Sometime around the beginning of October, pumpkins start to appear. In grocery stores, at the hardware store, and, of course, at the pumpkin patch, pumpkins are everywhere in early fall! While pumpkins may be most prized for their ability to be carved into jack-o-lanterns, they are actually rather fascinating fruits to study in ... Continue Reading
Grow a candy jack-o-lantern {Halloween STEAM activity for kids}
Growing a candy jack-o-lantern is a great way to put all those Halloween M&Ms to good use. If you haven't done this activity before, I guarantee you the kids will LOVE it. (And some of the adults won't be able to look away either!) This Halloween STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activity combines art and science. Plus, ... Continue Reading
Bubble dough
I will confess that half of the appeal of bubble dough - at least for me - was the name. The name just inspired visions of fun and whimsy, so I knew I wanted to try it out as part of our sensory play. Plus the appeal of something easy to make and easy to clean was just too good to pass up. Here's how we made our bubble dough: 1 cup corn ... Continue Reading
“Magic” melting pumpkins {Halloween science and fine motor activity}
These melting pumpkins look like magic, but really they are just a bit of Halloween science combined with a fine motor activity. However, even if we grownups know the "magic" behind this activity, kids across a range of ages will love watching their magic pumpkins melt before their eyes! Note: For more kid-friendly Halloween activities, ... Continue Reading
Apple Volcano {kitchen science for kids}
This Apple Volcano activity is a new twist on the old baking soda and vinegar experiments. It is one of the more than 40 activities (and 325+ pages of printable materials) included in my Apple Unit Study. It's a pretty simple science activity you can do using supplies you probably already have in your kitchen. Despite its simplicity, ... Continue Reading
Grow a candy apple M&M science {fall STEAM activity for kids}
Looking for an apple-related science activity that will mesmerize kids and grownups alike? Try growing a candy apple! This isn't the kind of candy apple you may have eaten before. Instead, this candy apple is "grown" using M&Ms and a bit of dissolving science. And it makes for a great fall STEAM activity for kids. I absolutely adore ... Continue Reading
Dissecting an apple {Montessori-inspired activity}
Dissecting an apple is a great way to teach kids about fruit, to give them an early experience with dissection, and to inspire their interest in botany. In this post I'm sharing a Montessori-inspired apple dissection activity we did to learn about this wonderful fruit. Note: For more kid-friendly apple activities, see my Apple Unit ... Continue Reading
What weighs more than an apple? {preschool math activity}
I enjoy teaching kids about weights and measures, which are great topics to cover in preschool and kindergarten. We have done several activities using a balance scale over the years, such as our Easter Egg balance scale activity. As part of our apple unit, however, I wanted to add a bit more complexity to our balance scale activities. ... Continue Reading
Apple tissue paper craft
This was a simple apple tissue paper craft we did that involved "painting" using water and tissue paper. It was a totally new way of doing art for us, and my kids loved having an apple craft to show off at the end. Note: For more apple activities, see my apple unit study page. To make our apple tissue paper ... Continue Reading
Estimating the circumference of an apple {apple math}
During our apple unit, we of course studied apples themselves. But I also wanted to use apples to explore other parts of the curriculum like science, literacy, and math. In this post I'm sharing an activity in which we used apples to practice the math skills of estimation and measurement. Estimating the circumference of an apple is ... Continue Reading
