Puzzle Instructions

Cut apart the provided pieces and assemble them into a 3×3 square so that the puzzle pieces match along each edge to form snowflakes.

Options for Printing and Prepping the Puzzle

There are several options for printing and prepping this puzzle.

The easiest way to distribute this puzzle to students is to print the page with the puzzle pieces, have each student cut out their own pieces, and let them build their square grid on their desks.

If you plan on reusing the puzzle pieces from year to year, I highly suggest running the pages through a laminator first to make the pieces more durable.

If you are giving each student their own copy of the puzzle, this is entirely unnecessary. Just print on some pretty, colorful paper and GO!

If you are looking to display the resulting work or if you would like students to keep their work in a folder or notebook, you might want to print the next page in the PDF file which includes a 3 x 3 puzzle grid for students to build their solution upon or glue their pieces on after solving.

In my opinion, this page is most useful for those who are opting to display or keep the resulting solved puzzle. If you are reusing the puzzle pieces with different classes, I would just put the puzzle pieces in bags and forego the printable template.

If you are working with younger students or with a population of students who needs a bit of starting place for their puzzle solving, there is another version of the grid in the file that shows which puzzle piece belongs in the top left corner of the square.

Including this piece of information will drastically reduce the amount of time it takes older students to solve the puzzle, so I would be very discerning about whether your students need this scaffolding or not.

Ultimately, you know best what your students need. When I first started sharing puzzles I created for my classroom 8 years ago, I never imagined that they would be used in so many diverse classrooms around the world.

Jumbo Version of Puzzle

I printed copies of the puzzle and hung it in a magnetic pocket from Charles Leonard on my dry erase board at the front of my classroom. This way, students can grab a copy of the puzzle and take it back to their desk to work on it.

There are also jumbo-sized puzzle pieces available to print at the end of the PDF file. These can be printed so students can work on the puzzle in small groups.

Disc magnets can be applied to the pieces so they can be hung on a magnetic whiteboard or other magnetic surface.

What are 6×6 Sudoku Puzzles?

6×6 Sudoku puzzles are a simplified version of the traditional sudoku puzzle (usually played on a 9×9 grid) that are intended for kids between the ages of 6 and 10. They can also be used as an introduction to sudoku puzzles for older kids and adults.

I also like using 6×6 sudoku puzzles with older students as a brain break activity or class starter since the amount of time needed to solve a puzzle is substantially less than the 9×9 sudoku grid puzzle.

The goal of a 6×6 sudoku puzzle is to complete the 6×6 grid so that each row, each column, and each outlined 2×3 rectangle contains exactly one of each number or letter used in the puzzle. In this case, each puzzle features letters form a winter-related word.

Printing Options

These 6×6 winter sudoku puzzles are formatted 4 puzzles to a page. You can print a single page for your children/students to work on, or you can print an entire packet of 12 puzzles.

Additionally, these puzzles are leveled as EASY, MEDIUM, and HARD. The easy puzzles include more clues to help the puzzler get started. Thus, they require less logical thinking to solve. The hard puzzles feature the least clues and require the most logical thinking.

What are 4×4 Sudoku Puzzles?

4×4 Sudoku puzzles are a simplified version of the traditional sudoku puzzle (usually played on a 9×9 grid) that are intended for kids between the ages of 4 and 8. They can also be used as a first introduction to sudoku puzzles for older kids and adults.

The goal of a 4×4 sudoku puzzle is to complete the 4×4 grid so that each row, each column, and each outlined square contains exactly one of each number or picture. In this case, winter icons have been used.

If you prefer, I also have 4×4 Sudoku Printable Puzzles with numbers instead of shapes.

Printing Options

These 4×4 winter sudoku puzzles are formatted 4 puzzles to a page. You can print a single page for your children/students to work on, or you can print an entire packet of 16 puzzles.

How to Solve a Word Path Grid Puzzle

A word path grid puzzle is similar to a word search, but each word is hidden in a square within a grid. Your job is to find and mark each hidden word in the grid.

