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The popsicle stick bridge is a classic science demonstration and competition. Every year many students world-wide build bridges made from nothing but popsicle sticks and glue, to see which designs can hold the most weight.

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Introduction: Popsicle Stick Bridge

The popsicle stick bridge is a classic science demonstration and competition. Every year many students world-wide build bridges made soley from popsicle sticks and glue, to see which designs can hold the most weight.

We built one, using maybe 140 sticks, give or take a few. Not expecting it to hold much weight, we were surprised by how strong it ended up being! (results in last step)

Step 1: Design Your Bridge

There are many ways to build bridges, both real bridges and popsicle stick bridges. Do some research, be creative, and remember - triangles are strong.
A triangle spreads out weight and is much more stable than a simple rectangle or square support. Be sure to incorporate lots of triangles into your bridge design. More popsicle sticks doesn't necessarily mean a stronger bridge.

In fact, according to the internet, "If there is a single most important shape in engineering, it is the triangle. Unlike a rectangle, a triangle cannot be deformed without changing the length of one of its sides or breaking one of its joints. In fact, one of the simplest ways to strengthen a rectangle is to add supports that form triangles at the rectangle's corners or across its diagonal length. A single support between two diagonal corners greatly strengthens a rectangle by turning it into two triangles."[link]

My design consists of two main bottom supports, and two across the top, and then a lot of triangles across the sides, the top and bottom, and going from the bottom of one side to the top of the other. Very similar to the one in the diagram.

Draw your design on paper, and estimate the number of sticks you will need.
Be creative with your design!

8 People Made This Project!

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Step 2: Supplies

Very, very simple:

-Popsicle sticks
-Wood glue
-PVC (optional)

Step 3: Constructing

Some things to keep in mind:

A clamp of some sort is a good idea when constructing. I used Tim Andersons method, but bulldog clips work just as well. Clamps are important because most of the popsicle stick aren't flat, so if you don't clamp them when you glue them together your bridge probably won't hold together very well.

Don't pinch your fingers.

Keep your workspace clean! I glued everything on top of a piece of paper, as I have a tendency to get glue everywhere.

Step 4: Start Small

I started by making smaller pieces that would be easier to glue together. I counted out how many I needed and started with that. Once they'd dried just enough to not fall apart, I moved on.

Step 5: Get Bigger...

I glued the smaller pieces together, to create the main supports for the bridge. I then repeated the process and made some slightly shorter pieces for the top.

Step 6: Add Supports

I started with each side of the bridge, keeping them symmetrical, then flipped each side and added more.

Step 7: Add MORE Supports

I added angled supports across the bottom to start with, to hold it together, then across the top.
Keeping in mind the idea that triangles are strong, I added some center supports going across as well as up and down.

Step 8: Finish It Off

I finished it off with some pieces across the top. I'm not sure they add any structural support, but they look good.
I also touched-up on the glue where it was looking scarce, and added more horizontal supports.

Lastly I sanded the top, to make it completely flat so that weight wouldn't be focused on any one point

Step 9: Break It! (Or Try)

This is the last step, obviously.

We decided we'd test the bridge with sand in a bucket. We bought two 60 lb bags of sand, thinking surely my bridge would break under 120 lbs.
It held 120 lbs.
We emptied the sand out, and added 40 lbs of water, then added all the sand back. It still held.

We tried the intern, and it still held.

Two days later we bought another 150 lbs of sand. The bridge finally broke under 205 lbs!

How much does yours weigh?

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Popsicle Stick Bridge: The popsicle stick bridge is a classic science demonstration and competition. Every year many students world-wide build bridges made soley from popsicle sticks and glue, to see which designs can hold the most weight.We built one, using maybe 140 s...

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This is the 2025 Commissioner's Summer Math Challenge which stresses the importance of maintaining math skills during the summer. Please click on the link to visit the web page - scroll toward the bottom to where it says Passport Tasks. If there is an official 2026 challenge, the page will be updated.

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CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website

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Overview

The 2020 Commissioner's Summer Math Challenge stresses the importance of maintaining math skills during the summer. Schools compete based on student population and grade level. The program identifies the schools with the highest percentage of participating enrollment and the highest number of badges earned by participating students. Registration instructions, district reporting forms and all other materials are available online.

Information on the 2020 Summer Math Challenge

Top-performing Schools from 2019
Highest Participation - Elementary Level

Bradley School, Derby Public School

Highest Total Minutes Completed - High School Level

Guilford High School, Guilford Public Schools
Overall Highest Participating District

North Haven Public Schools

Connecticut Summer Math Passport
Passport booklet

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The 2020 Commissioner's Summer Math Challenge stresses the importance of maintaining math skills during the summer. Schools compete based on student population and grade level. The program identifies the schools with the highest percentage of participating enrollment and the highest number of badges earned by participating students.

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Being mindful means being aware of what is going on with you...right now.  And it's an important and effective way to handle all kinds of feelings!  There are many activities you can do to be more mindful. Click on the link below to discover some simple ways to help you become more aware.

Being Mindful Cards and Mantras

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It’s In The Stars: marshmallow constellations

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It’s In The Stars: marshmallow constellations

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Why do the stars form patterns? Why are there stories about them? What kind of patterns do they make? Where can I read more about them? All of that and more PLUS a super fun activity for making Marshmallow Constellations are all right here:
https://www.kcedventures.com/blog/astronomy-activities-for-kids-books-about-the-stars

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Pick a recipe and show what
the recipe would be if you
wanted to double it, triple it,
or only make half. Record the
original amounts as well as
the new amounts you have
calculated.

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Lots of students plow through their reading without stopping to understand the finer points of character development. Sure, it's fun to be able to zip through a big text, but as an experienced adult reader, you know: the real joy of literature comes when you can slow down, take it apart, and savor all the pieces. Here's an activity that will help your child dig into a text and see how the words can come alive. It's a great way to understand character and practice oral reading skills. And if your child is struggling at all with understanding the story, this is an ideal way to help.

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Practice Reading by Getting into Character! | Education.com.pdf

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Does your child realize all the complicated sequences that go into making a simple PB&J sandwich? Probably not. But organizing things into a comprehensible sequence is not only a skill set for the kitchen: it also helps with writing, critical thinking, math, and science. Help your child take a bite out of sequencing with this fun activity that will have him deciphering directions for sandwich making—and learning about sequence along the way!
Click HERE for a complete set of directions for this activity

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For the next 28 days incorporate one act of Mindfulness each day into your life and watch your life change in *beautiful* ways!   It's easy and it will change how you see everything!

Click on the link to see the Mindfulness Calendar or click the link HERE.

