Who's up for a super simple STEM activity you can do at home with the kids this week? (I see all you moms with kids home for winter break like mine waving their hands!) The other day I walked into my mom friend's kitchen and found the top of a pineapple sitting in a jar of water. I thought it was odd so I immediately quizzed her about it and she politely told little-ol-woefully-uninformed-me that if you plant the top of a pineapple, it will sprout. What?! I was still digesting this info. a … [Read more...]
{Play Idea} 17 Unique Materials for Building & Creating
Summer has hit full stride and all the free time off school has lost its allure. We've been swimming, hiking, adventuring and more! So, now it's time to explore new activities that will satisfy the kids' natural curiosity and endless amounts of energy. We've picked our top 17 building activities, using everything from newspaper to marshmallows. Most of these items you'll have at home, so pick an activity from the list this afternoon when boredom hits your house. … [Read more...]
TinkerLab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors
Around here summer is the season for lots and lot of hands on play. This is partly to keep mom (that's me) from going nuts, and partly to keep our littles' brains stimulated and learning. The only flaw with this summertime mantra of play? It can be rather difficult to think of creative, open-ended ideas to fill our days! Which is why I'm so excited to tell you about the new book from one of my very favorite blogging friends, Rachelle over at TinkerLab. TinkerLab: A Hands-On Guide … [Read more...]
STEM Activity: Gum Drop Engineering
A few months ago I was asked to come up with a series of educational at-home activities to do with the kids as part of a collaboration between eHow (who I regularly contribute for) and Target. All together, I wrote 8 posts - many of which centered on developing STEM skills. This gum drop engineering project was one of my very favorites (second only to the inventor's box I shared with you guys last month). Our whole family had a great time building and creating for almost an entire afternoon … [Read more...]
The Kitchen Experiment Garden: Growing Plants from Food Scraps
The other day I walked into my mom friend's kitchen and found the top of a pineapple sitting in a jar of water. I thought it was odd so I immediately quizzed her about it and she politely told little-ol-woefully-uninformed-me that if you plant the top of a pineapple, it will sprout. What?! I was still digesting this info. a few days later when my contributor Kaley (a wonderfully creative mom in her own right) emailed to ask if she could do her next post on growing stuff from food scraps. … [Read more...]