Jingle Bells, Playdough, and the Makey Makey!

We had a lot of fun with this activity the week before Christmas break! Students have been practicing with the Makey Makey system and they love it! For this activity, students made ornaments out of playdough,  placed them on their tree, then connected the wires from their Makey Makey system to the matching playdough ornament. Next, students were shown a color coded "music sheet" for the song Jingle Bells. By following the color coded guide and pressing the matching color ornament, students were easily able to become music masters! 

Decorating HUMAN Christmas trees :)

We had fun with this festive activity! Teams had to wrap one of their teammates in green streamer paper, make 5 beaded ornaments, make hangers to hang the ornaments on the tree, and create a self-standing star topper for the tree! Fun times!

Building the Mayflower: it's sink or swim time!

 Before Thanksgiving break, my gifted 3rd graders tested their engineering skills by building Mayflower boats from foil, tape, and straws to see which could hold the most pennies. It was a fun, hands-on STEM challenge that taught them about design principles, like how a wide, flat-bottomed boat can hold more weight before sinking.

 

The winning team maxed out the penny load by using all 140 pennies! We then had to use heavier magnets to load on the weight. The winning group ended up using 140 pennies and 21 magnets! This 3rd grade team even beat out the 5th grade teams :)

Launching into learning!

 Recently, the students were tasked with designing a functioning catapult using only common household items: popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and plastic spoons. This project wasn't just about building; it was about problem-solving, collaboration, and understanding the engineering design process.

They worked in teams to figure out the best leverage points and tension needed to launch their candy pumpkins successfully. We saw incredible ingenuity in how they reinforced their structures and adjusted their launch angles!

 

The ultimate goal was to launch as many pumpkins (out of 25) onto the green pumpkin patch as possible. The classroom turned into a friendly testing ground as students measured distances, refined their techniques, and cheered on their peers! This was a lot of fun!

*Check out the video at the end :)

It's time to clear the pumpkin patch...

Our gifted 3rd-grade classes took on an exciting STEM challenge just in time for fall! Students were tasked with engineering a tool capable of picking up as many candy pumpkins as possible in a single "swipe."

The rules were strict: students could not touch the candy pumpkins with their hands during the challenge. The goal was for teams to clear the "pumpkin patch" in the fewest attempts possible, promoting efficient and creative design solutions.

It was incredible to watch these young engineers problem-solve and collaborate. From intricate claw mechanisms to wide-sweeping collection devices, each team developed a unique approach. The classroom was abuzz with critical thinking, trial and error, and joyous success as they tested their prototypes.

Congratulations to all our brilliant inventors on a job well done!