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How do your senses affect other senses? How do animals use sound to see?  Find out the answers to these and much more on this page FULL of activities that show students how sound waves work. Activities range for kids young and old, so all are sure to enjoy!!
Look for the

Bat Science Experiments: Echolocation Activities! at this website: http://preschoolpowolpackets.blogspot.com/2015/10/bat-science-experiments-echolocation.html

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In order to build a strong foundation for higher-level math, practice is essential. Try a new approach to working with variables and equations by playing this tic-tac-toe game and watch your kid's math confidence increase exponentially.
Click HERE for a complete set of directions for this activity

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It's important to keep up with current events - and just as important to keep up with your reading!  Choose from any of these links to online news for students (or search for your own) and complete a summary form that you can view and print.

Time For Kids

DOGO News

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Charles Darwin is best known for discovering how species evolve and adapt, and your kid can follow in his footsteps. Take advantage of all types of weather and accompany your child on an adventure in species mapping.

This activity encourages your child to get outdoors and provides tips on creating a Darwin-esque nature journal by having them research and track a native species. By creating an interactive observation notebook, not only will your child strengthen their organizational skills, but they'll also get a chance to see the world from a different point of view.

Click HERE for a complete set of directions for this activity

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Create Your Own Signature Smoothie Recipe 

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Create Your Own Signature Smoothie Recipe 

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Feeling Hot? Tired?
Try using the following ingredients full of naturally wonderful things to help your body feel energized and healthy.

Spinach – the beauty of spinach lies in how easy it is to disguise the taste. It’s mild tasting yet packed with vitamins, has anti-cancerous properties, and is one of the healthiest foods on the planet

Blueberries – one of the highest antioxidant capacities of all fruit which helps to combat free radicals in your body

Strawberries –  just one serving provides more vitamin c than an orange while being low in natural sugars

Greek Yogurt – double the protein and half the carbs as regular yogurt

Cucumber – since it’s 95% water, it’s an incredible detoxifier and helps with liver and kidney function

Lemon – one of the most important items to stock in your kitchen as it’s a highly effective cleansing agent and cuts through the bitterness of greens

Banana – an essential in smoothies as it adds creaminess, a touch of sweetness, and helps you feel full longer plus, it’s rich in potassium and fiber and gives you natural energy.

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Water is a great molecule that is truly under-appreciated by teens (as well as the rest of us!). Just about every chemistry student knows the chemical formula H2O and can draw a rough diagram of a water molecule, but does your student really understand how unique water is? Put your budding chemist’s water knowledge to the test with this fun activity!

Click HERE for a complete set of directions for this activity.

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Poetry is such an important form of reading and writing.  Every student should not just experiment with writing it, but reading it as well!  Here is a good start if you want to look for some poetry to read (the internet has much, much more!): Go to  poets.org  and find a poem you like.  Then, complete form for analyzing a poem (see links below).  Enjoy some poetry every day!
Poetry Reading Strategies
Inference Graphic Organizer

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OK - this one could be in the Science column as well...but there is plenty of writing involved!
Sure, rocks aren't exactly the most exciting item to spend your afternoon with. But as an exercise in descriptive writing, they're just about the best thing you can find. Big, small, brown, gray, smooth, rough—and that's just getting started! There are hundreds of properties which you can describe, so get your geology goggles on and get ready to rock your child's science skills.
Click HERE for a complete set of the directions for this activity

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Celebrate you! Grab paper and something to write with. Create a heart map that captures what means the most to you!

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It’s that time of year to encourage your students to participate in CONNECTICUT READS, the 2026 Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge!

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CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website

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Overview

It's that time of year again to encourage students to participate in CONNECTICUT READS, the 2022 Governor's Summer Reading Challenge! To support summer reading, the Connecticut State Library's statewide eGo eBook platform is now available through many local public libraries, and provides access to digital resources for all ages. For a list of local public libraries currently offering eGo, visit https://egoct.org/.

Information on the 2022 Summer Reading Challenge Suggested Summer Reading

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It's that time of year again to encourage students to participate in CONNECTICUT READS, the 2022 Governor's Summer Reading Challenge! To support summer reading, the Connecticut State Library's statewide eGo eBook platform is now available through many local public libraries, and provides access to digital resources for all ages.

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Do you like SMOREs? Well save a few of your marshmallows, gather some balloons, plastic cups and some targets to shoot at because you'll love building a Marshmallow Shooter of your own!

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These super EASY to make marshmallow shooters are a must for your summer bucket list. This summer activity for kids is not only fun, but it is actually a STEM activity for kids too! Students assemble, tweak, and design this simple marshmallow cannon to try to get the most distance they can. THis is such a simple, but fun summer activities your preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, and elementary age students in first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grdae, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students will want to try over summer break!

Marshmallow Shooter

After reading the super fun and silly book The Marshmallow incident where the townsfolk end up shooting marshmallows all over the place, we decided to design our own marshmallow shooter as a fun book based activity. This fun summer activities for kids turned out to be even more fun than we realized! This simple STEM activity for kids involved us designing, making, tweaking, and adjusting our shooters to get the most distance we could for our mini marshmallow cannons. This is perfect for planning summer fun for kids of all ages from preschoolers, kindergartners, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5, and grade 6 students.

We also did this fun STEM project for kids as part of our Knight Unit. Seriously, this seems to simple to be as much fun as it is. But it is such a fun summer activities at home. Did I mention they shoot over 30 feet - that's some serious FUN!

How to make a marshmallow shooter

For our marshmallow shooters we used simple things we found around our house.

disposable cp (plastic or paper will work) - any color

mini marshmallows

full size balloon - any color

scissors

Marshmallow guns

Cut out the bottom of a Dixie cup. You need a medium size sturdy cup. You can use a plastic one if it has thick walls or use a large Dixie style cup.

Marshmallow shooter stem activity

Cut off the tip of a balloon. It can be any color you have laying around leftover from a birthday party.

Summer activity for kids

Pull the balloon over the top of the cut end of the Dixie cup. You can help secure this with a rubber band if you like. For younger kids you may want to. Goofy (7) and I didn't need it.

Fun summer activities

Now you get to play! Just load with a mini marshmallow into the cup so it sits on the balloon at the bottom. Now put your hands on the ouside of the cup, pinch the balloon and pull it back gently.

Marshmallow Cannon

We had competitions to see who could shoot the farthest. We had marshmallow go over 30 feet!

This is a great kids activity for summer fun or as a go along to The Marshmallow Knights, one of our favorite books!

