Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and we have a sneaking suspicion that you have some boxes of candy hearts lying around your house. If not yet, we’re betting they will appear soon! Before your little one has their sugar fix, you can use those candy hearts for a fun and easy STEAM challenge that will test their understanding of balance and help them build up their engineering skills! All you’ll need for this project is:
- A box of candy hearts
- A dixie cup
- A popsicle stick
First, talk to your child about balance. What does it mean? What does it look like? You can even show them examples… Use your phone or computer to find photos or videos of balancing scales or teeter totters. Once they have demonstrated and understanding of the concept of balance, set this simple challenge:
Place the dixie cup on the table upside down. Making sure the popsicle stick is evenly distributed across the top-facing side of the dixie cup (the bottom should be facing up), have your child see if they can fit all the hearts in the box on the popsicle stick without the stick tipping over. Once they master that challenge, task them with trying again, but this time, have them stack the hearts even higher while still keeping the stick balanced across the cup.
Why not make it a competition? Give everyone in the family a set of supplies and see who can get their hearts balanced on the popsicle stick the fastest!
See the full activity from Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten HERE.
As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!
We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity! Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!
