January 12

Let it Snow!

With temperatures reaching an unseasonable 70 degrees, it doesn’t feel like winter here! After a discussion about the conditions necessary for snow to fall and how a snowflake forms, my young scientists made insta-snow with a super absorbent polymer in science lab. It was a sensory experience that encouraged creativity and communication skills. The room was filled with their imaginative stories, an early literacy skill! Check out more photos on my Instagram account – pbright2.



Snowflake Bentley had a passion to capture snowflakes in the early days of photography. His story should always be included in the study of snowflakes. Watch his biography full screen.

Watch this informative video from TED Ed about how snowflakes form their hexagonal shape full screen.

Now, watch real snowflakes form full screen.

What is the difference between flurries and a blizzard? Watch full screen.

Watch this engaging animated video about anticipating snow full screen.

Related Posts

Check out the labs and lessons below for a variety of multi-disciplinary investigations. If you try any of these or have other ideas, please share in the comments.

Snowball Catapult

Snowflakes and More

Igloo

Snow Experiment

The Perfect Snow Day

Crystal Snowflakes

Art Project for Crafters of All Ages

Snow People – One of my favorites!

Snow Paint

Snow Structures

Foil Painting

Making Snow and Again and Once More

Check out some more winter-themed science activities.

Category: Art, Engineering, Math, Science, Social Studies | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 10

Holiday Compilation

Through the years, I’ve created a variety of seasonal posts. I’ve gathered them in one place for your quick reference this holiday season. There are literature, social studies, engineering, math, and art activities to share with your families or students.

Deck the Halls – Holiday Plants

Mistletoe

Using Nature to Decorate

Chestnuts Roasting

Pine Trees

An Outdoor Family Tradition

Poinsettias

Conifers and More Conifers

Evergreens and Conifers

Scientists in the Christmas Story

Holiday Labs

Ziplines and More Ziplines

Jingle Bell Mazes with Legos

Reindeer Lava Lamps

Empathy Lab

Holiday Magnets

Watch full screen.

Other Subjects

Coordinate Grids

Holiday Nouns

Category: Art, Engineering, Holiday, Math, Reading, Science, Writing | LEAVE A COMMENT
July 16

Chicken Coops

It has become fashionable to raise chickens, even in suburban areas. Chicken coops have received an upgrade from those traditionally found on family farms.

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities were always a favorite in my classroom. Let’s task students with designing a chicken coop with emphasis on the design phase of the Engineer Design Process (Define the Problem, Imagine the Possibilities, Plan, Create, Improve).

To integrate science, research the needs of chickens and how to protect them from predators. Analyze chicken coop structures using technology. Draw designs on grid paper and note measurements to apply math skills. Older students could also be given a budget. Visit a chicken coop in your community or ask someone who raises chickens to share his or her experiences with your class. If time allows, create a model of the design with recycled materials, such as boxes, plastic lids, and paper towel tubes.

Use the following video for discussion and inspiration. Do you see similar elements in the designs? Which provide the best habitat for chickens to thrive? Why are some on wheels?
Watch full screen here.

This coop is at a nature center not far from my home. It is hot in Atlanta and when I visited, the chickens were resting near the fans.

Related Posts

Hatching Chickens in my Lab

Category: Engineering, Math, Science | LEAVE A COMMENT
June 30

Tomatoes

I was given a sunsugar cherry tomato plant at my garden club and placed it in a large pot on my deck to keep it away from wildlife. It has grown so fast, and all stages of growth can be observed. Such an easy choice to teach children about a plant’s life cycle!


Use math skills to track the growth of your plant. Tomato plants can be determinate or indeterminate. Indeterminate plants grow continuously and produce tomatoes regularly, but determinate plants stop growing after the first fruiting. I definitely have an indeterminate plant! Learn more about pruning tomatoes here.

Task your children or students with keeping a journal of the tomato’s life cycle.

Read more about growing tomatoes on the Kid’s Gardening website.

Open the tomato to find the seeds, let them dry, and begin the cycle again. Before you open the tomato, estimate how many seeds will be inside. Do all tomatoes have the same number of seeds?

Remember a tomato is a fruit. Why? Watch full screen here.

Have a tomato tasting party and taste a variety of tomatoes. There are 10,000 varieties! Use the following humorous book, I Will Never, Not Ever Eat a Tomato, to begin your party. Watch full screen here.

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June 9

Looking Versus Seeing

The colors, shapes, and patterns in nature enchant me. After a photography workshop, I was off to Chattahoochee Nature Center to practice capturing God’s beauty in nature. “You look with your eyes, see with your mind, and perceive with your heart.”