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Marshmallow Shooter Summer Activity for Kids

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These super EASY to make marshmallow shooters are a must for your summer bucket list. This summer activity for kids is not only fun, but it is actually a STEM activity for kids too! Students assemble, tweak, and design this simple marshmallow cannon to try to get the most distance they can.

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Play an Equivalent Fractions Spoons Game

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Play an Equivalent Fractions Spoons Game

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2. Grab some plastic spoons (or any other object that can be grabbed by the players). You need one fewer than the number of players. For example, if you have 6 players, you'll need 5 spoons.
Object of the game:
To be the last player remaining in the game. Players get closer to being eliminated each time they are left without a spoon, which earns them the next letter in the word S-P-O-O-N. Once a player has earned all 5 letters in the word S-P-O-O-N, he or she is out.
Getting ready to play:
1.Arrange the spoons in a small circle in the center of the table.

2.Shuffle the equivalent fraction game cards and deal four cards face down to each player. The players may look at their own cards, but may not show their cards to anyone else.

3.Choose a dealer for the round. The remaining cards should be placed in a pile facedown beside the dealer.
Playing the game:
1.The dealer takes a card off the top of the pile so that he or she now has five cards in his or her hand. The dealer removes one of the five cards from his or her hand and passes it facedown to the player on his or her left. The dealer then continues to pick up cards from the pile and discard one card at a time to the player on his or her left.

2.The player to the left of the dealer picks up the discarded card from the dealer. Like the dealer, he or she removes one of the five cards from his or her hand and passes it facedown to the person on his or her left. He or she continues to do this as cards continue getting discarded to him or her.

3.This quick picking up and passing of cards continues around the circle. The last player in the circle always places his or her discarded card into a trash pile. These cards are now out of play for the round.

4.Once someone gets four-of-a-kind (four fraction cards that are equivalent makes four-of-a-kind) in his or her hand, he or she grabs a spoon from the center of the table. Once the player with four-of-a-kind takes a spoon, everyone else tries to immediately grab a spoon (even if they do not yet have four-of-a-kind).

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Equivalent Fractions 'Spoons' Game - Games 4 Gains

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2. Grab some plastic spoons (or any other object that can be grabbed by the players). You need one fewer than the number of players. For example, if you have 6 players, you'll need 5 spoons. Object of the game: To be the last player remaining in the game.

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Department of Education: Summer Learning Hub

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Department of Education: Summer Learning Hub

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Choose your own summer learning challenge courtesy of the Connecticut State Department of Education.  Choose from activities such as Tech Ed  Bingo Challenge, Social Studies Ambassador,  Story of Me Learning challenge and more!  Links to the Governor's Reading Challenge and the Commissioner's Math Challenge also located on this page.

Please click HERE to be taken to the Department of Education Summer Learning Hub page. Parts of this have not been updated yet for 2026, but you can access last year's links. Enjoy your learning!

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CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website

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Summer Learning Hub

Welcome to the Summer Learning Hub! A place to choose your own Summer Challenge.

WHY: The summer learning challenges offer K-12 students engaging options and opportunities to assist in sharpening essential college, career, and civic knowledge while better poising them for academic success in the fall.

WHO: The summer learning challenges offer K-12 students engaging options and opportunities to assist in sharpening essential college, career, and civic knowledge while better poising them for academic success in the fall.

WHEN: The Challenges begin June 12, 2020, with Reading and Mathematics. Over the next month, additional challenges will be released pertaining to a variety of topics.

HOW: The challenges will be introduced by a memo to superintendents and kept on the website for stakeholder access. Challenges include a mix of plugged and unplugged activities that students complete to assist in answering an array of essential questions including: What career am I most interested in pursuing? What role do I play in my community?

OUTCOME: Students will be engaged in high-quality, standards-aligned activities to assist in sharpening essential college, career, and civic knowledge while better poising them for academic success in the fall.

Learn more with a PD Playlist:
Career and Technical Education Bingo Challenge - New! Social Studies Ambassador Learning Challenge - New! Story of Me Learning Challenge - New!

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Welcome to the Summer Learning Hub! A place to choose your own Summer Challenge. WHY: The summer learning challenges offer K-12 students engaging options and opportunities to assist in sharpening essential college, career, and civic knowledge while better poising them for academic success in the fall.

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Everyone of us is special and unique.  The world would be a pretty boring place otherwise. When you appreciate your uniqueness and that of others, you become more loving toward yourself and the world. Follow the steps to create a special board all about YOU!

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Feeling stressed? Need to wake up? Yoga is a great way to center yourself. Try out these poses!

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Unlike adults who have different "adult" reasons that bring them to the mat such as relieving stress, losing weight or managing a health condition, kids come to the mat to play and have fun.

As early as 2 years of age, your child is ready to practice yoga. Children are natural yogis and yoginis as they live in the moment, and are innately flexible.

Yoga for kids is a great opportunity to teach your kids stillness, body awareness, and self love. It also helps to promote overall health and emotional intelligence.

You may enroll your child to a nearby kids' yoga class, hire a private yoga instructor for them, or if you are an experienced yogi you can prepare a session for them.

Benefits of yoga for kids

Doing yoga promotes fine and gross motor skills, development of muscles, improves eye-hand coordination, visual processing, and auditory processing in kids. The various poses promote proper structural alignment of spine. The breathing exercises promote respiratory health. It enables kids to retain their flexibility and agility as they grow older.

Yoga cultivates a sense of self awareness among kids. Since yoga is a non-competitive exercise, it modifies the kids' need to compete and teaches them self love and self acceptance. It also Instills values such as compassion, patience, cooperation, and focus among others

In addition, serves as an outlet for impulsive energy. Like adults, kids too get stressed out. They experience pressure from the fast-paced life, school activities and deadlines, and social anxieties among others. Yoga helps them to get their minds away from stress and to relax their nervous system. As a result, they feel calmer, are happier and sleep better.

Research has shown that practicing yoga promotes brain development. In kids, it promotes communication between the right and left brain hemispheres therefore promoting both critical thinking and creativity.

Teaches them about the environment

Many yoga poses are named after animals such as lizard pose, downward facing dog, frog pose, butterfly pose among others. There are others named after objects in the environments such as airplane pose, table top pose, chair pose etc. As the kids practice and call out the names of the poses, the become better acquainted with their surroundings.

Tips for preparing a yoga for kids session.

Whether you are a yoga for kids teacher looking for ideas to improve your teaching skills, or a yogi parent looking for ideas to introduce your child to yoga, below are a few tips to guide you through creating a yoga session for kids.

Tips for sequencing a kids' yoga class.

Each yoga for kids session should incorporate a warm up, build up, cool down and relaxation.

