Candy Cane Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten

by admin

I’ve got over 50 candy cane activities perfect for your early childhood students! Be sure to add these to your Christmas activities for preschoolers and kindergarten kids right now.

In addition to Christmastime, these candy cane ideas would be great during a peppermint theme or as part of a unit on food. No matter when you incorporate all of the peppermint-y fun, you’re sure to find ideas to use below.

There are sensory, science, math, and literacy activities, as well as some candy cane treats to make with the kids. And of course there are some creative candy cane projects, as well.

collage of candy cane ideas with text that reads candy cane activities

Related: Holiday Activities for Preschoolers

There’s just something about candy canes that add to the holiday festivities, right? Maybe it’s the colors or the sweet smell . . . or maybe it’s the sugar! Either way, I find candy cane-themed activities really up the engagement with young kids.

Candy Cane Activities

Below, you’ll find over 50 candy cane ideas to try with your students. I’ve broken them down into categories so it’s easier to find exactly what you’re looking for. There are categories for the basic subject areas, as well as some tasty treats. Because who doesn’t want some treats?!

Since this post is a big collection, each of the ideas will have a link (blue, underlined text). For all the details for each specific activity, you’ll need to click through those links. So take a scroll through everything first, and then go click on the ideas that interest you the most.

Materials for the Candy Cane Fun

Before we jump into all of the activities, let’s chat supplies. Since there are so many ideas in this post, I bet you’ll be able to find some that use materials you already have on-hand. Of course, if you’re looking for a reason to head to the craft store, you’ll find that too I’m sure.

Here are some supplies you might want to grab for all the candy cane fun. Be sure to reference your favorite ideas for any other particular items you need. (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.)

Okay, now let’s take a look at the candy cane ideas. Remember to click on the individual links for details, directions, and even more pictures of each activity.

Candy Cane Math

First up is math. Because you can definitely use candy canes to explore a wide variety of math concepts with your students!

5 math ideas for a candy cane theme

In those candy cane activities alone, your students practice symmetry, counting, color identification, visual discrimination, patterns, and fine motor skills. Whoa!

Preschool Science Activities with Candy Canes

Your little scientists are going to love these ideas! We’ve tried almost all of them over here, with much success.

6 candy cane science activities

Which of these science-based candy cane activities would your students enjoy the most?

Peppermint-y Literacy Ideas

Yes, you can even use candy canes to explore important literacy concepts with the kids. The activities below touch on letter formation, letter identification, high frequency words, word families, and oral language development.

5 literacy-based candy cane activities

I haven’t tried all of these literacy candy cane activities yet. But they’re all on my list to try soon. Be sure to let me know if you give any of them a try.

Candy Cane Arts and Crafts

Okay, I have to admit, this post is an off-shoot of an old post I wrote about nine years ago. But the creative candy cane activities took over the other post, so I needed a new one where everything was a bit more even. Thus this new article for you!

You can read all about the candy cane crafts and art activities by clicking on the blue, underlined text in this sentence. There are over 25 crafty ideas over on that page. Which means, once you’ve checked out this entire list, you’ll have over 50 ideas to choose from! Not too shabby, right?

Sensory Candy Cane Activities

Now, we can’t overlook sensory play when we’re chatting about candy canes, right? Just their existence appeals to the senses, especially the sense of sight and the sense of smell. So let’s take a peek at some ideas for your sensory center!

7 sensory candy cane activities for kids

Our favorite of these candy cane activities is the third one. It’s a scented sensory bin that uses dyed corn kernels and white beans. It really engages the kids’ senses of sight, smell, and sound. And it is so soothing to run your hands through it, let me tell you!

We’ve tried almost all of the other sensory ideas shared above, too. And they’re all kept in our holiday rotation because we love them that much!

Holiday Treats Made With Candy Canes

How can we have a collection of candy cane activities without including treats?! We can’t, I tell you! So I have some of the yummiest ideas for you here. You can make them ahead of time as a surprise for the children. Or you can have the kids help you make them. That’s totally up to you!

6 candy cane treats for kids

Are you hungry yet? And inspired with tons of ideas? Which of these candy cane activities do you plan on doing first? Be sure to save this post for future reference.

More Holiday Activities for Kids

Here are more ideas to check out once you’re done with all the candy cane fun:

Of course, with all of the candy cane activities I shared, you might not want to do anything else!

North Pole Dramatic Play Pack

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You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers.

collage of peppermint-themed ideas with text that reads preschool candy cane activities

The post Candy Cane Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten appeared first on Fun-A-Day!.

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