STEM Activities
This activity is a great way to blend both STEM and some lovely self-regulation, as children take deep breaths to move a ping pong ball through a playdough maze! Set up Time: 5 minutes Directions Note: see our Best Basic Playdough recipe to make your own playdough! Materials Learning Through Play Cognitive: Problem Solving – […]
In this activity, children will explore the concept of symmetry using one of our favorite tools—mirrors! Mirrors not only encourage self-reflection in early childhood but also provide a hands-on way to investigate light, reflection, and mathematical concepts like spatial awareness and patterns. This open-ended activity offers many possibilities for extension, allowing children to connect their […]
Children absolutely love playing with magnets because they are fun but also because they make you feel like a scientist! This is a great way to set up a science exploration table in either an indoor or outdoor classroom. Magnets are a great way to explore physical properties of different objects as you use experimentation […]
This activity is a wonderful experiment to accompany books and discussions about our many, colorful emotions. There are many helpful images that we can give to children when we are discussing emotions. Many educators like to associate emotions with specific colors, and this activity is a reminder that “our emotions pass”. When we feel angry, […]
Rainbows are beautiful, and we love the way a mixture of rainbow-colored crayon pieces blend when melted together. Kids can be involved from beginning to end, and have fun using their rainbow crayons many days after! We suggest singing the Rainbow Song together during this activity for even more fun and exploration of colors! Set […]
In the Winter, the nights are very long. Depending on where you live, the sun can set at a very early time, with the Winter Solstice as the shortest day, and longest night, of the year. Throughout history, humans have found very creative ways to create light, whether they used fire torches, candles, oil lamps, […]
Invite children to build their own bird’s nest with collected sticks outside. This activity explores building with sticks but also invites children to engage in dramatic play. Set up Time: 5 minutes Directions Materials Learning Through Play Cognitive: Problem Solving – Building with sticks is a great opportunity for problem solving. What sticks make a […]
Tetris is a long time favorite video game of many people, and the name of the game has become popular in everyday language. For example, if someone is really good at organizing boxes in a closet, suitcases in the luggage compartment on a plane, or items in square containers, they might exclaim “It’s like a […]
Here, we invite you to make leaf prints, which doubles as both an art activity and a science activity as children enhance their botany skills while making the prints! A big part of many holidays is the act of giving gifts. While actually wrapping presents can be kind of difficult and take a lot of […]
As we talk about the states of water, it’s so much fun to get to do so many sensory activities that also use the language of experimentation. Children are natural little scientists—their curiosity, their questions, their skepticism, their sense of wonder…all are qualities that scientists use in their every day lives as their questions drive […]
One great STEM activity that you can do with children to understand our water cycles is to make a rain gauge—you can make one for a group of children, or make one per child. This is one of those activities that is less focused on the actual production of the activity (though children can of […]