The warm up could be a few breathing exercises, a short meditation and easy-to-do yoga poses to encourage the child to settle down and focus. It also warms up the body and increases oxygen flow throughout the child's body.

The build up of the session incorporates the traditional yoga asana including standing poses, lying poses and seated poses. It is more playful and fun. The cool down comes towards the end of the session. It begins to quieten the body and mind to allow the child to go into relaxation at the end of the session.

A relaxation segment is important at the end of every kids' yoga session because at this point the body is tired. It takes away tension, calms the mind, relaxes the body, and balances the body's energy. Simple relaxation exercises include breathing exercises, a guided visualization, foot rub or guided meditation.

Key elements of a yoga for kids session

Aside from the traditional yoga poses, incorporate breathing exercises, relaxation techniques and meditation in a kids' yoga session.

Unlike adults, kids have a short attention span. Therefore, you need to make deliberate effort to keep them engaged throughout the session. Make the poses playful and fun. You may incorporate songs, music and storytelling. Integrate fun breathing exercise within poses and throughout the practice. You may also bring props in to the session such as art pieces and books.

Bring drawing books and crayons for them to draw the various objects and animals mentioned as poses. You may plan a themed class e.g "A trip to the zoo" and incorporate yoga poses with names of animals you might see at the zoo.

Ask them questions or introduce learning points in a pose. For instance, when doing the down dog, ask them if they have a dog for a pet. What is the name of their dog? How does a dog bark? What do dogs eat? What do well call a "pet doctor"? among others.

A fun way to incorporate breathing exercises is to bring a breathing ball. Tell them to breath in when the ball expands and to breath out when it contracts. You may also ask them to roar like a lion or pant like a dog.

Teaching techniques vary depending on the child's age

For instance, kids aged 2-4 are at a different developmental stage than kid's aged 8-11. The 2-4 year olds are learning how to communicate so it would be ideal to incorporate simple songs, ask them to repeat the names of the poses, or show them images of the various animals and items mentioned as poses. They have a shorter attention span therefore the session should be shorter, say 20-30 minutes.

On the other hand, older kids are stronger, more conversant with their environment and have a longer concentration spun. Therefore, you may incorporate a critical discussion about the benefits of yoga in the session. You may hold them in the poses for longer and make the session longer, say 30-45 minutes.

Start by creating a safe environment for the kids to practice in. Remove any objects that may cause injuries. Guide the children through the poses emphasizing on key alignment points. While they may not get the ideal alignment, look out for misalignments that may cause injuries.

Meditation for kids

Many people when they hear of meditation they think of an out of body experience. The simplest definition of meditation is becoming present to the present moment. It is about becoming aware of your body, emotions and surroundings in the current moment. It can be a life-transforming practice for children, like is the case for adults. It promotes mental health, emotional well being, and creativity among other benefits.

Below is a sample script for meditation for kids to calm them down and get them ready for a yoga session.
Sit down with your legs crossed, spine and neck tall. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your chest. Notice as your chest rises and falls as you breath in and out. Pay attention to the rise and fall of your belly as your inhale and exhale. Listen to any sounds in the room. Pay attention to any smell in the room. Feel the contact between your body and the ground. Take a deep breath in and deep breath out. Gently open your eyes.
13 yoga poses for kids

Please note that the kids' yoga poses names are not necessarily similar to those of the traditional yoga asana. They have been adapted in a way that makes sense for the kids. Below are 13 kids-friendly yoga poses. I have incorporated some ideas for making each pose engaging and interesting for the kids.

1. Lizard Pose

While for most adults this pose can be somewhat challenging because of tight hips, kids are limber and will easily get into the pose. It strengthens the thigh muscles, and opens the chest and hips.

Lizard Pose
How to do it:

1. Come to your fours in a table top position.

2. Drop your elbows to the ground, under your shoulders and press your palms down.

3. Step your left foot to the outside of the left elbow.

4. Extend the right foot backwards and tuck the toes of your right foot. Keep the right knee on the mat.

5. Gaze at the space between your hands.

6. Hold for 3 breaths.

7. Switch sides.

Fun Tip
Ask the kids to imagine that they are hungry lizards looking for mosquitoes to eat. Instruct them to look around to see if they can see any insect. To take a deep breath in with the mouth closed, and on the exhale to open their mouth and take their tongue out to catch a mosquito passing nearby.

2. Dragon Pose

The dragon pose promotes balance and stretches the legs, arms and back.

Dragon Pose

1. Start in downward facing dog.

2. Step your right foot between your hands.

3. Drop the left leg to the ground and untuck your toes so that the top of your right foot is resting on the ground.

4. Keep the right knee bent at a right angle.

5. Reach your hands up, palms facing each other.

6. Hold for 3 breaths.

7. Come back to downward facing dog and switch sides.

How to do it
Engage the kids' imagination by taking them through a guided visualization around a king's castle that the dragon is guarding. Ask them to identify the things they see in the castle.
Fun Tip
A fun way to incorporate breathing exercises would be to ask them to pretend that they are the dragon and to breath fire. Let them take their hands besides the body as the breath out fire and back up as they breath in. A few rounds of the dragon breathing can help to calm down an angry child.

3. Frog Pose

The frog pose in kids' yoga is a bit different from the one in the traditional yoga asana. The kids' yoga version of frog pose mimics the yogi squat. It opens the hips, releases the back, and strengthens the thigh muscles.

Most kids enjoy hoping in this pose. You may instruct them to hop in position or from one side of the mat to the other as they repeatedly say "ribbit". You may also have them dive into the water by straightening their knees and allowing their head to hang downwards into a forward bend. The breathing sequence would be such that they inhale in the squatting position, and exhale as they "dive into the water".
How to do it
4. Bear Pose
Fun tip
The bear pose is a variation of the traditional yoga forward bend that stretches the hamstrings and eases tension off the lower back.

The Kids can stomp forward like a bear walking through the forest in search of some tasty berries. Ask them to growl like a grumpy bear.

5. Crescent Moon Pose
How to do it
Also known as the banana pose, the crescent moon in kids' yoga is similar to the standing side bend pose in traditional yoga. It stretches the sides of the body and strengthens the back.
Fun tip

Crescent Moon Pose

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart.

2. Reach your hands up high to the sky.

3. Interlace your fingers or bring your palms to touch.

4. Bend your body to the left side.

5. Hold for 3 breaths.

6. Come back to the center and bend to the right side.

7. Hold for 3 breaths.

8. Come back to the center and release your hands beside you.

Either before or after doing the crescent moon pose, is a great opportunity to have an education segment about the moon. Ask the kids when does the moon come out, whether they have ever seen the moon, and allow them to talk freely about their experiences. Talk about the different phases of the moon and the 28-day moon cycle.

