool noodles with a string and magnet tied to the end. Inside the mat area, a partner attaches an exercise card (with a magnet on the back), and when the fisher pulls it up, they do the exercise, like 10 push-ups or 10 curl-ups. Partners switch roles after each catch! Option: Use skill cards instead of fitness cards, like dribble a ball 10 times or toss and catch a beanbag.
9. Skeleton
Skeleton is a winter sport where athletes ride a small sled face down and head first down an icy track at very high speeds.
Overview
Students take turns riding a scooter board face down through a cone course.
Set-Up
Set up cones and poly spots for the skeleton track.
Place a scooter board at the starting line of each track.
Mark an end area where riders turn around and head back to the start.
Activity
In groups of 3 or 4, students take turns lying on their stomachs on a scooter board and moving down the track and back using only their hands and feet. Time races with stopwatches or race other groups. Remind students to keep their fingers away from the wheels. Option: Put 2 scooter boards together for a bigger surface.
10. Snowflake Fitness
A great whole-class activity to get everyone moving. It works well as a warm-up or to end class.
Overview
Students do a variety of locomotor movements and fitness exercises using snowflake cards as task cards.
Set-Up
Make snowflake cards with exercises and reps or time on them.
You'll need at least twice as many cards as students.
Place the cards face down in the middle of the playing area to make a snowfall.
Activity
Place 6 to 12 cones around the edge of the gym and split students into small, even groups behind each cone.
On a signal (upbeat music works great), the first student in each line runs (or uses a teacher-chosen locomotor movement) to a card, flips it over, and does the exercise.
The student does the exercise in the center, then returns to their line.
They tag the hand of the next student in line, who goes out to find a new snowflake card.
Keep going for a set time, like 5 or 10 minutes.
Option: Have students ride scooter boards to the card area. My Snowflake Fitness set includes the activity plan and movement task cards.
Final Thoughts
Winter-themed activities, games, and stations bring a whole new level of excitement to PE. They're fun, they're active, and they teach students about Winter Olympic events they may never have tried. A true gold medal performance!
In this post, I've shared 10 winter activities that bring outdoor winter sports into your indoor gym. They'll keep your students engaged and active all winter long! For more seasonal ideas, check out my posts on Christmas PE games, Valentine's Day PE games, 100th Day of School activities, instant activities, and fitness circuits.
Encourage students to stay active outside of school, too, with winter activities at home and in their community. Fun movement homework is a great way to keep them off screens. My Winter PE Homework visuals, Home PE Task Cards for snow days, and Winter Activity Exit Check make it easy.
What are your favorite winter-themed PE activities? Share them in the comments below! If this post helped you, please share it with other PE teachers. Thanks for reading!
*National Physical Education Standards are used under license from SHAPE America. © 2024, SHAPE America, https://www.shapeamerica.org/. All rights reserved.
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About Pete Charrette
Pete Charrette is a National Board Certified physical education teacher and former Georgia PE Teacher of the Year with more than 30 years of experience teaching elementary PE. He is the creator of Cap'n Pete's Power PE and has developed more than 1,000 PE and health resources used by teachers around the world. Pete loves helping PE teachers build programs their students enjoy.
