Christmas always puts a sparkle in the eyes of my preschool daughters – it is pure magic to behold. We make it a point to have our December homeschooling lessons filled with all the fun, giggles, glitter and surprises of Christmas.
To celebrate the Advent and Christmas seasons with your curious little smarties, use these five easy STEM activities for kids. And the best part (beside the smiles, educational value and memories) is…you probably already have these materials stashed in your closet!
I always seem to have random bows after the wrapping is done, so I came up with a few ideas to leverage the Christmas sparkle and reinforce the kids’ learning. Finding new ways to instill math concepts is always a win. đ
Christmas Bow Math
Do these easy, fun activities with your leftover Christmas bows to help your kids explore these easy math concepts: patterns, counting, addition, graphing, and classifying! (Check out the free printable with each activity!)
Activity 1: Tree Counting & Decorating
Materials:
- Mini, 1 inch gift-wrap bows for tree “ornaments” (if you donât have bows you could use coins or beads)
- Christmas Tree free printable
- Christmas Tree Printable<– click the link to print
- Number Stars free printable (pick the star set matching your childâs ability level)
- Is your child in preschool or Pre-K? This set might be for you: Number Stars 1-10<– click the link to print
- Is your child in Kindergarten? This set might be for you: Addition Number Stars <– click the link to print
Instructions:
- Print and cut out the Christmas Tree and number star set (if you have a Cricut you can use the print then cut function to speed up the process)
- Place all number stars face-down on a tabletop
- Have your child choose a star, and place it on top of the tree. Decorate the tree with the number of mini bows corresponding to the number (or math problem) on the star.
Top the tree with a number star (or number problem for a challenge)
“Decorate” the tree with bow ornaments, according to the number on the top of the tree.
Oh, what fun it is to learn!
Activity 2: Graphing
Materials:
- Various colored bows
- Graphing free printable
- Christmas Bow Math – STEM Activities for Kids <– click the link to print
Instructions:
- Lay bows on the floor and have your child make a prediction as to which color has the most bows
- Have your child sort the bows into groups by color
- Count each group together, and help your child fill in the graph
- Discuss how to read a bar graph and help your child analyze their original prediction
Activity 3: Stacking
Materials:
- Bows of various colors
Instructions:
- Encourage your child to make a prediction about how big of a “bow tower” they can build. Do they think bows make good building blocks? Why or why not? Will different bows stack better than others?
- Start building!
- Discuss observations. Was your child’s prediction correct?
- Try building new structures. Are there other ways to stack bows so the “building” becomes stronger?
- Can you try making a pyramid with the bows? Enjoy the creativity!
Activity 4: Classifying
Materials:
- Bows of various colors
Instructions:
- Explain to your child how “classifying” is another term for “sorting.” Discuss how objects can be classified in many ways.
- Encourage your child to come up with various classifications for bows: size, color, texture, sparkle…
- Practice sorting the bows.
Activity 4: Patterns
Materials:
- Various colored bows
Instructions:
- Encourage your child to make patterns with the bows. (Patterning by color might be the easiest way to start.)
- Make it a game! You start the pattern and your child finishes the pattern. (Or vice versa.) My kids always get a kick out of Mom âmessing upâ the pattern (it’s a sneaky way to make sure they understand the concept â sometimes those patterns are just too tricky for Moms to solve, you know?  đ
- For another layer of complexity, help your child incorporate the different ways to classify the bows into making a pattern.
3 Bonus Ideas:
- Games. Use bows to make a tic-tac-toe game
- Painting. Explore the texture of bows through painting â have children paint with the tops of bows (similar to using a stamp).
- Obstacle Courses. If your kids – like mine – have extra energy to burn off during the cooler months, try setting up an obstacle course where they have to balance a bow on their heads, do frog jumps over a series of bows, or crawl like a crab while balancing a bow on a tummy.
Photo credit: Marci
Marciâs creativity and experience in education bring dozens of STEM concepts to life for young, curious minds. After receiving her bachelorâs degree in elementary education with a certification in mathematics, Marci honed her teaching skills in several child development and school settings. Today she is the mother of three and focuses on homeschooling lessons.