6. Star Pose
How to do it
The star pose promotes balance, coordination, strength and builds core stability. It also strengthens the legs and stretches the arms.
Fun tip

1. Stand and open your feet wider than hip-with apart.

2. Spread your hands out to the sides.

3. Close your mouth and breath in through your nose, open your mouth and breath out through your mouth as you say "aah".

4. Repeat for 3-5 times.

Ask them to sing the " twinkle twinkle little star.... " song as they wiggle their fingers and lift the feet off the ground, one at a time.

7. Easy pose

The easy pose is a great pose to begin a kids' yoga session with. It is easy to do and a good resting position for doing breathing exercise and meditation to get the kids' minds still and focused. Besides, it opens the hips and inner thighs, strengthens the back, and stabilizes the spine.
How to do it Fun tip.
Instruct the kids through a couple of breathing exercises to center them and prepare them for the session ahead.

8. Tree Pose

This is a classic yoga asana that is a fun balancing kids' yoga pose. Kids enjoy the challenge of standing on one leg. It promotes balance, coordination and focus while strengthening the standing leg.
How to do it Fun tip
Ask them to sway their hands from side to side like the branches of a tree in the wind. Or, to imagine that they are trees in the night, and to close their eyes. You can also have them make a forest by holding each others' hands.

9. Candle Pose

The candle pose in kids' yoga is similar to the shoulder stand in classical yoga. It is a calming pose that promotes blood flow to the head while easing tension off the legs and lower back. It also strengthens the shoulders.

Candle Pose
How to do it Fun tip

1. Lie on your back.

2. Bend your knees and rest the soles of your feet on the ground.

3. Lift your lower back and seating bones off the ground as you lift your legs up into the air, balancing on your shoulders and triceps.

4. Bend your elbows and rest your hands to your lower back.

5. Look up - do not move your neck side to side.

6. Hold for 3-5 breaths.

Ask them to imagine they are flickering candles, and to wiggle their toes.

10. Flower Pose

The flower pose is a fun modification of the classical butterfly pose. It brings in a balancing element, strengthens the core, eases tension off the lower back and opens the hips.

Flower Pose
How to do it
Sit down into a butterfly pose - soles of your feet touching, knees open to the sides.
Fun Tip
Take your hands between your legs and reach for your shins.

Balance on your seating bones and lift your feet a few inches above the ground.

Ask them to rock back and forth, and side to side on the pose like a flower in the wind.

11. Downward Facing Dog

The downward facing dog is a yoga stable that offers full-body strengthening and stretching. It opens and stretches the entire posterior side of the body as well as the chest and quadriceps. It is an easy to get into pose for most kids as they do not have tight hamstrings.
How to do it

Downward Facing Dog

1. Come to your fours, in a table top position.

2. Spread your fingers and press your palms down.

3. Tuck your toes and lift your knees off the ground.

4. Point your pelvis towards the ceiling to make an inverted V-shape.

5. Drop your head downwards between your shoulders.

6. Hold for 3-5 breaths.

Fun Tip
There are various variations of the downward facing dog that the kids try out including the three-legged down dog, bending each knee at a time, and walking forward and backwards on the down dog among others. You may also ask the kids to bark like a dog.

12. Knees-to-chest Pose

Also known as the self-hug pose, the knees-to-chest pose is a great tool for instilling self love in kids during a yoga session. As the kids wrap their hands around their knees, you may instruct them to affirm; I love myself. The pose also stretches the entire back and massages the abdominal organs promoting digestion and detoxification.

Knee-to-Chest Pose

1. Lie on your back.

2. Bend your knees to your chest.

3. Wrap your hands around your knees and shins.

4. Hug yourself tightly as you squeeze your knees to your chest.

5. Say, "I love myself".

6. Hold for 3-5 breaths

How to do it
Have them rock back and forth on their backs - it offers a gently massage on the back.
Fun tip.
13. Mountain Pose

The mountain pose is an easy pose that offers several benefits including improving posture, centering the body, and opening the shoulders and chest.

Mountain Pose

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.

2. Reach you hands up, palms facing each other.

3. Drop your shoulders away from the ears.

4. Breath for 5 breaths.

How to do it
Since this is a rather easy pose, focus the kids' attention to their breathing by guiding them through deep inhales and exhales. You may also have them bring their hands at the heart center in prayer position.

Conclusion
Fun tip
Kids stand to benefit greatly from doing yoga. For them, yoga is another opportunity to play and have fun. They have a short attention span, therefore, you want to keep them engaged throughout the practice.

You may enroll your child to a kids' yoga class nearby or hire a private kids' yoga instructor. If you are an experienced yogi or yogini, you can use your knowledge of yoga to create a kid-friendly sequence for your child or invite them to practice with you.

A good place to start is to combine the poses above into a 20-30 minutes' session. End the session in savasana to enable them to relax and let go any physical as well as emotional tension. Take the necessary measures to ensure their safety as they practice.
How to do it Fun tip

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Unlike adults who have different "adult" reasons that bring them to the mat such as relieving stress, losing weight or managing a health condition, kids come to the mat to play and have fun. As early as 2 years of age, your child is ready to practice yoga.

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Last updated on

Make a cardboard construction set for kids to build and play with, using sturdy cardboard pieces from your recycle bin. Great STEM activity for toddlers and preschoolers.

Building and constructing with recycled materials is a lot of fun. It gets kids using their fine-motor and critical thinking skills and it's a super way to repurpose materials from your recycle bin. We love using everyday house-hold materials for arts, crafts and homemade toys here in my daycare. It's good for the environment and the pocket book.

In the past, we've made cardboard structures, and styrofoam structures. Last week, when I was organizing my craft cupboards I noticed we had an abundance of sturdy cardboard so I thought I'd make a little something for the hooligans with it.

Knowing how much my hooligans are obsessed with all things construction at the moment, I thought they'd enjoy playing with these pieces to construct some structures of their own.

You're going to love this idea! It's so simple to make and it won't cost you a dime!

How to make a homemade cardboard construction set:

You'll need some sturdy cardboard - stronger than a cereal box so it doesn't bend or rip easily.

Now, simply cut your cardboard up into squares.

Then along the edges or at the corners, cut some very narrow V-shaped slits. Like this:

That's all there is to it!

I placed the pieces in a basket and presented them to the hooligans, and they played with them on and off all day long!
These boys love a good building project!
The pieces became structures, animals and vehicles, and they thought that some of the pieces looked like letters.