Inside a square in the puzzle, you will find the letters of a single word arranged in such a way that each letter connects to the next letter in the word either horizontally or vertically.

Your job is to figure out the word and then draw out the path that the word takes.

Winter Word Path Grid Puzzle Instructions

Find and mark each hidden word related to winter in the grid below. Each square features one word in which each letter connects to the next letter in the word either horizontally or vertically.

About Dots and Boxes

Dots and boxes is a classic pencil-and-paper game which goes by a variety of different names including dots, boxes, pigs in a pen, the game of dots, or dots and dashes.

The game was originally named “la pipopipette” when it was published in the 19th century by Edouard Lucas, a French mathematician.

Instructions and Scoring

Like the original dots and boxes game, this is a paper and pencil game for two players. Take turns drawing a line from one dot to another on the grid. If your line completes a box, write your initials in the box and take an extra turn.

Each completed square is worth one point. Earn an additional bonus point for each snowflake in your squares. Once the grid is completely filled, the player with the most points wins.

I would recommend placing this puzzle in a dry erase pocket when using it in your classroom.

More Seasonal Versions of Dots and Boxes

I am currently working on creating more seasonal versions of the classic game of dots and boxes. Here are some other versions I have posted:

• 
  2025 Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Christmas Tree Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Fall Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Hanukkah Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Kwanzaa Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Math Symbol Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Snowflake Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Thanksgiving Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Veterans Day Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Winter Dots and Boxes Game

About Dots and Boxes

Dots and boxes is a classic pencil-and-paper game which goes by a variety of different names including dots, boxes, pigs in a pen, the game of dots, or dots and dashes.

The game was originally named “la pipopipette” when it was published in the 19th century by Edouard Lucas, a French mathematician.

Instructions and Scoring

Like the original dots and boxes game, this is a paper and pencil game for two players. Take turns drawing a line from one dot to another on the grid. If your line completes a box, write your initials in the box and take an extra turn.

Each completed square is worth one point. Earn an additional bonus point for each winter-related image in your squares. Once the grid is completely filled, the player with the most points wins.

I would recommend placing this puzzle in a dry erase pocket when using it in your classroom.

More Seasonal Versions of Dots and Boxes

I am currently working on creating more seasonal versions of the classic game of dots and boxes. Here are some other versions I have posted:

• 
  2025 Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Christmas Tree Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Fall Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Hanukkah Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Kwanzaa Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Math Symbol Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Snowflake Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Thanksgiving Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Veterans Day Dots and Boxes Game
• 
  Winter Dots and Boxes Game

Instructions

Place each of the winter-related words in the grid exactly one time each. One letter must be placed in each box.

Using This Puzzle in the Classroom

I have started using these fill-in puzzles as one of the options for my students who are early finishers to choose from.

I usually pair a printable puzzle like this with a pentomino puzzle and a number puzzle with movable pieces. If you are looking for more winter puzzles, I suggest checking out my Winter Hat Puzzle, Winter Mystery Coordinate Plane Art and Tangram Puzzle, Snowflake Puzzle, or Penguin Pentominoes Puzzle.

I hang the puzzles each week on my dry erase board inside one of my Charles Leonard magnetic pockets.

Puzzle Instructions

Cut apart the provided pieces and assemble them into a 3×3 square so that the puzzle pieces match along each edge to form pictures of winter hats.

The winter hat images were created by Gung Yoga, Frank Hamaty, and Rafi Al Hakim. I found them via the Noun Project which operates under CC BY 3.0.

Options for Printing and Prepping this Puzzle

There are several options for printing and prepping this puzzle.

The easiest way to distribute this puzzle to students is to print the page with the puzzle pieces, have each student cut out their own pieces, and let them build their square grid on their desks.

I printed my puzzle pieces on Astrobrights colored paper to add a pop of color to the puzzle, and I ran the pieces through the laminator for added durability.

