Grade School Archives - Page 18 of 27

Binary Code Bracelet That is Out of This World

February 17, 2018 By Deirdre

Binary code is a number system made up of zeros and ones. Every letter, number, and symbol on your computer keyboard is represented by eight digits or a byte. Each of those digits is either zero or a one. Your children will have fun exploring binary code by creating a bead bracelet. They will string the beads in three bytes or groups of eight to form the word star.

I have created a planning and reflection printable that will walk your children through this activity. Below you will also see a Get Coding! book displayed that would be great to share with your children. It further explains coding. I hope your children think the printable and the bracelet are out of this world!

Binary Code Bracelet

Gathering the Supplies

The first thing you will need to do is print out the Binary Code Bracelet That is Out of This World STEM Activity Printable. You will need one for each of your children. (Here is another binary code planning printable.)

The links below are affiliate links.

The next thing you will need to do is gather the craft supplies. You will need each of the following items.

Star Pony Beads
Blue Pony Beads
Gold Metallic Tinsel Pipe Cleaners

Creating the Binary Code Bracelet

Your children will need to place all the beads they will need to build the word star on top of the shapes beside the code for each letter. Children can work on one letter at a time or work on the whole word star.

Next, children will need to color in the shapes beside the code for each letter of the word star. By placing the colors in the shapes it will give your children a visual reminder of what beads they placed in each space.

Then they will need to thread the beads in order onto a gold pipe cleaner to spell out the word star. You can place a knot at one end of the pipe cleaner if you like to keep the beads from falling off. When all the beads are in place, you can twist the two end of the pipe cleaner together.

Finally, children will go back to their activity printable. It is time to gather data and reflect on the activity. Children will gather data by counting up how many of each type of bead they used to create each letter. After counting up the beads, they will record that number on the printable. Then they will need to reflect on any challenges they had. If they didn’t have any challenges, they can write about what they learned during the activity.

This activity is part of a series of 28 Days of STEAM and STEM activities. I am partnering with Left Brain Craft Brain and 29 other blogs to share with you almost 60 different activities. It is going to be a fun month. Please stop by my Facebook page. I will be featuring many of the STEM and STEAM activities there during the month.

Electric Circuit Kids Valentine

February 14, 2018 By Deirdre

Your kids will have fun exploring how an electrical circuit works when they put together this kids valentine. Your children won’t be able to mail the valentine, but they will be able to set it out at a family member’s place at the dinner table. How fun it will be for them to let someone know that they are the light of their lives.

Electrical Circuit Kids Valentine

Getting Ready

The first thing you will need to do it to download the You Make My Heart Light Up printable card set. You will find two cards on the printable page.

The next thing you will need to do it take out supplies your children can use to decorate the card. Children will find colored pencils are a creative tool to use to fill in the small sections of the heart. You could have them used crayons or markers if you like.

The links below are affiliate links.

Then you will need to put out a Light LED Lampand acoin cell battery for each card you will be making.

Finally, you may want to pull out a book like Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatchto read to your children. It tells the tale of a man who receives a gift by accident that makes his heart light up.

Putting the Electric Circuit Card Together

Your children will need to color their cards before putting creating the electric circuit. When they have their cards just the way they want them, they will cut a small slit in the card to put the lamp through.

They can lay the lamp on its side or have it stand straight up. Then they will place the two wires sticking out of the lamp through the slit.

Children will bend in one of the wires so that it lays flat on the card. Then they will place the battery on top of the wire.

The second wire will need to be bent over the top of the battery. A piece of tape can be placed over the top wire to hold it in place. When you children turn the card over they will see that the light up is shining brightly.

Finally, they can put it out on the table for someone special to find.

If you like this science project, here are some more you will love:

STEM Snowboarding Half Pipe

Ski Jumping Straw Rockets

Tin Foil Boat Penny Challenge

Emoji Feeling Faces: Feelings Recognition Activity

February 12, 2018 By Deirdre

Getting kids to talk about their feeling can be a challenge. This fun emoji feeling faces activity invites to display and share various feelings. This feelings recognition is an activity that will be one your children want to do over and over again. JDaniel has really had fun with it.

You will want to read a book about feelings and emotions like I Was So Mad, The Feelings Book, or The Way I Feel before starting the activity.

