As Big Brother is getting older it's really interesting to see both his interests and skills develop into more specific skill sets. Lately he's been really interested in the building of things (mostly stemming from a love of Legos, Magnatiles, and our wooden railroad track.) As he leans that way I'm finding myself looking for other creative ways to develop those interests and skills. A few weeks ago he had the chance to observe a beaver dam up close with my husband on one of their nature walks. This lead to some great questions. A few days later I followed up with a drive to a local man made dam which he was able to inspect from a distance. When we came home I set up this building investigation in the yard. It was inspired by a great tinfoil river activity we did last year from the amazing book 101 Kids Activities That Are the Bestest, Funnest Ever by the team over at Kids Activities Blog. Similar to that experience, we used tinfoil to create a river (this time on our lawn.) This time we set it up on slight slope. The boys and I also collected natural materials from around the yard that might be useful in building the dam. We collected sticks, acorns, rocks, and old reeds from lilies. I added in a few non-natural materials I also thought Big Brother might want to use: modeling clay, popsicle sticks, and lumber scraps. Big Brother's goal was to be able to get his dam to hold enough water so that these three acorn boats could float. It was so interesting to watch his process, which mostly involved trial and error. First he started with just a pile of the wooden natural materials. When he observed the water move through those, he decided to try using more rocks. With each trial he would tweak his design a little, before trying again. In the end I encouraged him (although I was really trying to let it be his process to try using a little clay. I led him to the idea that he had seen mud on the beaver dams.) He started to get into the idea of building a space for the water to collect. He never quite got to the place where all the boats could continuously float, although his last design definitely best slowed down the water. He continued to tinker on his dam a few more days, and even brainstorm other materials he would like to add in. (Including trying to find some clay like mud on our property.) We'll definitely be looking for other ways to invite building experiences. What do your children like to build? This post may also have been shared at some of these terrific link parties.
November is a time for Thanksgiving STEM. And one of our favorite thing to do around Thanksgiving with kids is the floating Mayflower STEM activity
Explore the water's edge and learn about who calls a pond home with these fun science experiments, water activities, wildlife and play ideas!
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There's been a lot of weather in my life recently. We just had a couple weeks of awesome summer weather followed by some sleet, snow, and hail. (Unfortunately, I wasn't paying much attention to the changes in weather and my 4 year old dressed herself in shorts and flip flops during one of our outings where it started to hail.) I've also been helping out with my 6 year old's homeschool co-op where the kids are learning about weather. I've been assigned the precipitation group and think it's awesome that my toddler can now yell 'PRECIP-TATION!' when it rains. My
This rainforest craft project checks all the boxes. Not only is it super simple to put together, but this craft is something your child can learn from for months to come.
This guide to sea moss, seaweeds and delicious list of sea vegetable recipes helps you harness the health benefits of seaweeds.
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A Nature Adventure Magazine for Kids.
Eco-Column: By: Kelsie Fronheiser, Gene Edwards, Jenny Kraus, Justin Lange Introduction: These instructions will help you create your very own eco-column in your home or classroom. An eco-column is a self-sustaining ecosystem on a small scale, made of plastic s…
At first glance, a pond might seem small and insignificant, but below its still surface…
I love teaching about trees because there’s much to discover all year, during any season. From bark to leaves, trees are amazing wonders of nature! If you’re planning on studying trees …
Do a water filtration experiment to learn about pollution and how to clean the dirty water supplies around the world. Plus some great book recommendations!
The Earth consists of different types biomes with plant and animal species alike. Learn facts about the various biomes and what lives there.
Our latest science experiments for kids is all about leaves! We used colored water to observe how liquids move through the leaves of plants. This post also includes a free printable recording sheet. NGSS: Disciplinary Core Idea LS1.C Follow our Science for Kids Pinterest Board! With all the new growth in our yard this spring, …
Lean about what dirt is made of by creating sediment jars. This easy science project goes well with the book Dirt: The Scoop on Soil.
