MARCH
FUN
Coming soon...
Grab the !
St. Patrick's Day brings a very mischievous leprechaun to our school. He seems to know just when the students are at lunch or specials, and then he strikes with his own brand of mayhem. Tiny green footprints on the floor, gold glitter sprinkled on the desktops, an overturned chair...that wee rascal makes sure to leave his mark!
With this simple activity, he can also inspire some STEM thinking. Your students might even have so much fun that they don't realize they're learning. How's that for a clever trick?
I prefer to have students work
in pairs for this challenge. Using
wooden clothespins, craft sticks,
plastic spoons, and rubber bands,
students assemble two tools
for "grabbing the gold" and
stacking the coins on the pot.
Students in grades 1-3 will likely need assistance with the rubber bands, but I first provide them with the directions and let them give it a try. Students in grades 4-5 can design their own tools using the materials.
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It's not easy grabbing the gold, but it's tons of fun. We usually wrap up the activity having a conversation comparing the effectiveness of the two tools, and finding out that different students developed unique methods for using them. Turns out, leprechauns are clever, but they've got nothing on our kids!
Grab the !
Think Spring!
Here in New Jersey, winter is gray, cold, and loooooooooonnnnng. By March everyone is dreaming of warm days and bright colors. I love to start this challenge by asking students what comes to mind when they "think spring."
For this challenge, each group of three needs a bucket, 3 sheets of paper, and 3 smooth stones. (You can find your own outside, but mine were purchased at the Dollar Tree).
The goal is deceptively simple. Build a paper "log" to hold the three frogs above the pond (pail). The log can only be made from one sheet of paper, but the group can try 3 different designs.
This group (left) didn't quite get it, but they were so proud of their idea to wedge the log against the walls of the bucket, I took a photo anyway!
When groups finally find a way to support their three "frogs," I give them several more rocks and ask them to build a stronger log.
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Even with a challenge this simple, the kids' ideas are diverse. Some roll their paper, some fold it, some wedge it, and some realize that frogs like to sit in hollow logs!
