Winter PE Games: Ideas for a Winter Olympics Theme
Winter is the toughest time of year for PE. It’s regularly cold, wet and windy! But that doesn’t mean PE needs to stop – and with the Winter Olympics starting this week, you have the perfect theme for winter PE games. Winter PE activities not only encourage movement (children will need to keep moving to […]
Winter is the toughest time of year for PE. It’s regularly cold, wet and windy! But that doesn’t mean PE needs to stop – and with the Winter Olympics starting this week, you have the perfect theme for winter PE games.
Winter PE activities not only encourage movement (children will need to keep moving to stay warm, after all!) but they can spark excitement when the class is ready for something fun, competitive – and seasonal.
Whether you’re adapting activities to suit cold, wet conditions or bringing the Winter Olympics spirit indoors, we’ve collected some fantastic ideas to inspire your planning…
Why Use a Winter Olympics Theme in PE?
A Winter Olympics theme brings variety to the usual PE games and helps develop a range of physical skills, like balance, agility, strength and coordination. The activities we suggest here can, regardless of ability, be easily adapted to suit different age groups.
Using a topical theme also gets children thinking about the Winter Olympics activities they might see on TV, too. If they can relate what they’re doing at school to what they see on the TV, it’ll allow them to understand the purpose of skills, and build familiarity – making them eager to want to have a go themselves.
Winter PE games are always more challenging than planning for PE lessons in summer, so this ‘hook’ may make PE lessons a little more engaging and fun.
Five Fun Winter PE Games to Try
1. Penguin Shuffle Relay
Turn your playground or hall into a frozen tundra! Children place a beanbag on their feet (or between two cones) and shuffle like a penguin to a marker and back. This fun relay builds balance, coordination and teamwork.
Adaptations: For rainy days, move the activity indoors and let children navigate around obstacles!
2. Snowboard Balance Dash
Lay out long balance beams (or taped lines on the floor) and have children ‘snowboard’ across without stepping off. Time them or add gentle challenges like carrying a beanbag.
3. Ice Skating Circuits
Set up stations representing different skating skills… Forward glide, backward walking, quick turns, and so on. Rotate children through each station in small groups. This mirrors Olympic skating events and builds agility.
Tip: Use music to keep energy high and engaging!
4. Indoor Curling with Beanbags
Create ‘ice lanes’ in your hall using masking tape and give children beanbags to slide toward a target. Score points based on accuracy! This is a brilliant way to encourage precision and strategy.
5. Snowstorm Obstacle Course
Set up cones, hoops, mini-hurdles and ladders for children to navigate like they’re braving a snowy Olympic course. Add challenges like hopping on one foot or zig-zag running to mix up the skills required.
This is great for developing speed, agility, balance and coordination.
Bonus Idea! Team Flags & Opening Ceremony
Get the class to work in ‘national teams’ and create their own flags using colours and symbols that represent their group. Start your Winter Olympics unit with an opening ceremony! Children could walk into the hall or onto the playground with music, to build excitement and status for your units.
Planning Your Winter PE Games
To help structure lessons throughout the winter months, include your activities in a sequenced plan that builds on skills week-by-week. You might explore balance and coordination one week, agility and speed the next, and finish with friendly tournaments or challenges.
For support with sequencing and creating engaging, age-appropriate lessons, the PE Planning Calendar is a fantastic tool!
Plus, if you use our PE lessons plans, don’t forget that they are curriculum-mapped! You can find out more and download useful resources for your PE Curriculum here.
These resources can save you time and provide fresh ideas for assessment, differentiation and linking activities to core learning outcomes.
Final Thoughts
Involve children in leadership: Let them help set up stations or lead warm-ups.
Celebrate achievement: Have certificates or medals for participation, teamwork, effort or improvement.
Use pupil voice: Ask what games they enjoyed most for future planning.
If you need any help or guidance with your winter PE lessons, and we haven’t covered what you need here, please get in touch with the PE Planning team! You can also subscribe to PE Planning here for full access to our lesson plans. Good luck!