Emoji Feeling Faces: Feelings Recognition Activity

Getting Ready for the Emoji Feeling Faces Activity

The first thing you are going to need to do is download and print out the Emoji Faces Feeling Recognition Activity. You will find that there is two set of facial elements on each page.

Gathering the Rest of the Craft Materials

You will gather the following materials to create the craft.

White or Yellow Paper Plates*
5 Brass Fasteners Per Child
Scissors
Crayons or Markers

*We used white plates and colored them yellow because we had white plates at home. Feel free to use whatever color of plates you have on hand or can find at a dollar store.

Putting the Emoji Feeling Faces Together

Your children will need to cut out each of the facial elements with scissors. You could cut them out for your children if that would be too challenging.

Children will then need to color their white plates yellow. Then they can color their facial features. You may want to encourage children to color the paper eyebrows the color of their eyebrows. They could also color the eyes the color of their eyes. We all have blue eyes at my house.

Finally, children will attach each of the facial elements to the paper plate with a brass fastener. The fasteners will also each of the facial elements to turn.

Feeling Recognition Activity

Exploring the Face

Give your children time to move each of the elements on the face to change the emoji’s feelings. After moving each one of the features, have your children share how that changes the feeling it displays. By changing our eyebrows to the smiling emoji, it went from looking happy to a little bit mean.

Share a Feeling

You can give your children a feeling to show on their emojis. Then you can see if they can move the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth so the emoji will display that feeling.

This week the Virtual Book Club is exploring feelings. Here are some more feeling-related activities based on the book I Was So Mad

Harry the Dirty Dog Thaumatrope Printable

January 31, 2018 By Deirdre

This week I am sharing Harry the Dirty Dog activities with you. Your children will have fun creating a thaumatrope based on Harry the Dirty Dog.

What is a thaumatrope? It features a different picture on its front and its back. When children spin a wooden dowel or chopstick placed between the pictures, the pictures seem to blend together. It will look like one of the pictures has joined the other to form one picture. Your children will love watching clean dog blend together with the dirty dog.

Creating The Harry the Dirty Dog Thaumatrope

Getting Ready the Supplies Together

Downloading the Printable

You will need to download the Harry the Dirty Dog Thaumatrope Printable.

This set was designed to be printed out in black and white on white cardstock. Your children can decorate or outline the pictures on their thaumatrope any color they like.

Links below are affiliate links.

Putting the Thaumatropes Together

Your children will need to cut out each of the dog circles.

Then they will need to glue a wood chopstick to the back of one of the circles.

Then they will glue the back sides of the design circles together.

Explore Their Thaumatropes

Children will need to place the chopstick between their hands. Then they will need to rub them together. Rubbing their hands together will cause the thaumatrope to spin.

Some experimentation will need to be done to figure out how fast the thaumatrope needs to spin for the two pictures to blend together.

If you like this Harry the Dirty Dog science activity, here are some more you will love.

Give a Dog a Bone Number Game – Rainy Day Mum
Harry the Dirty Dog Printable Counting Activity – JDaniel4’s Mom
Dog Washing Sensory Play – Views From a Step Stool
Puppy Themed Snack for Kids – The Moments at Home
Biology for Kids: Animal Observation Activity – Mama Smiles

Winter Olympic Sports – STEM Snowboarding Halfpipe

January 30, 2018 By Deirdre

This is the fifth in a series of five Winter Olympic sports that I have created STEM activities for. Previously I have shared a paper plate ski lift with a pulley, a magnetic figure skating activity, an interactive snowboarding craft, and a ski jumping straw rocket. Your children will have fun creating any or all of them. The STEM snowboarding halfpipe activity I am sharing today can also be used for pretend play.

STEM Snowboarding Halfpipe

Links below may be affiliate links.

Gathering the Material Needed

A Piece of Cardboard 5 1/2 inches by 6 inches (Our cardboard came from the side of a cracker box.)
4 Paperclips 2 inches long per child
Duct Tape
A Plastic Jug (We used a Lipton Green Tea Jug.)
Wood Peg Doll Bodies
Wooden Ice Cream Spoons
#2 Pencils
Magic Markers

Putting this Winter Olympic Sports Activity Together

Cutting the Jug

You will need cut the top and bottom off of the plastic jug. Then you will lay the jug down on its side. You will need to measure 4 inches on each of the sides and cut off the areas of the jug that are above the 4 inches.

