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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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 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,…