Fine motor development, creative thinking and imaginative play all rolled into one very simple DIY activity!

Gotta love that! 🙂

More homemade structure activities for preschoolers:

And here's another collection of activities for kids who like to build: Make your own catapults - Kids Activities Blog.

Click the following link for more easy and inexpensive homemade toys and gifts for kids.
Cardboard Roll Structures
Follow the Hooligans on Facebook
Structures with Styrofoam Produce Trays Stacking and Spreading with Shaving Cream Icy Frozen Fractals Structures

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Homemade Cardboard Construction Set - Happy Hooligans

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Last updated on Make a cardboard construction set for kids to build and play with, using sturdy cardboard pieces from your recycle bin. Great STEM activity for toddlers and preschoolers. Building and constructing with recycled materials is a lot of fun.

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For this game, kids need scratch paper or a whiteboard, as well as a set of dice. The number of dice used should match whatever place value you are working on. So if you’re focusing on hundreds, partners need three, or for ten thousands, partners need five.

The first person rolls all three dice at the same time and builds a number with it. The second person does the same and then each person rounds his/her number to the highest place value. For example, a roll of 5, 3, 7 could make the number 753, which would be rounded to 800. Students compare rounded numbers and the highest correctly rounded number wins (or use the more/less coin to decide).

Variation 1: Give the kids a certain number of dice and tell them how to round them. Change that every few minutes. For example, if partners have 5 dice, tell them to round it to the nearest ten. After five minutes, tell them on their next game to round it to the nearest hundred…

Variation 2: This can also be a decimal rounding game.

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Write a letter to your future self. What do you want to say? What are the goals and hopes for the future? What advice would you give your future self? Seal the letter in a dated envelope and read in a year.

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If you're looking for some fun summer activities for kids, then you've come to the right place! We recently had a watermelon-themed day full of watermelon crafts, activities, and sensory play!

Since it's summer time and it's so hot outside these watermelon activities were just so much fun and a great way to cool off! Plus, you can eat the watermelon while you play with the shell. And who doesn't like watermelon?

These activities are great for science play, gross motor skills, art, and math!

Come join us on our watermelon adventure!

Summer Activities for Kids: Watermelon Fun

*This post was originally written in 2013, but has been updated.

* This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

WATERMELON BOWLING

First, we did watermelon bowling with his plastic bowling set, and Mason LOVED it! He just laughed and laughed each time the watermelon rolled the opposite way of the pins.

He even came up with different games to play! The first game he decided to keep backing up further and further from the pins.

The second game he kept adding pins one at a time to hit, so we started with 1 and worked our way up to 10. This is a great idea for building those counting skills!

WATERMELON PAINTING

Next, we did watermelon painting with washable craft paint (this is our favorite paint)! The goal is to do all of the activities that require the whole watermelon, because later we'll be cutting it all up! This one was super fun. We started off with me sitting on one side, and M. sitting on the other and we rolled it back and forth to each other across the art paper. That got kind of messy with the watermelon going on the concrete (sorry, Daddy!) so we just stood up to have better control of Mr.Watermelon. We just loved the prints that the watermelon made on the paper.

Of course, after all that paint, watermelon needed a bath! He adored this part! Just put him in a big tub of cold, soapy water and have fun! I use All-Natural Dish Soap so as not to hurt little one's hands.

See that big watermelon in the middle? You wouldn't believe the things M. pretended it was. "Mommy, the watermelon is the planet and the water is the universe." After he played that for a long time, he pretended the dino was running from the soapy, slithery snake and the snake couldn't get up the mountain because was too "swipperwy." And then the watermelon became a diving board, and the water the swimming pool! That's why hands-on sensory play is so important y'all! It encourages imagination and language like you wouldn't believe!

After Mr. Watermlon was all cleaned up we cut him in half and scooped out all of the pulp to store for snack time later. 1/2 of the watermelon made it into the bucket and the other 1/2 I just let him play with. He smushed it and squeezed it in his hands, randomly taking bites. I didn't get pictures of this because my hands were pretty messy 😉

WATERMELON VOLCANO

Next, came the most anticipated part! WATERMELON VOLCANO! Ready to make your own volcano?

1. Cut a hole in the center of one of the 1/2 watermelon shells and put a water bottle underneath.

3. To get the lava nice and foamy add some drops of dish soap.

As it was bubbling over, he put a dinosaur underneath and said, "The dinosaur is taking a shower!" He really enjoyed the volcano the most. The rest of the environment included some left-over watermelon scented red and green rice we had and some black beans for the watermelon seed look. M then dumped in some leaves, dinosaurs, zoo animals, and whatever else he wanted to explore the volcano with.

By this point in the afternoon, we were hot and sweaty, so it was the perfect time to do some ice painting! This is so easy to do! You can use a muffin pan or ice cube tray. I poured some green paint at the bottom (any paint will do, we used Crayola Washables) and then I added some seeds (black beans) to the middle. I then layered some red paint on top and added more seeds. Freeze. And VOILA! After pulling from the freezer sprinkle some watermelon kool-aid on top and you have watermelon-scented ice paint!

This was a messy (but we love messy) and FUN project! Who knew you could freeze paint?! The feeling of the paint melting and the cold of the ice was just too awesome!

I loved how the seeds came out onto the painting while you were using the ice cubes too! It added to the whole element very nicely!

After we cleaned up outside, we went in to make some Watermelon Playdough:

1 TBSP Oil (I use vegetable, but canola works too)

Few Drops of red food coloring

1 Packet of Watermelon Koolaid

Dump all the ingredients into a pot and whisk them together. Heat on medium/high heat until the mixture clumps together. Stir the entire time to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once it clumps up nicely, put on wax paper to cool off. After cooling, add some black beans for seeds and let the playing begin!

Well, that's a watermelon wrap! I hope you enjoyed seeing our Wild Watermelon Day!

To wind down your day, here's some super fun watermelon books you can enjoy!

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Summer Activities for Kids: Watermelon Fun

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If you're looking for some fun summer activities for kids, then you've come to the right place! We recently had a watermelon-themed day full of watermelon crafts, activities, and sensory play! Since it's summer time and it's so hot outside these watermelon activities were just so much fun and a great way to cool off!