Working with the Paper Clips

You will push up the center of each of the paperclips to make a 90-degree angle. (You will bend it a little bit more later on.)

Next, you will need to tuck the straight part inner section of the paperclips under the cardboard piece. You will have two paper clips on the left side and two on the right side. Then you will tape them down with duct tape.

Finally, you will place duct tape on the top of the cardboard section to cover the part of the inner sections of the paper clips that are on the top of the cardboard.

Attaching the Half Pipe

You will need to set the plastic halfpipe on the paperclips. Bend the paperclips back as much as you need to so that the halfpipe is cradled in the paperclips.

When you have them positioned as you want them to be, you can place duct tape over the paper clips to hold them in place.

Creating the Snowboarder and Snowboard

You will need to decorate your wooden peg doll and snowboard. You will want to put a helmet, goggles, jacket, and snow pants on the snowboarder. The snowboard can be decorated any way you like.

Then you will need to glue the base of the pencil and the snowboarder facing sideways on the snowboard.

Snowboard Half Pipe Moves

You can create your own snowboard tricks for your snowboarder or try to replicate the moves of your favorite snowboarder. The snowboarder could slip up and down the walls of the halfpipe, do flips or twists.

The paperclips will act like shock absorbers for your snowboarder. When the land on the halfpipe, the paperclips will help them spring back for their next move.

Harry the Dirty Dog Printable Counting Activity

January 29, 2018 By Deirdre

This week I am going to be sharing with you activities based on the classic children’s book Harry the Dirty Dog. Your children will have fun identify how many buttons to place on each dog counting card. Some of the cards display a number and others display a number word. You can decide which number recognition cards you want your children to work on. Both types of cards focus on the numbers from one to ten.

Links below may be affiliate links.

If you haven’t read the book Harry the Dirty Dog to your children, you will want to do that before starting this activity.

Harry the Dirty Dog Counting Cards

Printing Out the Harry the Dirty Dog Counting Cards

The words, number, and dog on each of the counting cards were designed to be printed on in BW. Once you download the Counting Card Printables Based on Harry the Dirty Dog, you can then decide which cards you want to print out.

Gathering Counting Items

You could use a wide variety of objects as the spots for the dog. We used dark colored buttons because we had them on hand. While they are not black a Harry the Dirty Dog’s spots were, we thought they would work. Below you will find a list of other items you could use as spots.

black buttons
Black Counters
Black Pom Poms
LEGO
Circles Cut from Construction Paper
Black Felt Circles

Using the Counting Cards

There are a number of ways to use the counting cards. I have listed a few ways below. There are probably a number of others ways to use them.

One Card at a Time

You can put out one card at a time for your children to explore. After placing the correct number of objects on the card, you can put out a second card.

Three Number Cards in Order

You or your children can select a number. Then they can search through the stack for the number that comes right before and right after it. All three cards can be placed on the tables in number order. Finally, your children can place the right number of objects on each of the cards.

Number Line of Cards

Your children can place the cards from one to ten in number order on the table. Then starting with the card with the number one on it, they can place the correct number of counters on it.

Here are some more Harry the Dirty Dog activities from this blog and other Virtual Book Club members.

If You Give a Pig a Pancake Coding Activity

January 26, 2018 By Deirdre

If You Give a Pig a Pancake is a great jumping off point for coding with young children. They love the rhyme of the words and the story ends back where it started. After reading If You Give a Pig a Pancake, you can help your children connect the pictures on the coding printable to create an algorithm or series of steps that sequence the events.

If You Give a Pig a Pancake Coding Activity

Getting Ready for the Activity

You will need to print out either the BW or color versions of the If You Give a Pig a Pancake Coding Printable. When you select BW, the pictures will be uncolored and outlined in black and white.

Then you will need to get a copy of the If You Give a Pig a Pancake. If you plan to read the book to your students and then go over the sequence of events, you will just need one copy. If you want to create the algorithm in pairs or on their own, you will need more copies of the book.

Working on the Coding Activity

After reading the book, you will need to give each of your children a copy of the coding printable.

