The year I had 350+ tree houses in my classroom… We are fortunate to have many outdoor learning classrooms at our school/district. We have a school forest, pond, prairie, garden, one room schoolhouse, nature center log cabin, and a sugar…
One of the most frequently asked questions I get every year (and throughout the year, until it happens) is, “When’s HESS Week?” The kids just love these things! I learned about the HESS Toy Truck STEM Giveaway in 2018, during…
A great way to let loose, and still learn! Students in grades 4K-5 work with Cubelets. For 4K and 5K I limit the number/types of cubes available to them. For this challenge, students are encouraged to: Build a bot that…
Students in K-2 work as a class to create ONE newspaper sculpture that is decorated with colored cellophane paper and LED lights. Students in 3-5 work as table teams to create newspaper shoes. 4K students work to refine their cutting,…
This challenge started off as one vision and morphed as the week progressed. I don’t have this challenge scheduled on a regular basis, on our 6-year scope and sequence plan. Instead I think I’ll somehow combine this one with our…
Using marker code or block coding on Ozoblockly, students aim to knock down as many pins as possible. I recommend counting the bowling pins at the start and end of each class to be sure you have what you should…
This is a once-every-six-years challenge and once completed, we showcase our inventions/creations during Family STEAM Night. Each class creates ONE invention and works collaboratively throughout the challenge. The steps are as follows: Brainstorm/Draft Ideas Sort Ideas Into Like Categories Choose…
I’ve been wanting to give this idea a try and this year was finally the year! The kids love it. We started with just ONE robot (Meeberbots — and they’re really great for it), but then as the week progressed,…
We have two schoolwide challenges that we do every year. Mechanimals is one we did during the 2019-20 school year and it’s definitely a keeper! For this challenge, each class works as ONE TEAM to create one animal that lights…
This is a two day project. Each grade level starts off on day one building a marble run using grade-specific materials. 4K: Cardboard Tubes 5K: Playdough 1st: Duplo Blocks 2nd: LEGO Bricks 3rd: Pegboards 4th: K’Nex 5th: KEVA Planks The…
