One of my boys' favorite things in the world is a STEM challenge. And guess what? They are becoming one of my favorite learning tools, too! Could it be? A simple learning setup that I LOVE that my boys LOVE just as much?! Adding STE(A)M (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities to your kindergarten—or
Explore a collection of over 45 hands-on STEM challenge ideas that kids are sure to love at home or in a classroom. What will you build?
FREE printable Symmetry drawing activity for preschool and kindergarten kids. A fun art and math activity in one! Kids will complete the symmetrical pictures by drawing the other half.
If you need STEM projects ideas, this is THE place to go! This is a collection of over 200 STEM projects and activities that kids love!
Awesome STEM projects for kids including hands-on science, technology, engineering and math ideas. Fun STEM activities for all ages!
STEM in Kindergarten? Absolutely! In this post, I share four easy activities that your kinders will thoroughly love.
STEM activities for kindergarten students should be designed to spark curiosity and encourage exploration.
FUN Math Activities that will have your kids excited to learn, you've come to the right place! Read on to find 15 engaging, hands-on games, projects, and activities that will get your kids excited about math! #math #stem #stemeducation #handsonlearning
The best kind of kindergarten STEM challenge is one that has children working together to find a solution to a fun, engaging problem using simple supplies that don't take lots of prep time. Enter The Floor is Lava STEM activity for kindergarteners. It's so simple, you can do it with preschoolers too! Don't forget to
Feed the shark is a free printable math game for toddlers and preschoolers. Learn to count and read numerals with this summer themed activity.
Want a new way to enjoy Fairy Tales with your kids? Read together, then explore math and engineering with this set of Fairy Tale STEM challenges for K-5!
Hundreds of engaging Pre-K STEM activities that make learning fun for kids and easy on you. Science experiments, math centers...
Mix some architecture and engineering skills with this kindergarten and preschool STEM activity for kids. Use simple materials.
Project-Based Learning for a Unique Hatchet Novel Study Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, is a classic survival story that resonates with tweens and teens alike. It lends itself well as a middle school read aloud or book club choice, and offers ample project-based learning activities so that your students can experience Brian's adventures right alongside him. I have read and reread this book multiple times, each time exploring ways to make this book really come alive for kids. While there are many possibilities for STEM challenges, I have narrowed it down to three building challenges that can be done either full scale or small scale. If you can get out in nature to do this it will make even more of an impact and give the kids a real feel for what it might be like to solve problems with items found in nature. Watch the video or read on! Disclaimer: I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you downloads of value and information about educational resources. The link below is an Amazon affiliate link. You can read my full disclosure here. I also wanted to make sure to add in some math and science activities that could have helped Brian in his isolation. **Spoiler Alert** If you have not yet read this book, you may want to stop here. I will be referring to several happenings in the book, so be forewarned. How Far Off Course Could Brian Have Gotten? When we aren't yet too far into the book, and Brian has successfully survived the first leg of his adventure (crash landing), he at first thinks a search and rescue team will find him before long. At one point, though, he realizes that he could be quite far off course of his original flight path. How far off course? This is the first exercise in the Hatchet STEM resource I created to accompany this book. The page shown above is one of three options so that kids can work at the level that is appropriate for them. Brian quickly realizes he needs a shelter, so the first STEM challenge is to create a lean-to shelter. Design a Shelter for Brian STEM Challenge for Hatchet This one is amazing to do outside if possible! It can be quite challenging to create one that will hold up to weather and animals. In addition to shelter, the other main important survival issue is food. Can you design and create a bow? Design a Bow for Brian Hatchet STEM Activity The bow ties in nicely to two science experiments, springs and refraction (when Brian tries to catch the fish but they are at a different location than they appear). Science Activities for the book Hatchet For these, I created a simple Hooke's Law experiment that you can do with springs or rubber bands to measure the deflection of a spring and calculate the spring constant, and then a refraction experiment to explore how light bends through water. Measure the Deflection of a Spring for Hooke's Law For the Hooke's Law experiment, measure the deflection of a spring depending on the weight applied. You can do this as I've shown above, hanging a spring off a craft stick supported be two cardboard tubes. Explore Refraction of Light Science Activity For the refraction, use a laser pointer to shine a light on graph paper or a coordinate plane, record the results, then place a glass of water in the line of the laser light and see where the light lands. The final STEM challenge ties in to the end of the book when the plane's tail becomes visible and Brian seeks out the survival pack in the plane. Design a Raft STEM Activity for Brian in the Read Aloud Hatchet Design and create a raft: In addition to the challenges, there are engineering vocabulary cards and background information to go with the challenges. Another great challenge to do after this one is to create an FM receiver/radio. It could be fun to create a transmitter too, but likely not a good idea based on local laws in your area. You can find a few simple FM radio kits, such as this Snap Circuits one (which I favor, because you can build and rebuild it over and over): or this one from WeMake if you are doing this as a homeschool project or group science fair project: I hope you can use some of these activity ideas while studying Hatchet. If you would like the supporting resources that I have created, please click on the image below to head to my Teachers pay Teachers shop, where you can purchase them: Not interested in the paid version? No problem! Pin this post so you can come back later to remember all the challenges I've shared above:
Discover some fascinating, no prep, STEM activities and challenges you can do with your students using paper! Engineering, math and science.