They will need to start at the bottom left-hand corner where you find the pig and the word start. Children will need to draw an up arrow in the box with the pig. Then they will need to draw an up arrow in the box between the pig and pancake. Next, they will need to draw an up arrow beside the syrup and one in the box above the syrup.

Children will continue drawing an arrow in each of the boxes that connect the events in order until they reach the pancake box with the word end in it. You may need to review the directions up, down, left, and right with your children and draw a sample arrow in each of the directions. It will help your children know what they look like.

If you like this coding activity based on a children’s book, here some more:

Little Miss Muffet Coding Activity and Printable

Coding Activity- Going on a Bear Hunt

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Algorithm Activity

Gruffalo Coding Sheet

Coding for Kids- The Day It Rained Hearts

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Coding Printable

The Snowy Day Coding Printable

Counting and Skip Counting Printables Based on If You Give a Pig a Pancake

January 25, 2018 By Deirdre

Your children will have fun coloring, cutting and putting number strips on these counting and skip counting printables in number order. Each of the printables features a character or event from the book If You Give a Pig a Pancake. There are printables that focus on counting from 1-10 and 10-20. Others in this fun set focus on counting by 2, 5 and 10.

Links below maybe affiliate links.

Before your children start to explore these printable, you may want to have them read or listen to the book If You Give a Pig a Pancake.

Counting and Skip Counting Printables

Getting the Printables

You can download the If You Give a Pancake Counting Puzzle set that features puzzles your children can color in and pre-colored pictures. You can decide which one you want to use with your children.

Starting the Activity

Your children will need to start by coloring the pictures featured on their counting or skip counting printable. They will need to try to not color in the area with the numbers. We used crayons to color ours, but you may want to have your children usecolored pencils or Crayola markers

Next, they will need to cut out along the dark line that separates each of the numbers to create strips.

Then they will need to try to lay the numbers on in order from the smallest number to the largest. They have the numbers in order their picture will look like it did before they cut it out. You may want to have out finished example so your children refer to it if necessary.

Finally, they will glue the strip down on construction or printer paper in the right order. If you would prefer that they put the strips in an envelope to use to practice counting, later on, that would be fine too.

Counting and Skip Count Printables Based on If Your Give a Pig and a Pancake - This is the pig and bathtub page colored in.

This is an example of the pre-colored puzzle page.

Here are some more fun pig-themed activities:

Pig and Pancake Shape Matching Activity

STEM Engineering- Building Houses for the Three Little Pigs

Three Pig Printable Activities

Preschool Counting Game

If you like this math printable, here are some more that you can explore with your children.

Leaping into Math- Frog Flip Chute Activity with Printables

Counting Bees- LEGO Math Printable

Let’s Create a Floor Graph and Collect Data Spinner Activity

Shapes for Kids Matching Game Based on If You Give a Pig a Pancake

January 22, 2018 By Deirdre

Your children will have fun matching each butter pat shape to the pancake that displays that shape in the middle. You will be able to put this shapes for kids matching game based on the book If You Give a Pig a Pancake with items you have in your pantry and craft closet. If you have older children at home, they will be able to help you put it together.

Putting the Shapes for Kids Game Together

Gathering the Supplies

Brown Scrapbook or Construction Paper
Yellow Scrapbook or Construction Paper
Shapes from a shape peg puzzle, or Cut from Cardboard to Trace
Scissors
Glue Sticks
Black Markers
Small Saucer or Plate
Small Paper Plate

Directions for Putting the Shapes for Kids Game Together

The first thing you need to do is decide how many shapes you want to have your children explore. Then you will need to start by tracing around the edge of a small plate or saucer onto the brown paper with a black marker to make the pancakes.

Next, you need to cut out the circles.

Then you will need to trace a shape in the middle of each of the pancakes. You will next need to write the name of each shape in the middle of on each pancake.

Finally, you will need to trace each of the shapes you have decided to use on to the yellow paper. These yellow shapes will be the pats of butter for the pancakes.

The pancakes can be glued or placed onto small paper plates. You will find another version of the game below that requires the pancakes not be glued to the plate.

Playing the Shapes for Kids Game

Version One of the Game

You can put out one or two of the paper plates containing pancakes. Then you can put out all of the shape butter pats. Children can try to place the correct butter pat on each of the pancakes.

