It turns out that giving STEM projects "a theme" really isn't that hard; it's really a matter of thinking creatively as you plan them and giving them a different name than you might have otherwise. So this is my method. I start browsing around on Pinterest and online to see if I can find a fun STEM project that catches my eye. I search under terms related to that holiday or event. For example, for December I searched under STEM or science and then added some keywords like tree, sled, snow, candle, etc. After that, I see if I can find a way to adapt the project to the current theme by changing it slightly or renaming it.
For example, if you have been following my blog this fall, you may remember that I did a STEM "Punkin' Chunkin" project in October a few years ago, in which the children made catapults out of craft sticks and masking tape, and then tried to hurl their "punkins," which were really just orange pompoms as far as possible. In this case, the catapult project was just a regular STEM project that I renamed as a "Punkin Chunker" to make it fit the October season, just for fun.
Germany and the Christmas Tree
On Friday this week, we studied Germany and their tradition of decorating a Christmas Tree. If you read this blog post here, you will also see how I use Google Earth to help the children "visit Germany" and bring up some real photos, too!" For our STEM project, I gave the children the challenge of making a tree that will stand up by itself using just two large sheets of green construction paper, tape, glue, and four craft sticks. Frankly, I had no idea what they would come up with, but I figured we would find out! The whole thing is a big experiment anyway! I am getting more and more adventurous with my STEM projects.
This time, I did not have any type of sample or idea of what it would come out like. I just gave them some things to work with and let them go! It helps a lot that we do this with our fifth grade buddies, though! So no matter what, I knew that they would come up with SOMETHING! Below are some photos of what they made. It was a lot of fun!
After they were done, I made one of my own, below. This is kind of what I thought they would do: make a tube and then attach the greenery. Yet NOBODY did this! I'm so glad that I did NOT provide a sample! Otherwise most of them would have copied this idea, I'm sure!
Hanukkah and the Menorah
I think that having the children build a Menorah out of craft sticks might be a fun thing to do! There are many designs online to copy, but it would be a much STEM better project if the children had to make up their own- especially a Menorah that will actually STAND UP! Now that would take some engineering and some thought!
You can find this one here.
Christmas and Pere Noel in France
In France, Pere Noel comes to town riding a donkey rather than a sled. So perhaps the children could build a shed for Pere Noel's donkey with craft sticks and marshmallows or modeling clay? We did the same type of project when we studied the farm. I got out my small plastic farm animal counters and had them all count out ten, and they had to build a barn large enough to hold all of the farm animals with marshmallows and spaghetti noodles. It was fun, but harder than we expected! You can make it harder or easier by requiring a roof, or letting them simply make a fence or corral. The thing that made it hard was inserting the noodles into the marshmallows without them breaking, and making a roof without it collapsing. I'm sure it wouldn't be very hard with craft sticks!
Christmas and La Befana in Italy
Children in Italy get their presents from a Christmas witch called La Befana that comes in riding a broom! So perhaps the children could make a zipline project and create a witch that rides a broom? We did something like this during the month of October. But for this project, I let the children create either a bat, an owl, or a witch. I just set out a lot of paper and some straws, and gave them some glue and tape. I also provided some cardboard so that their projects had a little bit of weight to make them slide down faster! The only requirements were that the completed project would need to slide down the zipline!
This was LOTS of fun! The only problem was that we ran out of time to finish before it was time to go home. I wound up sending yarn home with the children so that they could experiment with the zip line there. I intended to have zipline races, but they just didn't finish, and they were SO excited to take their projects home, so I decided to let it go.
This was LOTS of fun! The only problem was that we ran out of time to finish before it was time to go home. I wound up sending yarn home with the children so that they could experiment with the zip line there. I intended to have zipline races, but they just didn't finish, and they were SO excited to take their projects home, so I decided to let it go.
Other Projects
Another project that I would like to do is to have them make a sled out of craft sticks, and see if they can make one that will actually slide down a ramp! I've been collecting pictures of craft stick sleds on my Pinterest boards for this purpose. This would be better if we had actual SNOW or ice, but since we are here in southern California, that's not going to work. So if someone makes this happen, can you let me know? :)
I also really like the STEM snowflakes that I found here, and would LOVE to make a bridge for the Gingerbread Man! We'll just have to wait and see what we have time for! We are also preparing to put on our annual Gingerbread Man play, so we are busy, busy, busy!
Happy Holidays!
-Heidi
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I also really like the STEM snowflakes that I found here, and would LOVE to make a bridge for the Gingerbread Man! We'll just have to wait and see what we have time for! We are also preparing to put on our annual Gingerbread Man play, so we are busy, busy, busy!
Happy Holidays!
-Heidi
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Follow me! Did you enjoy this post? Do me a favor and share it with your friends! And follow this blog by signing up for my email updates here, and follow me on TPT! I'm also on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, too! Don't forget to sign up for our email newsletter for special deals and promo codes that you won't find out about anywhere else.
