20 The Mitten Preschool Activities That Bring the Story to Life

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Seeking engaging ways to connect books and learning? These The Mitten preschool activities are packed with hands-on ideas that make story time even more meaningful. From storytelling stones to mitten math and sensory bins, each activity helps bring Jan Brett’s winter tale to life and into your child’s world.

Want more story-based fun? Don’t miss our complete list of kids book crafts for even more ways to turn favorite stories into memorable moments.

Collage of preschool activities themed around The Mitten, including crafts, games, and worksheets.

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fun-a-day.com

Story Rock Activities for The Mitten

A set of DIY story stones featuring the animal characters from The Mitten brings the beloved tale to life. Children create the stones by painting each animal from the story onto a smooth rock (or by gluing on printed pictures), making sure to include all the mitten's furry friends.

Once finished, kids can use these story stones for all sorts of activities: retelling and sequencing the events as they place each animal “into” a mitten, acting out the story in their own words, or even for simple math games like counting and sorting — a hands-on, interactive way to engage with Jan Brett's story.

www.notimeforflashcards.com

The Mitten Rhyming Match Game

A mitten-themed rhyming match game helps children practice listening for matching ending sounds. The free printable includes pairs of mitten-shaped cards with pictures or words; kids spread them out and find the two that rhyme (for example, a mitten with a cat and one with a hat).

As they giggle over silly pairs and hear the rhyming sounds, children sharpen their phonological awareness in a fun, wintery way — matching mittens that sound alike just as real mittens come in matching pairs.

Also try: Handprint Christmas Gnome Craft

kitchenfloorcrafts.blogspot.com

Mitten Ornaments

Baking salt-dough mitten ornaments is a fun way to extend the story of “The Mitten” and create keepsakes. Kids help roll out salt dough to about 1/4 inch thick and use a mitten-shaped cookie cutter to cut out ornament shapes.

After the dough mittens are baked and hardened, children can paint them and decorate with glitter or sequins (perhaps adding Jan Brett-inspired patterns or tiny animal footprints), then loop a ribbon through the top — creating adorable mitten ornaments that can hang on the tree or be given as gifts, all while recalling the story that inspired them.

Related: Polar Bear Christmas Craft

trilliummontessori.org

The Mitten Montessori

This project is an excellent collection of free printables and Montessori-inspired activities to accompany The Mitten. Trillium Montessori has gathered resources, including mitten sequencing cards, animal flashcards, and phonological awareness games themed around the story.

You'll find everything from matching activities (pair the animal with the mitten, or match animal names to pictures) to counting and sorting exercises — a one-stop source for educators to enrich the “The Mitten” unit with engaging, hands-on learning centered on Jan Brett's book.

Also try: Christmas Tracing Worksheets

mommyevolution.com

“Sew a Mitten” Fine Motor Activity

Kids can practice fine motor skills by “sewing” their own paper mitten, inspired by Jan Brett's The Mitten. Using a printable mitten shape punched with holes around the edge, children lace a piece of yarn in and out of the holes, as if stitching up a mitten.

They'll end up with a cute paper mitten art (often two mittens tied together) and, in the process, get great fine motor and hand-eye coordination practice — all while connecting to the story's theme of a warm, cozy mitten.

Related: Christmas Pattern Worksheets

booksandgiggles.com

The Mitten Sight Word Activity

A creative sight word activity ties into The Mitten by using a “lost mitten” search game in a sensory bin. Kids search through a snowy sensory bin to find matching sight word mittens. Each discovered mitten encourages reading practice as they pair identical words.

This activity mimics the mitten hidden in snow, adding a fun storytelling connection.

Also try: Pete the Cat Saves Christmas Craft

www.prekinders.com

The Mitten Story Sequencing Flannel Board Cards

A set of story sequencing cards for The Mitten helps children retell the tale in the correct order using a flannel board. Each printable card features one of the characters or events (from Nicki dropping his mitten, to each animal crawling in, and finally the sneeze).

It's an excellent visual and tactile way for young learners to demonstrate comprehension of the story and to practice sequencing skills as they make the mitten “fill up” and then “pop” open again.

Related: Christmas Cutting Worksheets

www.3dinosaurs.com

Mitten Fine Motor Mats

These free printable mitten fine motor mats offer a variety of hands-on exercises for little ones. One mat might have a mitten with blank circles on it, which kids can cover with pompoms or stickers, practicing pinching and placing objects. Another could feature lines or patterns on a mitten for children to trace with crayons or dab with paint using a cotton swab.

Whether they're lining up cereal pieces along a path or pressing playdough into the shape of a mitten, kids will build fine motor strength and coordination — all with a fun mitten theme that ties back to the story.

Also try: Christmas Activity Sheets

happyhooligans.ca

Mitten Lacing Cards

Make your own mitten-shaped lacing cards for a fun and reusable fine motor activity. Using sturdy cardboard, an adult cuts out a pair of mitten shapes and punches evenly spaced holes around the edges.

The happy hooligans even decorate their lacing mittens (you can color them or add designs), and the activity keeps little hands busy while exercising those finger muscles — a perfect quiet time activity after reading The Mitten.