If you are looking to display the resulting work or if you would like students to keep their work in a folder or notebook, you might want to print the next page in the PDF file which includes a 3 x 3 puzzle grid for students to build their solution upon or glue their pieces on after solving.

In my opinion, this page is most useful for those who are opting to display or keep the resulting solved puzzle. If you are reusing the puzzle pieces with different classes, I would just put the puzzle pieces in bags and forego the printable template.

If you are working with younger students or with a population of students who needs a bit of starting place for their puzzle solving, there is another version of the grid in the file that shows which puzzle piece belongs in the top left corner of the square.

Including this piece of information will drastically reduce the amount of time it takes older students to solve the puzzle, so I would be very discerning about whether your students need this scaffolding or not.

Ultimately, you know best what your students need. When I first started sharing puzzles I created for my classroom 8 years ago, I never imagined that they would be used in so many diverse classrooms around the world.

So many of you are using puzzles that I designed for my high school students with students as young as 2nd and 3rd grade. I am continually impressed by this.

I will say that my four year old helped me solve this winter hat puzzle when it was still in the testing stage. He didn’t complete the puzzle by himself, but he was able to work alongside me to solve the puzzle together.

And, this puzzle wouldn’t be complete without also thanking my husband Shaun for helping me with some coding that will let me create a bunch more of these square edge matching puzzles in the future for different seasons and holidays.

Winter Puzzles

If you’ve been around my blog long enough, you will know that I LOVE math puzzles. I hope you will enjoy this collection of winter math puzzles.

Snowflake Square Edge Matching Puzzle

Winter Sudoku Puzzles – 4×4 Puzzles with Pictures

Winter Sudoku Puzzles – 6×6 Puzzles with Winter Words

Penguin Pentomino Puzzle

Snowflake Puzzle

Winter Word Path Grid Puzzle

Winter Fill-In Puzzle

Snow Globe Math Puzzle

Snowman Geometry Puzzle

Snowman WODB Puzzle

Snowflake WODB Puzzle 1

Snowflake WODB Puzzle 2

Winter Math Activities

This post contains winter math activities for middle school math, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus, and Calculus.

Middle School Math and Algebra

Winter Mystery Coordinate Plane Activity with Tangram Puzzle

Solving Equations Snowball Fight Activity

Geometry

Reviewing Geometry Vocabulary with Snowflakes

Snowflake Geometric Construction Project

Snow Angle Assignment

Algebra 2 and Precalculus

Conic Section Snowman Art

Calculus

Winter Slope Field Activity

Winter Games

Snowflake Dots and Boxes Game

Winter Dots and Boxes Game

Other Fun Winter Activities

Snowflake Puzzle Instructions

Arrange the ten snowflakes in the 4×4 grid so that each row and column contain an even (not odd) number of snowflakes. Each square on the grid may only contain one snowflake.

Printing Instructions

I created a page of snowflake pieces for you to print and cut apart for students to use. Each student or group of students will need ten snowflakes. Each printed page will give you enough snowflake pieces for 4 students.

This puzzle is designed to print on letter-sized paper, but it could easily be scaled to print on A4 paper for my non-North American readers. Both pages are in the same file, so they should scale equally without any issues.

I would suggest printing the snowflake pieces on colored paper or cardstock to help make them “pop” when placed on the grid.

Puzzle Source

This snowflake puzzle was inspired by a puzzle called “Make it Even” that was included in Boris A. Kordemsky’s The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations which is published by Dover Publications.

I first used the Make It Even puzzle back in my classroom in 2015. As I read back over my old blog post, I realized just how much I have learned about using puzzles in my classroom over the past 8 years. Wowzers.

The original puzzle involved making a grid of items (I used bingo chips) and removing a certain number of items to leave an even number in each row and column. I quickly discovered that students found this to be very confusing.

It is much easier for students to place items in a grid to meet the required criteria instead of removing items from a grid.

I also decided to put a seasonal spin on this old puzzle and take what I have learned to make the instructions clearer and the design more aesthetically pleasing.