Can your kids build a floating city? This is a great engineering based STEM challenge for preschoolers and kindergarteners.
If you're looking for fun math activities that use simple math manipulatives, we've got you covered. 20 math activities for kids using craft sticks.
How high can you build? Your kids will love this STEM challenge and it requires little to no prep from parents/teachers. Start building today!
Are you looking to keep a large group of kids busy? We have the best activities you can do in class or at home with a large group of kids.
The best kind of kindergarten STEM challenge is one that has children working together to find a solution to a fun, engaging problem using simple supplies that don't take lots of prep time. Enter The Floor is Lava STEM activity for kindergarteners. It's so simple, you can do it with preschoolers too! Don't forget to
Math with art takes two of my favorite things and combines them together into lovely math art projects! The math art activities we are doing today are
Middle school is such an exciting time for exploration! Check out the following middle school STEM projects and their lesson plans.
We are exploring magnets here in kindergarten! We sorted objects between magnetic and not magnetic. I wanted the kids to be able to glue down their sort to display in the hallway. You could use tape or regular glue, but in the interest of time I opted for a glue gun. This SUPER cool temp glue gun (you have to buy special glue sticks but they are not expensive) eliminates the worry over burns! But like I said, tape works too. We have some magnet sorting in our science station
Fun science experiments that teach engineering concepts in simple ways. Find ways to make the seemlyng complicated simple.
STEM and blocks center prop idea list for the WHOLE year, every season, holiday, and theme! Make it an amazing place for your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten engineers. #preschool #prek #kindergarten #STEM #blockscenter
If you’re looking for fun and engaging first grade STEM centers, you’ve come to the right spot. We can help take your teaching skills to the next level.
How to plan collaborative project-based learning activities in the math classroom. Check out these engaging PBL ideas for 3rd grade students!
Space activities and centers (literacy, math, fine motor, stem, blocks, sensory, and more) for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students.
Math art projects will get kids creative while also teaching them mathematical concepts. Fun ideas for children of all ages and skill levels.
outdoor math activities for prek and kindergarten.
Engage your class in an exciting hands-on experience learning the five senses!
Seems like everyone's talking about the importance of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) these days. And hey, I get it. We live in a highly technological world that's rapidly advancing in all sorts of new ways. We want our kids to be be creative and adaptive problem solvers. But maybe you're like me and you deeply love arts and crafts. They're your jam. And maybe you're unsure how to dive into all this STEAM goodness. Hey, I get that too. Hopefully today's post will help. In this post I sharing over 40 ideas for arts and craft projects that also happen to incorporate STEM ideas. Yup. Here are some of my favorite artsy crafty posts...which also happen to have a little STEAM-y oomph to them! This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for the support! For my full disclosure policy, click here. Here's a quick guide for how to combine STEM learning with Art Projects- You could try... Making art materials with kids Encouraging kids to study and experiment with their art supplies Making art to illustrate STEM ideas Building toys with kids Folding Origami with kids Alright. You got the quick guide. So now let's roll up our sleeves and break down each of these ideas! Make Art Materials with Kids Store bought art materials are awesome. They're quick and easy to use. But did you know that there's a TON of science involved in making these materials? (Side note- I recently read this book and cannot recommend it enough. History, science, intrigue... who knew all these things went on to create colors!) To help give kids a firsthand experience to this process, try making your own art supplies together! Cutting, mixing, melting, cooking, combining, problem solving..... they get to be a color scientist! With a little bit of science, technology, engineering and mathematics know-how, you can create any of these art supplies from everyday materials! DIY Paint With Water Pages Homemade Watercolor Paints Corn Syrup Paint DIY Quill Pens 2 Ingredient Body Paint Recipe 3 Ingredient Body Paint Recipe Sidewalk Chalk Paint Homemade Finger paint Glowing Skin Tattoo Markers DIY Glow in the Dark Chalk DIY Eggshell Sidewalk Chalk DIY Sun Prints DIY Giant Scratch board Art Spinning Top Markers Experiment with Art Materials Another easy way to incorporate STEM ideas