With the change of seasons, the weather has been absolutely incredible, and our students have been spending tons of time on our playgrounds! The playground is an amazing outdoor classroom, where children not only learn social skills, but explore their imaginations, develop motor skills, and have real world interactions with concepts like math and physics! This month’s STEAM activity brings together Physics, Engineering, and Art for tons of fun!
As always, before climbing into your STEAM activity, take some inspiration from a great book! We recommend The Recess Queen, by Alexis O’Neill. This is the story of Mean Jean, the schoolyard bully. A new girl, Katie Sue, challenges Mean Jean’s dominance by inviting her to play. Mean Jean learns the importance of sharing and friendship, and changes her behavior.
After reading the book, you and your child will have a blast building your own miniature playground! Gather items you can find around your house, like cardboard, construction paper, paper towel or toilet paper tubes, rubber bands, string, glue, etc. Build a playground with at least 3 areas where children can play together to encourage kindness and friendship, sharing and teamwork. Explore physics, such as the use of ramps for a sliding board or seesaw. Discover how force and motion create a pendulum such as a swing. Try different variables, like changes to angles or speeds. How do these changes affect the playground pieces or the children using them?
If you and your future engineer need more inspiration while designing your playground, check out the video below!
As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!  Â
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