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Make Your Own Art Using     3D Geometric Shapes 

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Make Your Own Art Using     3D Geometric Shapes 

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Let's talk platonic solids shall we? Say, what? Okay let's talk 3D geometric shapes, does that sound a little less intimidating? If you have a math teacher in your life as I do (my brother) by then end of this project you can wow them with your knowledge of the unique polyhedron we call platonic solids, all by doing an art project. How's that for some math fun? And don't worry, I'll explain what all of these ten-dollar words are too!
This post has been sponsored by Sakura of America.
Today's project is sponsored by Sakura of America, one of my favorite art supply manufacturers. They just added two new white pen sizes to their Gelly Roll series and I had the chance to test them out in this project. They look incredible on colored paper and add a really unique touch to hand decorated paper crafts. You can learn more about this fab collection of white pens here.

This project started as a simple decorated 3D geometric shapes project but once I learned about the wondrous world of platonic solids I couldn't wait to geek it out a little more! Needless to say even if you don't learn the math you'll end up with some lovely paper blocks, perfect for geometry class or holiday ornaments. You be the judge! I also included a couple regular old 3D shapes in the templates, you know things like cones and pyramids, they also look fab in this collection!

This post contains affiliate links to products.
Materials

Instructions

Step 1 Print the templates on colored cardstock

Step 2 Add designs to the template in white or colored pen. Use the dots to create connecting patterns. Use the letters to match connecting edges/faces.

Step 3 Cut out the shape along thick black outer line.

Step 4 Fold along all dashed lines. Be sure to create a good crease at all folds.

Step 5 Glue or tape the shape together using the tabs.

Tips

Toothpicks make the best tool for rescuing edges that have been pushed in too far when gluing. They also work to hold edges firmly in place if you need to tape them together.

When using light colored yardstick like white or yellow, switch to some Gelly Roll colored pens. Their Stardust series shimmers in light and looks amazing on paper crafts!

When creasing the cardstock, it helps to run your fingernail along the edge to create a crisp fold.

Open the tabs back up after folding and before gluing. This will make them easier to glue to an adjoining face.

The dodecahedron will be the most challenging to glue together. Tape and a toothpick will be your friend for this!

Turn these into ornaments!

These would make beautiful ornaments or a very cool garland (hint hint, give a set to your math teacher this holiday...) Here's how you can quickly turn these into an ornament:

Step 1 Cut a 6" piece of string and tie it to a paper clip. Create a loop so the string acts as a hanger

Step 2 Either before or after your have glued your shape together insert the paper clip into the shape. Finish gluing the shape or if already glued push the paper clip into the geometric shape until you feel it catch against a tab edge.

Make a garland...a geeky one!

To make a garland tie the individual hanging shapes to a long string. If you don't tie the knot too tight you will be able to slide the shapes gently along the string to space them out.

Alright here's the meat of today's math lesson. Just what the heck is a platonic solid?

Let's start with a couple terms:

Polyhedron A solid 3D shape made of flat faces.

Platonic Solid A polyhedron with faces that are the same shape and size and with no indentations in the faces. That means that every face in these solids is identical and flat. Platonic solids are amazing because all angles are equal and all the sides are equal length PLUS at each vertex the same number of faces meet each other.

There are only 5 Platonic Solids, making them very special. The individual shapes were named by Greek philosopher Plato and therefore became known as "Platonic solids."

1. Tetrahedron A tetrahedron has 4 triangular faces.

2. Cube Probably the most recognizable Platonic solid, a cube has 6 square faces.

3. Octahedron An octahedron has 8 triangular faces.

4. Dodecahedron A dodecahedron has 12 pentagonal faces.

5. Icosahedron An icosahedron has 20 triangular faces.

In addition a to the platonic solids I also included a few more 3D geometric shapes in the templates you can print:

Pyramid A polyhedron made from 4 triangles and a square base. The triangles all meet at one point at the top of the shape called the apex.

Cone A 3D shape that tapers from a circle to a point or apex.

If you really want to impress the math genius in your family during the holidays go ahead and make them one of these

Let's add some STEAM

Art Now that you know the fancy math behind the complex shapes you are making have some fun creating artful patterns on them! A pattern as defined in art is an organizing structure for a composition. Patterns typically repeat in an organized way in drawings and designs. If you draw designs and patterns from the dots on the template you can create connecting designs that fluidly move around the final 3D geometric shapes. Experiment with your designs and watch how they change when folded into a 3D shape.

Engineering This is a wonderful project to illustrate how strong sheets of a material can become when that material is bent and shaped. A sheet of paper is flimsy and can't support much, but when folded into 3d geometric shapes it becomes quite rigid, can support some modest weight, AND can be stacked to create height. Many construction materials such as sheet metal are not very strong in sheet form but when bent into tubes, squares, and other shapes, becomes very rigid and structural.

More

Wow! This has been a post full of info! I want to again thank Sakura of America for sponsoring this post and for letting me try out the new set of Gelly Roll White pen sizes. They were the perfect art supply to use on these colorful 3D geometric shapes.

If you want to check out some other wonderful STEAM and art projects we've done with Sakura's art materials hop over here:

Are you passionate about raising creative kids?

Join over 22,179 parents and educators who want connect with kids and nurture their creative process through magical, easy projects you can do TOGETHER.
Subscribe to our email list to receive project ideas as well as offers for some our creative products. If you want to read our privacy policy before subscribing, hop over here.

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Let's talk platonic solids shall we? Say, what? Okay let's talk 3D geometric shapes, does that sound a little less intimidating? If you have a math teacher in your life as I do (my brother) by then end of this project you can wow them with your knowledge of the unique polyhedron we call platonic solids, all by doing an art project.

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Looking for something new to read this summer? Check out the newly announced 2027 Nutmeg Nominees for students in grades 2 and above. Which nominee would you vote for? There are also lots of resources too! Here's the link to the list.

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Jeff Kinney's Advice - How to Become an Author!

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Jeff Kinney's Advice - How to Become an Author!

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Jeff Kinney, author of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, gives students advice on how to become an author.

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Save Recipe

Rock candy is easy to make at home, it tastes great, and it's a fun recipe to do with kids. Better yet, it doubles as a science experiment because you get to watch the sugar crystals grow. It's also an excellent opportunity to get creative in the kitchen because the color and flavoring combinations you can create are endless.

This is one of the simplest sugar candies you can make, though it does require patience. All you need is sugar and water and a few basic materials you likely have around the house. Most of the steps involve making the sugar syrup and preparing the sticks and jars. While you should start to see changes within the first few hours, it may take three to seven days for the rock candy to form.

Keep in mind that the exact quantity of sugar syrup you will need depends on the size of the jars you're using and how many candies you want. For example, the recipe's measurements work for four 12-ounce jars or one quart-sized Mason jar. You can easily double or triple the recipe and make more rock candy at once.