with arts and crafts is by intentionally exploring and studying the different properties of your supplies. For example, what happens when you apply heat to crayons? What happens when water drips onto marker? Can markers draw on all surfaces? When kids explore questions like these they are being creative and thinking unconventionally. Some examples of these types of activities include... Rainy Day Process Art Sharpie Tie Dye Melted Crayon Rocks Comparing Art Materials with preschoolers Melted Crayon Art Use Art to illustrate STEM ideas Let's face it. Understanding STEM ideas can be tough. Luckily, many concepts are more easily understood with accompanying visual explanations. We can use art projects to help teach or clarify these difficult ideas for kids. Some examples of these types of projects include... Understanding Pi with String Art Number Chart Art Exploring Pi with Colorful Art Exploring the idea of 100 with Colors Creating Pattern bracelets with kids Exploring symmetry with Inkblot Shirts Learning about dinosaur skeletons with Tape Resist Art Learning about ant colonies with Tape Resist Art Fall Leaf Scratch Art: Showing how leaves change colors Learning about the solar system with clay jewelry Flower Pigment Pounding with Kids Exploring Cameras with Flashlight Painting Build Toys with Kids I'm a lover of all classic toys... as well as a cardboard hoarder. Yup. It's a pretty great combination. (Or a dangerous one... muah ha ha!) I love turning cardboard into all sorts of fun toys with my kids. We get to be artsy-crafty engineers, designers, and mathematicians all at once. Some examples of our favorite handmade toys include... Straw Rockets 1 sheet Kite Cardboard Climbing Circus Men Toys Rocket Launcher Tube Toy Cardboard Toy Launcher Awesome Cardboard Train and Car Bridge DIY Flying Whirly Copter Toy Cardboard and Soda Can Cars that Drive themselves! Climbing Spaceship Toy Light-up Cardboard Airport Runway Toilet Roll Airplanes Moving Lego Conveyor Belt Spare Parts Wooden Car Pizza Box Garage Cardboard Space Shuttle Cardboard Cash Register Use Science to Make Art Does "art" always have to be created using conventional materials? No! Why not use scientific ideas to create your own STEAM-filled art? UV Light Bracelets Magnetic Sculptures Watercolor Resist Notebooks Grow Easy Crystal Flowers Grow Crystals on Nature Grow Mini Crystal Sculptures Fold Origami Origami is such a beautiful art form. You use your creative, artsy side to fold and manipulate a simple flat sheet of paper into something entirely different. You also explore math ideas like geometry in an intuitive way. And, did you know that origami even inspires NASA scientists to think about solar panels in a different way? We've got tons of unique and cute origami projects! Phew. That was a long list. Want more? Awesome. I'm so glad! Hopefully you try out a couple of the projects above and find yourself really enjoying the whole process with the kiddos. And if you're looking for even more ideas... then I definitely recommend you check out this AWESOME NEW STEAM book for kids! STEAM KIDS! It's packed to the brim with over 50 hand-on projects that you can do with the kids... right now. This book is a collaborative work of love by several STEAM-loving bloggers . We're engineers, homeschoolers, educators, designers, and moms who put together over 50+ fun activities for kids 4-10 years old. Our goal is to excite and motivate kids to explore STEAM ideas in a hands-on-way. You can visit Amazon to purchase a book today! Or, if you prefer, you can also purchase an e-book version! And, join our STEAM kids Facebook group to meet over 700 like minded individuals who are trying to tackle STEAM learning as well. (I'll see you there!) Happy STEAM-ing, friends!
Print the template for this leaf tessellation art project! This fun collaborative project combines math and art for a cool result.
The best ideas that combine math and art~ Check out this mega list of math art projects for kids! These hands-on activities will make any lesson fun!
Plan these simple and fun Paper bag STEM challenges for kids! Easy STEM activities that use what's around to encourage invention and design.
Today my gorgeous class increased their knowledge of 2D shapes by making a 'Shape Pizza'. We used paper plates as the base of our pizzas. Students then coloured the paper plates to make the pizza base. I printed off the shapes onto different coloured paper and students cut them out and added them to their paper plates (pizzas). Students then completed the worksheet provided by recognising and counting how many shapes they had used to make their pizza. What a fun time we had! If you wish to create this with your own class here is a link to my activity on Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Steffensons-Kindergarten
Hi friends! I’m here today to share about a quick, easy, and FUN experiment that I recently did with my first graders. This experiment incorporated all of the elements of STEM (Science, Techn…
