Make a Snow Storm in a Jar

Here’s an easy STEM project for when it’s too cold to go outside, or if you don’t have any real snow where you live to play in.

This snowstorm in a jar activity is pretty low prep, and similar to making “lava lamps,” though with an extra fizzy ingredient. You might have all the materials you need to do this one already. If not a trip to the grocery store will get you everything you need.

There are several scientific things happening in this experiment that give you a chance to talk about density and chemical reactions, but I’ll leave that to the blog post where you can find the how to and the why, at Little Bins for Little Hands.

[Photo: Little Bins for Little Hands.]

Stick Raft Building STEM Activity

Egg Drop STEM Challenge

STEAM activities (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) provide numerous benefits for children. These activities can help kids develop a wide range of skills, including:

Problem-solving: STEAM activities often involve solving complex problems, which helps children develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Creativity: The arts component of STEAM activities encourages children to think creatively and express themselves in unique ways.

Collaboration: Many STEAM activities require children to work in teams, which helps them develop teamwork and collaboration skills.

STEM literacy: By participating in STEAM activities, children gain exposure to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts and develop their STEM literacy.

Career readiness: STEAM activities can help children explore different career paths and become more prepared for future jobs in STEM fields.

Confidence and motivation: Through STEAM activities, children can build confidence, improve their motivation, and increase their interest in STEM fields.

Overall, STEAM activities can be a fun and engaging way for children to learn important skills and explore their interests.

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St. Patrick's Day STEM Project Ideas

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]

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