Today, I have another fun deep breathing exercise to share with you! This time of year, it’s all about the snowmen. Now, you can use a snowman theme in a sensory coping strategy with deep breathing exercises with a snowman deep breathing exercise. It’s a free mindfulness printable that you can print and use all winter long.

This is a great Winter activity to use along with our Winter occupational therapy crafts and our Winter fine motor activities. We also have a large variety of Winter Brain Break Ideas for supporting mobility and gross motor needs, Winter Bilateral Coordination Activities to hit on bilateral coordination and crossing midline needs, and Winter Mindfulness Activities. Put together, you have a winter theme for occupational therapy set up and ready to go.

A Winter-Themed Calming Strategy for Kids
Snowman deep breathing is a playful, effective tool for supporting self-regulation in young children. This printable activity combines the charm of a snowman with simple deep breathing exercises, helping kids calm their bodies and refocus their minds.

With winter themes already present in many classrooms and therapy settings, this seasonal approach adds novelty to a familiar strategy. Incorporating sensory winter activities like this one into your therapy toolkit makes calming strategies more fun and engaging.

This printable tool supports self-regulation needs. Using the power of relaxation breathing as coping strategies, kids can use this calming tool all Winter long.

I like to use this printable along with our Winter Sensory Stations.

The Sensory Component of Deep Breathing

Breathing exercises offer powerful sensory input that impacts the autonomic nervous system to help with sensory dysregulation. When children breathe in deeply and exhale slowly, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, sending cues of safety and calm to the brain and body.

Using a visual guide like a snowman breathing path supports visual processing and motor planning as children track along the snowman’s form while coordinating their breathing. This provides both proprioceptive input and a visual cue to reinforce regulation.

Support Self-Regulation in a Fun, Seasonal Way

Self-regulation is a foundation for functional performance in school, home, and community settings. When children experience big emotions, transitions, or sensory overload, they need strategies that are accessible and meaningful.

The snowman breathing activity provides a concrete tool they can refer back to again and again. Whether it’s used as part of a winter sensory diet, a classroom calm-down corner, or during therapy, this printable promotes independence and emotional awareness (an important part of emotional intelligence).

Use Across Settings: OT, Classroom, or Home

This free snowman deep breathing printable is versatile enough for a variety of environments. Occupational therapists can use it in sessions to build routines around winter self-regulation tools.

Educators might use it during morning meetings or after recess to support transitions. Parents can print it out and keep it on the fridge or in a sensory kit for use at home. By teaching children how to pause and breathe using a fun and familiar visual, we help them internalize tools for self-control.

Expand the Strategy with Multi-Sensory Input

Want to go beyond the printable? Combine the snowman breathing visual with real-world sensory strategies.

• Add a winter-scented lotion (peppermint or vanilla) for a calming olfactory input
• Pair the activity with a movement break using snowman-themed yoga or stretches.
• You can even laminate the page and trace it with a finger or dry-erase marker to bring in tactile feedback.

These simple additions amplify the impact of deep breathing while keeping it engaging and developmentally appropriate.

Snowman theme deep breathing exercise

A snowman image makes a great image for slow and mindful breathing. Use this as a guide to show children how to take a deep breath and then slowly breathe out.

The visual prompts on this image includes a white dot where kids can pause and hold their breath for calming benefits.

Use this deep breathing activity as a mindfulness activity for winter.

You can print this off by entering your email address below. The printable will then be delivered to your email inbox.

More winter deep breathing exercises

You’ll love this polar bear self-regulation activity. Print and go!

This penguin deep breathing exercise is fun, too.

Grab the Winter Fine Motor Kit, with 100 pages of done-for-you therapy activities, including penguin themes. There are lacing cards, crafts, pencil control strips, scissor skills activities, and much more. Grab it now before January 9th and you get a bonus of 3 fine motor slide deck activities.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE WINTER FINE MOTOR KIT.

Want to grab this free printable? Enter your email in the form below. You’ll receive the deep breathing worksheet immediately in your email inbox.

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Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.