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You are here: Home / Homeschool / Fall/Winter / Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

November 16, 2019 by Erin Vincent 23 Comments

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The Winter Solstice is upon us! Also known as the shortest day and longest night of the year, the winter solstice usually takes place on December 21st or 22nd every year in the Northern Hemisphere. Many cultures around the world celebrate the solstice by holding festivals, and holidays. These celebrations were created to celebrate the return of light, and the joy of each day growing longer and longer.

The earth, as it turns out, has an axial tilt and daily rotation around the sun. As the Earth follows its orbit around the sun it slowly tilts. The earth also has two hemispheres: northern and southern. When one hemisphere faces toward the sun (summer) the other hemisphere faces away from the sun (winter.) This is because the two hemispheres face opposite directions along the earth’s axis. Now you know the science behind it. How about some activities to celebrate the solstice?

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Winter Solstice Activities & Books: Also known as the shortest day and longest night of the year, the winter solstice usually takes place on December 21st or 22nd every year in the Northern Hemisphere. Many cultures around the world celebrate the solstice by holding festivals, and holidays. These celebrations were created to celebrate the return of light, and the joy of each day growing longer and longer. #homeschool #winteractivities #wintersolstice #yule #winter #homeschooling

Winter Solstice Activities

 

Orange Pomanders

The children and I made orange pomanders. Oranges symbolize the return of the sun. They are also lovely for decoration and the smell of cloves helps to freshen any room! All you need are a few oranges and whole cloves.

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

The cloves were a bit difficult for our daughter to push into the oranges so I helped her quite a bit. Our son, on the other hand, enjoyed this activity immensely. He took to making shapes with the cloves like spirals, leaf shapes, and even a pony!

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Winter Solstice Activities

Solstice Sun Bread

We took our favorite bread recipe but in honor of the winter solstice, we shaped our loaf of bread into the shape of the sun!

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Dried Orange Slices for Garland

Remember, citrus fruit symbolizes the sun.

Did you know you can dry orange slices and use them for decoration? If you have an electric dehydrator, then, by all means, use that. But a good old fashion oven works just as well.

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Just slice your oranges and place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a wire rack.

Set your oven to 200 degrees for 4-5 hours until the rinds are hard.

We also took our orange end pieces and added them with a couple of cinnamon sticks and water to slow simmer on the stove all day. The aroma reminds me of the holidays of my childhood!

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Once your orange slices are hard, you can use them for garland, ornaments, and other decorations!

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Winter Solstice Chalk Pastels

Celebrate the winter solstice with your kids with chalk pastels winter-themed art! They are easy and fun for the whole family.

With the Chalk Pastels Clubhouse, you have access to ALL of their winter-themed art along with 600+ other art lessons? It’s true! Here are just some of the winter art course lessons you can do with the clubhouse membership:

  • Fireplace (A Simple Start)
  • Frost (Winter)
  • Icicles (Winter)
  • Frozen lake (Winter)
  • Winter forest scene with deer (Winter)
  • Stonehenge winter solstice (World Landmarks)
  • Bird in snow (Winter)
  • Northern Lights (Essential Oils)
  • Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening (Master Classes)
  • Winter Tree Reflection Acrylic (Master Classes)
  • Snowman (Preschool)
  • Skate (Winter Games)

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Books

Curl up with some fabulous books about the solstice and winter!

The Shortest Day: Celebrating The Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Activities & Books
 

The Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Activities & Books
 

The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Activities & Books
 

Sun Bread

Winter Solstice Activities & Books
 
The Solstice Badger
 
 
Winter Solstice Activities & Books

The Mitten

Winter Solstice Activities & Books
 

One Short Day in December

Winter Solstice Activities & Books
 

Iliana: A Winter Solstice Tale

Winter Solstice Activities & Books
 

The Sunchildren: A Seasonal Thanksgiving for Families of the Earth Celebrating the Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Activities & Books
 

Sleep Tight Farm

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

Solar System Bracelets

My kids also loved making these solar system bracelets! This was a fun and hands-on way to learn interesting facts about our sun and the other planets in our solar system!
 
Winter Solstice Activities
 
 

Check out the other fun Winter and Solstice resources!

Winter Solstice Activities & Books

How will you celebrate the Winter Solstice?
 
You may also enjoy:
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  • 15 Books to Inspire Gratitude and Thankfulness

  • Favorite Winter Picture Books

  • Christmas Carol Study with SQUILT

  • 25 Favorite Christmas Books the Whole Family Will Love

  • 10 EASY Homeschool Holiday Activities

 


 

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Filed Under: Fall/Winter, Holidays, Homeschool Tagged With: Christmas, Kids Activities, Winter, Winter Activities, Winter Activities for Kids, Winter Books, Winter Solstice

About Erin Vincent

Erin is a writer, blogger, and homeschooler to two intense kids. She loves nature, farm life, good books, knitting, new pens, and hot coffee. Erin is a contributing writer for Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Her work has also been featured on Simple Homeschool and Book Shark.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lee @ Dragon'sEyeView says

    December 14, 2018 at 6:58 am

    Thank you for all these ideas and recommendations!
    And, Happy Solstice!

    Reply
  2. Annette says

    November 14, 2018 at 1:25 pm

    what a fabulous way to celebrate solstice

    Reply
  3. Kristen says

    November 14, 2018 at 11:13 am

    I love The Mitten! Such a cute book.

    Reply
  4. Kristen says

    June 20, 2018 at 6:56 pm

    We use a bamboo skewer to pre poke the holes for the cloves 😉

    Reply
    • Erin Vincent says

      June 20, 2018 at 10:19 pm

      That’s Brilliant!

      Reply

Trackbacks

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Welcome! I'm Erin, a homeschooling mom to two very intense kids. Every day I try to find what works best for me and my family. My blog is filled with information to help you explore a child led education while making meaningful connections with your children. Discover favorite read alouds, seasonal books, games, art projects, hands-on activities, and learn to just breathe through the ups and downs of life. I hope these posts will encourage you on your homeschool adventure.

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