S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities are my favorite projects because they are very engaging. They encourage hands on exploration using a variety of skills to investigate solutions. The following Jelly Bean STEAM activities are simple and fun challenges for everyone.
JELLY BEAN RAINBOW
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- 1- Bag of Jelly Beans
- 2- Disposable Plates
- 1- Cup Distilled Vinegar
- 1- Cup Warm Water
- Timer or Stopwatch
- Paper and Pencil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Instruct your child to arrange their jelly beans around the edge of the plate in in a color pattern of their choice. One of the reasons I recommend let your child do this part is because placing the jelly beans around the plate is great for fine motor skill development in younger children.
- Once the jelly beans are set. Pour the warm water slowly into the center of the plate. Start the timer right away after the liquid has been poured. Make a close observation as the liquid disperses.
- Encourage your kids to take a video or photographs of the experiment. Especially a before and after picture. As soon as the colors meet in the center of the plate, go ahead and stop the timer. Write down your time on a piece of paper.
- Next, you will repeat the experiment again only this time instead use the vinegar. I actually had these curved bowls and thought it would be fun to do the experiment side by side. Water on the left and vinegar on the right.
- Be sure to remember to set your timer the second time and encourage your kids to note the differences they observe between the two experiments.
- Tip: Be warned your jelly beans might go fast. My youngest enjoyed sneaking a few to munch doing this experiment.
JELLY BEAN ENGINEERING
SUPPLIES:
- Toothpicks
- Jelly Beans
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Setup what you will need. I find it easiest to put the tooth picks in one bowl and the jelly beans in another.
- The next part is quite simple, invite your little one to build a structure using the tooth picks and jelly beans.
- Tip: Let your little one get creative. Allow them to bring their favorite toys to play with in the structures. My oldest son built a home for Steve and than a station for his trains. Just be careful when creating the tooth picks can be sharp. Suggest this for ages 6 and older. Base this on their maturity and fine motor skills.
JELLY BEAN COLOR MATCH
SUPPLIES:
- Jelly Beans
- Dotter Markers (I love the Do-A-Dot markers, they are the best!)
- White Paper
- Scissors
INSTRUCTIONS:
- First you want to set up you Easter Egg by cutting out a oval egg shape as large as you can. Next, you will want to use dotters to make different colored dots on the egg (be sure to use the same color dots as the jelly beans.)
- Make sure you give the dots a few minutes to dry. While you are waiting prepare the jelly beans by opening the bag and pouring them into a small bowl.
- Now for the fun part! Invite your child to come and play! Encourage your little one to match each jelly bean to the same color corresponding dot on the paper egg.
- Invite them to talk about the colors they are using. After the egg is full, this is a great opportunity to work on counting skills. Ask your child questions like how many red or how many yellow do you see? You can also work on subtraction. If I have five pink ones and I take away two, how many do I have left? (They could even eat them as they work on subtraction…wink…wink!)
***The Playful Parent provides weekly homemade projects every Monday to help make learning through play fun and easy for families. These activities will be featured at the next Moms Club Waldorf North West monthly meet up on April 18, 2018 at 10 AM. Moms Club would love to invite new members to join in the fun. Visit their Facebook Page to learn more about Moms Club. ***
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