Go to a previous post about the centers of flowers and spirals.

Learn why the lizard has an orange head in this post.


Go to this previous post to learn more about galls.


Go to my previous post about colors in nature.


Go to previous posts about shapes and patterns found in nature:
Circles, Semicircles, Stripes


This butterfly resembles a leaf. Learn more about camouflage and mimicry.

Another post on noticing.

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April 21

Balance

On a visit to Maryland, we made a second visit to Glenstone. Watch full screen here.

One of the sculptures, As Long As the Sun Lasts, by Da Corte particularly caught my interest on this visit. How does it remain balanced when the wind blows?

Engineers must understand the fundamental concept of balance to grasp how structures remain stable and upright. In the related posts section below, there are a variety of activities to explore the concept of balance in engaging, hands-on ways. Children will also investigate principles of motion through these tasks as well.

Create a balance sculpture with your students or children. Watch full screen here.

Give your child (student) a lunch bag of objects, such as blocks, a plastic cup, ruler, paper towel tubes, or a pencil. Ask him/her to build something that demonstrates balance.

Related Posts

Rock Sculptures and More Sculptures

Tails

Balance Scales

More Balance Activities and Even More

Balance Birds

Block Building

Magnet Sculptures

Which Shape is the Strongest?

Category: Art, Engineering, Math, Reading, Science | 1 Comment on Balance
April 7

Is This Really STEM?

When you hear someone refer to STEM, what do you think he or she means? I have found in my work as an educator that the term STEM is often misunderstood.

Kerry Tracy clearly contrasts the differences between a craft and a true STEM challenge in this video. She presents five questions to help educators and parents distinguish between the two.

Watch full screen here.

Check out Kerry Tracy’s blog and products on her website: Home – Feel Good Teaching

Category: Engineering, Math, Science, Technology | 1 Comment on Is This Really STEM?
March 13

An Engineering Challenge

I’ve observed a great variety of grills, lights, and front bumpers on cars. Other than an artistic design choice, why might they be different?

Take a walk around a parking lot and observe the front of cars with your young engineers. Discuss as a group what you have noticed and wondered. Then task your children or students to design the front of a car either individually or collaboratively.

If you use the Engineering Design Process (Ask, Imagine, Design, Create, Test, Improve) with your students, you know that it is a lengthy process. Take this assignment just through the design phase, so ample time can be spent learning this part of the process. Brainstorm what must be included. Older students might research industry standards.

As students work, question why they have made their design choices. Were they made for aesthetic or safety reasons?

Watch full screen here.

For further study, watch full screen here.

Related Transportation Posts 

Blimps

Rotocopters

Hot Air Balloons

Boats (Gingerbread Boy Connection)

Airplanes

Parachutes

Wheel and Axles (Cars)

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December 11

A Special Holiday Gift Guide

I am an ambassador for Run Wild My Child, an organization dedicated to getting kids outside and promoting outdoor education. A quarterly printed magazine, “the only printed magazine on the market for outdoorsy moms raising passionate, adventurous, nature-loving kids,” would make a fun family gift.

Check out their Holiday Gift Guide. I have used many of the suggested items in my classroom and at home. Gift categories include essential gear, classic and new outdoor toys, backyard fun, stocking stuffers, tech and gadgets, experience gifts, books, subscription ideas, as well as suggestions for your little chef, scientist, artist, angler, and gardener. Wow!

Category: Art, Engineering, Holiday, Math, Reading, Science | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 2

What’s in Your Pocket?

Do your students or children collect natural objects on hikes in the woods, along the shore, or in your backyard? They are nature’s treasures! I recently discovered the children’s book, What’s in Your Pocket?, by Heather Montgomery. Be sure to add it to your science library!

What's in Your Pocket? – Charlesbridge

From Amazon: “When you find something strange and wonderful, do you put it in your pocket? Meet nine scientists who, as kids, explored the great outdoors and collected “treasures”: seedpods, fossils, worms, and more. Observing, sorting, and classifying their finds taught these kids scientific skills–and sometimes led to groundbreaking discoveries. The book includes Heather’s tips for responsible collecting.”

Listen to a review of the book in the following video full screen here.

When you return from your hike, observe the items you collected. Ask questions. What do you notice? What do you wonder? Then sort (texture, size, color), compare and look for patterns in your specimens.

Check out what I found on my last hike. I always choose items I discover on the ground.

 

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