Let’s face it, most kids immediately trash their Valentine’s Day cards once they strip them of candy and stickers. Why not put those cards to good use before they get recycled? Maybe you work with older students who don’t do a card exchange. In this case, you can encourage a week of kindnesses […]
Flower Frenzy: Valentine’s Day STEM Challenge
The Flower Frenzy STEM Challenge Activity is actually four challenges in one and works well for spring, Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Mother’s Day! Premise In Flower Frenzy, students create a bouquet of flowers with unique attributes within four mini challenges: Floating Flowers, Functional Flowers, Fluff & Flatten Flowers, and Firmly Fixed Flowers. (If alliteration […]
Valentine’s Day STEM Challenge: Candy / Confection Container
This challenge is simple on the outside, but oh so sweet on the inside! The best part is that you can add in so many math activities to extend. Just think of all the math that goes into creating products for retail: price, margin, tax, shipping & delivery costs, fitting […]
Valentine’s Day STEM Challenge: “Heavy” Hearts
Do you remember Frosted Forest? “Heavy” Hearts shares a few similarities; consider them cousins! This challenge is heavy on math and has a very wide range of difficulty level options available. One of the best parts — you probably already have all the materials you need at your fingertips! Premise In “Heavy” Hearts, students fill […]
Christmas/Winter STEM Challenge: Frozen Fortress
By now, I hope you’re home enjoying a well-earned Winter Break! Maybe you’re sipping on some hot chocolate, looking for some engaging ways to get your kids thinking deeply when you return to school. Keep this challenge in your back pocket! Wait for one of those tough days when you and your students need to […]
Christmas/Winter STEM Challenge: Snowman Stretch
You are almost to Christmas/Winter Break, or maybe you’re visiting after break and looking for a way to ease those late winter blues! This challenge is perfect if you’re looking for very low-prep and very simple materials. In fact, all you really need is a few sheets of copy paper, tape, and scissors for this […]
Christmas/Winter STEM Challenges: Sleigh/Sled & Slope
You are almost to Winter Break! Excitement is in the air, but you still want to be somewhat responsible. After all, there really isn’t any instructional time you can afford to waste. And there’s the dilemma: how can you have fun and enjoy the holidays without wasting instructional time? STEM Challenges … the answer is […]
Christmas/Winter STEM Challenges: Reindeer Relay
As the holiday break inches ever closer, keeping students engaged in academic work can be an uphill battle! Seasonal STEM challenges are the perfect way to get kids excited to work collaboratively in deep critical thinking and problem solving! This week’s Christmas/Winter STEM challenge is one of my very favorites because it incorporates not only […]
Christmas/Winter STEM Challenges: Candy Cane Calamity
Congratulations, teachers! You are almost to a beautiful, well-deserved Christmas/Winter break, but getting to that finish line can be its own impossible challenge! The kids’ brains are toast, and (likely) so is yours! But because you are a responsible adult, you don’t want to throw in the towel too early and risk wasting instructional time, […]
Thanksgiving STEM Challenge: Turkey Transporter
Congratulations, teacher! You’re almost there. You’ve almost made it to Thanksgiving break, but we all know those last few days can be difficult for you and your students. When everyone is more than ready for a rest and some turkey, focusing on school can be challenging for all. As tempting as it might be to […]