Related: Panda Christmas Craft

homeschoolpreschool.net

The Mitten Story Sequencing

A simple story sequencing activity based on The Mitten helps preschoolers recall and order the events. Kids can work on putting these cards in the correct sequence (with guidance, if needed) by gluing them onto a strip of paper or placing them in a pocket chart.

It's a straightforward, effective way to reinforce comprehension of the narrative, and kids feel proud when they can “retell” the story in order.

Also try: Christmas Matching Worksheets

thekindergartenconnection.com

Alphabet Match Mitten Activity

An alphabet matching mitten activity turns letter practice into a fun pairing game. In this set, one mitten might have an uppercase letter printed on it, and its matching mitten has the lowercase version.

Children spread out all the mitten cards and then search for the pairs (for example, matching A with a). It's like finding the mates in a pile of mixed-up mittens!

www.adabofgluewilldo.com

Handprint Mitten

Kids can turn a tracing of their own hand into a cute mitten art, making it a special keepsake. They trace each hand with fingers closed (to resemble the shape of a mitten) onto construction paper and cut out the two hand shapes, then they decorate their paper “mittens” — often adding a cotton ball or foam strip at the wrist for a fuzzy cuff and drawing patterns or stickers on the mitten part.

This variation on a handprint project is not only adorable (and gift-worthy for parents or grandparents), but also ties in the idea of warm mittens from the story.

Also try: Christmas Dot To Dot Printables

homeschoolpreschool.net

The Mitten Worksheets

This printable worksheet pack fills the pages with The Mitten-themed educational activities for preschoolers. Inside, you might find pages for practicing pre-writing (tracing paths for the animals to the mitten), identifying letters (maybe circling letters hidden in mitten pictures), counting items (like “count the mittens or animals and write the number”), and perhaps a simple maze or coloring sheet featuring characters from the story.

These worksheets make learning letters, numbers, and other basics more engaging by incorporating Jan Brett's mitten theme and characters, and they're great for quiet table work to reinforce skills after enjoying the book.

Related: Christmas Tree Card Craft

abcsofliteracy.com

Mitten Beginning Sounds Activity

This mitten-themed beginning sound activity is a hands-on way for kids to practice phonics. Typically, it includes a set of mittens labeled with different letters of the alphabet and a bunch of small picture cards or icons representing objects (or animals) that start with those letters.

By sorting pictures to the correct “letter mitten,” kids sharpen their ability to identify beginning sounds — and doing it with mittens and story characters makes the practice feel like a fun winter game instead of a drill.

Also try: Christmas Tree Name Craft

fromabcstoacts.com

The Mitten Sensory Bin

A Mitten sensory bin invites kids to explore the story through touch and play. In a large bin, a parent or teacher creates a snowy scene using materials like cotton balls, white rice, or shredded paper as “snow.” Children can then reenact the story by making the animals burrow into the mitten one by one and later explode out when the bear sneezes!

This sensory experience not only delights kids with different textures and imaginative play but also reinforces the story's sequence and characters in a very memorable way.

Related: Elf Christmas Card Craft

funlearningforkids.com

Mitten Roll & Cover Math Mats

Mitten Roll and Cover Mats turn number practice into a fun game that feels like play. Children roll a die and cover the matching numbers or dots on a mitten mat with counters until they fill the mitten.

This activity keeps kids engaged as they eagerly roll the dice, and it helps with number recognition and counting in a hands-on way — perfect for a winter math center after reading The Mitten.

Also try: Christmas Tree Paper Bag Puppet Craft

www.firefliesandmudpies.com

Colorful Mitten

Kids paint or color the paper mittens in whichever bold colors they like, then decorate each one with all sorts of fun art materials — think glitter glue squiggles, stickers, sequins, or bits of ribbon. Some even glue cotton along the cuff to give it a fluffy look.

Each child creates a uniquely designed mitten (or pair of mittens) that “can be hung up” as winter décor. It's an open-ended art project that encourages creativity and personal expression, all under the cozy theme of mittens.

lifeovercs.com

Mitten Counting Cards (1–10)

These free printable mitten counting cards help preschoolers practice counting from 1 to 10 in a tactile, visual way. Kids can count the items and then place a small counter or clothespin on the correct number, or even put a matching number of manipulatives onto the card.

It's a simple math activity that makes numbers feel concrete and fun, perfect for reinforcing counting skills within the winter theme.

Also try: Christmas Coloring Pages

www.kitchencounterchronicle.com

Holiday Mitten Wreath

Kids can work together to create a festive mitten wreath to decorate the home or classroom. Each child adds their own designs with crayons, stickers, glitter, or character drawings.

It's a great group project (each child contributes a mitten or two) and makes a lovely holiday decoration that celebrates teamwork and creativity.

Related: Reindeer Christmas Card

playtolearnpreschool.us

Symmetrical Mittens Art Project

A symmetrical mitten art project teaches kids about pairs as they fold paper, add paint to one side, and press it to create a matching design on both halves. Once you “open” the paper, the colorful inkblot pattern becomes the base for cutting out two identical mitten shapes.

Kids can connect the mittens with yarn and hang them up, creating a bright display that shows off both creativity and symmetry.

Also try: Elf Handprint Christmas Card

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