Fall Science Activities for Elementary Students Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. It starts off a little crazy with all the back to school chaos, but by mid-to-late September, things start calming down, the weather gets cooler, and the leaves change color. And that means it’s time to break out all the fun fall-themed activities! If you’re a teacher who loves fall like me, then you’ll love these fall science activities! 4 Fall Science Activities #1: Apple Oxidation Experiment Materials needed: 1 apple, a variety of liquids (such as water, lemon water, lemonade, sugar water, pure lemon juice, orange juice, water with honey, etc.), containers labeled…
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This is the Best End of Year Activity for Your Classroom
My Favorite End of Year Activity The end of the school year can be hard, especially if you still have a few weeks left after finishing your content instruction for the year. On the one hand, we want to leave our students with pleasant memories of our final days together. On the other hand, we still want our time together to be meaningful and structured. How can we as teachers facilitate both of these things in such a crazy and stressful time? Well, I have the perfect end of year activity for you to try. An Easy End of Year Activity Two years ago, I was in this exact situation.…
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A Fun Easter STEM Activity That Will Challenge Your Students
Easter STEM Activity Easter is just around the corner! Are you looking for some fun Easter activities to do with your students in the classroom? If so, this easy Easter STEM activity perfect for you. It’s low-prep and inexpensive – all you need is some plastic Easter eggs and about 15 minutes. The best part? It’s challenging! Not only does this activity get students thinking creatively, it also teaches teamwork and patience. Keep reading for more details on how to implement this Easter STEM activity! Easy Easter STEM Challenge The goal of this Easter STEM challenge is simple: build the tallest Easter egg tower. Students will carefully stack Easter egg…
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4 March Madness Activities for Your Classroom
March Madness Activities March Madness – also known as a college basketball fan’s favorite time of the year! Personally, I’m not much into college sports, so March Madness doesn’t mean anything to me. However, I’m a big fan of working seasonal themes into my lessons, so of course I always add in some March Madness activities with my students! If you’re looking to do the same, here are some ideas I’ve compiled for how you can work March Madness into your lesson plans this month. March Madness Math Activities Math Madness March Madness is perhaps best known for its tournament bracket. Every year, people challenge themselves to choose the winning…
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3 Super Easy and Fun STEM Activities for Winter
Experiments and STEM activities are a great way to engage your students and pique their interest in science! There are so many great projects out there to try. If you love doing themed activities as much as I do, then you’ll love these fun (and easy!) STEM activities for winter! STEM Activities for Winter Hot Cocoa Melting For this winter STEM activity, you will need two mugs, water, milk, two packs of hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, and a spoon. Step 1 Fill one mug with milk and the other with water. Make sure you use the same amount of liquid for both mugs (I used 1 cup). Microwave each mug…
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The 3 Best Christmas Science Experiments for Elementary
Christmas is just around the corner, and the kids (and, let’s face it, teachers) are getting antsy. But, the teaching must go on! At this point in the year, you’re likely scrambling for educational content that will keep your students engaged. To help you out, here are 3 of my favorite Christmas science experiments for elementary students. 3 Christmas Science Experiments Crystallized Snowflake Ornaments This first experiment is so fun, easy, and makes a great Christmas decoration! Students will get to observe the process of crystal formation while making snowflake ornaments. What you need: Borax Boiling Water Pipe Cleaners String Individual jars/glasses/etc. Pencil or ruler How to do it: Have…
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An Easy STEM Challenge to Celebrate Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is just around the corner! If you’re like me, you love incorporating seasonal activities into your instruction. If you need a quick, easy to prep activity to do in the weeks before Thanksgiving break, I have a super easy STEM challenge for you! This STEM challenge is super low prep and uses materials you probably already have. If you don’t, however, you can get everything you need with one quick trip to the dollar store. (You know I’m all about sticking to that budget!) What You Need For this easy STEM challenge, all you need is some index cards, tape, and a can of corn (or other vegetable). I…
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Summer Guest Post: How to Create a Butterfly Garden in 5 Easy Steps
Hello Friends- I am Tina from Teach the TK Way. I am the mom of 4 almost grown children, an Early Educator, and Teacherpreneur. I have been creating classroom environments for over 23 years, specializing in outdoor classrooms and bringing natural environments to indoor learning spaces. I can be found on Facebook and IGTV with my weekly “Mentor Minute”, where I share nature-based curriculum ideas with other educators. You can find me on ALL social media as Teach The TK Way; I look forward to connecting with each of you. Butterfly gardens, hummingbird plants, and saving the honey bees- OH MY! When I embarked on my outdoor classroom journey I…
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How to Use Task Cards in the Classroom: 7 Creative Ways (+FREEBIE)
How to Use Task Cards in the Classroom Task cards. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I had absolutely no clue how to use task cards in the classroom – but now I can’t imagine life without them! This is because task cards are low prep, easy to use, and so versatile! At first, I thought they were basically just flash cards. Wow, was I wrong! Of course, they can be used that way, but there are so many other ways to use task cards in the classroom as well! Over the last year, I’ve discovered numerous uses for task cards, and most of them are extremely low prep!…
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How to Use Weather Journals for Students
Why Use Weather Journals for Students? One of the best ideas I’ve ever had as a teacher (in my personal opinion) was to record our weather everyday in weather journals for students. Why was this my best idea ever? As a student, I often wondered why I was learning something. When I am I ever going to use this in the real world? As an adult, I now see the value of many of the things I learned, and wish I knew more about those things! The problem we run into when kids don’t see the why behind what they’re learning is they never buy into it. They don’t engage,…