"Growing sugar crystals is tricky business because there are so many variables, but this is a fun kitchen experiment. I found that the stick option was easier to work with than the strings, though crystal growth was the same for both. This is also a sticky project and cleanup is not the most enjoyable part." - Colleen Graham

Prepare Your Materials

1. Clean the glass jars thoroughly with hot water.

2. For each jar, use a wooden skewer or string that hangs about 1 inch from the bottom of the jar. Use clothespins that are balanced across the top of the jar to hold the skewer in place.

Make Your Rock Candy

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Wet each wooden skewer with water and roll it in granulated sugar. This base layer gives the sugar crystals something to grab when they start forming. Set these aside to dry while you prepare the sugar syrup.

3. Place the 2 cups of water in a medium-sized pan and bring it to a boil. Begin adding the sugar, 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition. You will notice that it takes longer for the sugar to dissolve after each cup you add. Continue to stir and boil the syrup until all of the sugar has been added, and it is completely dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat.

4. If you are using colors or flavorings, add 2 to 3 drops of food coloring and stir it in to ensure an even, smooth color. When using an extract, add 1 teaspoon of the extract; for flavoring oils, only add 1/2 teaspoon. Make sure you don't stand right in front of the pan because the scent can be very strong as it rises in the steam.

5. Allow the sugar syrup to cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

6. Quick rinse the prepped jars with hot water, then pour the syrup into them.

7. Lower one sugared skewer or string into each jar until it hangs about 1 inch from the bottom.

8. Carefully place your jar in a cool place, away from harsh lights, where it can sit undisturbed. Cover the top loosely with plastic wrap or a paper towel.

9. You should start to see sugar crystals forming within 2 to 4 hours. If you see no change after 24 hours, try boiling the sugar syrup again and dissolve another cup of sugar into it. Then pour it back into the jar and insert the skewer or string again.

10. Allow the rock candy to grow until it is the size you want. Don't let it grow too large; otherwise, it might start growing onto the sides of your jar.

11. Note that a top layer of crystal will form. This is OK. Once the candy has reached the desired size, break that top layer of crystal up with a fork before removing the candy.

12. Transfer the rock candy to an empty jar or glass (keep the clothespins to balance it) and allow it to dry for 1 to 2 hours.

13. Serve and enjoy, or wrap in plastic wrap to save for later.

Tips

You can use either oils or extracts for flavor. The 1/2 to 1 teaspoon measurements for flavoring extracts that are provided create a mild-flavored rock candy. If you'd like a more intense flavor, carefully taste test the syrup in the pan and add up to a 1/2 teaspoon extract or 1/4 teaspoon oil more to your liking.

Paste or gel food coloring tends to create richer colors than liquid options. Keep in mind that the color of the rock candy will be significantly paler than the syrup. If you'd like to create a deeper color, use more food coloring, preferably of the gel variety.

Heat is an important factor in crystal formation. Don't forget to transfer the syrup to warm jars before it cools off too much.

Favorite Rock Candy Flavors

Use any flavor and coloring combinations you like. You can go with an obvious combination such as purple for grape rock candy or do something totally off the wall and make the flavor a surprise.

Raspberry extract with blue food coloring creates a fun and delicious blue raspberry rock candy.

Cinnamon oil with red food coloring is fun for the winter and a fantastic treat or gift for the holidays.

Peppermint extract with a blue-green food coloring combination is always a delight. Any other mint flavoring is great as well; wintergreen and spearmint extracts are readily available.

Banana oil with yellow food coloring is always a hit with kids.

Maple extract creates an old-fashioned rock candy that doesn't necessarily need any coloring.

Other options include star anise for the taste of black licorice (purple), tutti-frutti (orange or pink), green apple (green), buttered rum flavoring (orange), cherry (red), grape (purple), or any other fun flavoring you find. Pair these with different colors, and you will have a rainbow of flavorful rock candy to share.

Can a Popsicle Stick or String Be Used for Rock Candy?

A wooden skewer or popsicle stick are both good options for rock candy. They're easy to work with and make removing the candy a little easier if it gets stuck to the bottom crystals. You can also use a cotton string, you'll need to tie it to a weight of some kind, so it doesn't float in the syrup. While a paper clip is a common solution for this, a hard candy with a hole in the middle (e.g., Life Savers) is a food-safe alternative that works just as well.

Can Rock Candy Be Made in a Plastic Cup?

Glass is recommended because it is a relatively nonporous material that will produce better crystals. Foam cups and some plastic cups are more porous and may attract the sugar crystals away from the skewer, which is where you want them to grow. Some people have had success with plastic cups, so it is worth experimenting with your options.

What's the Best Sugar for Rock Candy?

Regular white granulated sugar seems to be the best for making rock candy. In some informal experiments, people have found that it produces larger crystals than other types of sugar. It's also the least expensive option, which is an important consideration because you need a lot of sugar to make rock candy.

What's the Best Way to Clean Jars After Making Rock Candy?

The crystals will grow on the bottom and sides of the jar, and they're pretty tough to remove. Rather than discarding the glass jars, they can be cleaned and used again. Begin by dumping out all of the syrup and any loose sugar crystals. Fill the jars with hot, soapy water and place them in a pan with about 3 inches of water. Boil the water for 10 minutes (for safety, watch it carefully as you would when canning), then turn off the heat. Let the jars cool to the touch and use a fork to break up the sugar crystals. Discard the sugar and wash the jars as normal.

I don't like this at all. It's not the worst. Sure, this will do. I'm a fan-would recommend. Amazing! I love it! Thanks for your rating!

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Have Fun Watching Rock Candy Grow in Your Kitchen

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Rock candy is easy to make, and it's a great kitchen project for kids. Use this simple recipe to create fun flavor and color combinations.

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Math Choice Board Activities

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Need a book recommendation? Students can create personalized booklists to start summer reading off on the right page.

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Book Wizard: Find and Level Books for Your Classroom | Scholastic

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Level your classroom library, create book lists, and find the right book at just the right reading level for students with Book Wizard.

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Levi Coe Library’s Youth Summer Reading event page! We have many awesome types of activities this summer. Visit their Facebook or Instagram page or check out our page for more information.

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Durham Public Library’s Youth Summer Reading page! We have many awesome types of activities this summer. Check out our page for more information.

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CT State Library - PebbleGo Next & interactive books

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CT State Library - PebbleGo Next & interactive books

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PebbleGo, PebbleGo Next and a variety of Capstone Interactive books are available June 1-August 31 as part of the CT Governor's Summer Reading! Link - then click on the large blue-ish/purpleish PebbleGo graphic on the left.

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CT State Library - Division of Library Development - Pebble Go