Next, you can take out a few more of the plates with pancakes on them. Children can try to find the shape pats that this set of plates.

Version Two of the Game

This version of the game requires one plate and a set of pancakes not glued to a plate. Children will place on pancake on the plate and then find the butter pat that matches that shape. Then they will place a pancake on top first one and look for its matching pat. Children will contain adding pancakes and their matching pats until they have a full stack of pancakes.

Cool Science Projects – Ski Jumping Straw Rockets

January 19, 2018 By Deirdre

This is the fourth in a series five Olympic themed activities. Previous I have shared a paper plate ski lift with a pulley, a magnetic figure skating activity, and an interactive snowboarding craft. Children will have fun decorating the printable ski jumper and launching it from a straw rocket. This is one of those cool science projects that that can be explored a number of ways. Your children can decide how to hold the rocket to make the skier jump horizontally or vertically.

Cool Science Projects

Getting Ready for the Projects

Before children can create their straw rockets you will need to download the Ski Jumping Straw Rockets Printable. It is a black and white printable. Your children can decorate the ski jumpers helmet and ski suit anyway they like. They may want to decorate to in the colors of their favorite country.

Links below may be affiliate links.

Each of your children will also need a standard and extra large milkshake straws to build their straw rocket.

Putting the Cool Science Project Together

Children will need to cut off a piece of the large straw about 2 and a half inches long. They will need to tape one end of the straw closed.

Then they will need to color their ski jumper. As I mentioned above, children can color it to match the colors of their favorite countries flag.

Once the ski jumper is colored, they can glue or tape the ski jumper to the section of the large straw. The top of the skier’s helmet should be facing the taped end of the straw.

Finally, the ski jumper on the straw section will need to be placed on the standard straw.

Making the Ski Jumper Jump

Children can hold the straw horizontally or vertically. Then they will need to blow as hard as they can. It is the strength of the air traveling through the straw that makes the ski jumper jump.

You can lay a ruler, tape measure or measuring tape on the ground. Your children can try to get the ski jumper to travel farther and farther down the measuring tool. You could even award a gold medal to the child that gets it to travel the farthest.

If your children love straw rocket activities here are some more I have created:

How to Make Firework Straw Rockets

Leap Frog Straw Rockets

Below you will find several children’s book about skiing. Only one is about ski jumping. (There aren’t a lot of books about ski jumping.) The others are about learning to ski. I thought hour children would enjoy them. You will also find the large straw we used in this project.

Binary Code Bracelet

Gathering the Supplies

Creating the Binary Code Bracelet

Electrical Circuit Kids Valentine

Getting Ready

Putting the Electric Circuit Card Together

Emoji Feeling Faces: Feelings Recognition Activity

Getting Ready for the Emoji Feeling Faces Activity

Gathering the Rest of the Craft Materials

Putting the Emoji Feeling Faces Together

Feeling Recognition Activity

Exploring the Face

Share a Feeling

Creating The Harry the Dirty Dog Thaumatrope

Getting Ready the Supplies Together

Downloading the Printable

Putting the Thaumatropes Together

Explore Their Thaumatropes

STEM Snowboarding Halfpipe

Gathering the Material Needed

Putting this Winter Olympic Sports Activity Together

Cutting the Jug

Working with the Paper Clips

Attaching the Half Pipe

Creating the Snowboarder and Snowboard

Snowboard Half Pipe Moves

Harry the Dirty Dog Counting Cards

Printing Out the Harry the Dirty Dog Counting Cards

Gathering Counting Items

Using the Counting Cards

One Card at a Time

Three Number Cards in Order

Number Line of Cards

If You Give a Pig a Pancake Coding Activity

Getting Ready for the Activity

Working on the Coding Activity

Counting and Skip Counting Printables

Getting the Printables

Starting the Activity

Here are some more fun pig-themed activities:

Putting the Shapes for Kids Game Together

Gathering the Supplies

Directions for Putting the Shapes for Kids Game Together

Playing the Shapes for Kids Game

Version One of the Game

Version Two of the Game

Cool Science Projects

Getting Ready for the Projects

Putting the Cool Science Project Together

Making the Ski Jumper Jump

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