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(This post contains affiliate links and links to my business website, Shining Dawn Books.)
Math is so much fun and means so much more to little ones when it concretely builds understanding. So many times, we skip over "the tough stuff" because we think our little people can't handle it. Below are a few activities I have done with my five-year-old to begin building two of those "tough" concepts - division and logic.

Division: The Doorbell Rang

Here's very simple, engaging early math activity for understanding fair shares and beginning division concepts using The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins.

Gather a pile of 12 "friends". These could be bear counters (like we've used), stuffed animals, plastic people, or whatever other toys you have handy.

Gather 12 pieces of food. We've used M&M's (because they were handy), but you could use anything - cookies, cereal pieces, crackers, grapes, popcorn - ANYTHING that your child will enjoy as a snack after the activity.
Read The Doorbell Rang all the way through once.
Read the story again. This time, stop each time a fair share is made in the story and act it out with your "friends" and food. For example, when the brother and sister are given 12 cookies, allow your child to fairly share the food with two of the "friends."

When the doorbell rings, add two "friends" to your group and have your child rearrange the food for fair shares.

Keep reading and rearranging in this manner until the book is finished.

Extra Ideas:

Depending the age/ability of your child, you might consider figuring how the children could continue fair shares if more children were to show up with only 12 cookies on the table. (Fractions)

You might also count the additional cookies on grandma's tray and make a new set of fair shares with the larger number.

This is just one of many, many concrete lessons you can teach younger (or older) children using literature books. And literature is just one of many methods to make math more "living" or real. Whether you have a preschooler or older children and would like to learn more about how to add "real", concrete and/or creative lessons into your homeschool, check out Loving Living Math.

Logic: Primarily Bears

Speaking of living math, I consider logical-mathematical activities to be part of solid math instruction. Logic can start way earlier than you think! In fact, while we had the M&M's out, I let my 5yo use them as manipulatives in some beginning logic activities from Primarily Bears (which has logic activities using bear counters appropriate for grades K-6.)

Since logic puzzles at this age can require lots of trial and error, it gets frustrating erasing mistakes all the time. What better way to make those errors seem like no big deal (and save paper), than using manipulatives in place of a pencil!

Above left photo: Eli had to determine which colored bears sat in which part of the caves based on a logic pattern.

Above right photo: Using clues from the top of the page, he had to determine which bear played which sport. The red and green M&M's we had been using with The Doorbell rang, served another purpose - the red meant "no" and the green meant "yes".

Logic: Group Solutions

Another good book that promotes early logic is Group Solutions: Cooperative Logic Activities for Grades K-4. This a a book meant to be used by groups of students in a cooperative setting, but my 5yo has simply enjoyed hearing me read the clues aloud while he comes up with the solution.

Quite simply, you put a picture board in front of your child with a pile of some sort of manipulative. You read clues one by one and your child uses logical visual discrimination to determine which pictures don't fit. He covers the pictures that don't fit to show it's "out". By the last clue, your child should have all but one picture covered, showing which picture fits all the clues. Eli loves these!

In case you're super-interested in early logic, another of my favorites is Lollipop Logic.

How do you make early math enjoyable!

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(This post contains affiliate links and links to my business website, Shining Dawn Books.) Math is so much fun and means so much more to little ones when it concretely builds understanding. So many times, we skip over "the tough stuff" because we think our little people can't handle it.

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If you're a teacher or homeschool parent looking for ideas for STEM project-based learning activities, then you've come to the right place. We've compiled a list of terrific STEM project-based learning activities that can be tailored to meet your students' needs.

STEM, like PBL and inquiry-based learning, activates critical thinking which you can read more about in our Critical Thinking Companion. Our list breaks down the learning activities by subject: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Many of these activities are customizable so they can be catered to toddlers all the way up to high school students.

Science Activities for Project-Based Learning

1. Oil spill activity - This one, along with many others, are from a list featured in the article 11 Simple STEM Activities for Kids That Will Stimulate Young Minds by Megan Ruesink.

2. The Incredible Shrinking Bag and the Crushed Soda Can - These two garbage science projects from Teach Beside Me take a potato chip bag and a can of soda and turn them into some pretty cool science experiments that are great for elementary aged kids!

3. Frog Study - You can tailor this activity to kids in preschool all the way up to high school. Brought to you by Harrington Harmonies, this amphibian activity will teach students about observation, life cycles, and life science.

4. Water Cycle in a Bag - This is a great activity you can find on From Playdough to Plato. It all takes place in a tiny little Ziploc bag.

STEM Technology Activities

1. Squishy Circuits - This activity from STEAMsational involves conducting electricity using two different types of "dough."

2. Become a LEGO Mechanic - Homegrown Learners provides some great videos and detailed explanations of how to use LEGO to teach elementary and middle-school aged children about technology, engineering, math, and building.

3. Create a Stop Motion Animation - This is a great project to teach beginners about the filmmaking process, whether in elementary or high school. It involves a little bit of storytelling, experimentation, problem-solving, and hands-on technology. The easy-to-follow instructions to create a stop motion video are provided by TinkerLab.

Engineering-Based Activities for Students

1. Bridge Building Challenge - Using just some glue, craft sticks, a ruler, and some parchment paper, kids can build a bridge and test just how well it will hold up. Busy Kids, Happy Mom provides this bridge building tutorial that can be applied in the classroom or at home.

2. Build a Catapult - The Kids Activities Blog provides this fun and easy engineering activity using just a few simple craft items. What kid isn't going to enjoy learning about engineering by launching objects across the room?

3. Up, Up, and Away - This activity from The Homeschool Scientist gets kids working on building their own custom aircraft.

4. Propeller Car - Instructables has dozens of great engineering projects for all ages that re fun and simple. This one is about designing a propeller-powered car.

5. Miniature Robot - Want to show kids how to make their own customizable battery-powered robot? This easy and fun tutorial from Red Ted Art will get them up and running in no time.

PBL Math Activities Using Hands-on Learning

1. Early Math Lessons - These simple math lessons are great for younger children to teach the very basics of math. Our Journey Westward brings us these math ideas to teach division and logic.

2. Go on a Math Hunt - This is another great activity for making math fun. Raising Lifelong Learners brings us this idea for a math hunt that's great for elementary-aged kids who are homeschooled.

3. Nerf Gun Math - This fun outdoor activity for teaching basic math is geared towards older elementary-aged children. No Time For Flash Cards breaks down the instructions and materials needed to create this simple Nerf Gun Math game.

4. It's About Time - Check out these activities from Education World that are all about teaching how to tell time.

5. Tower of Hanoi - This is a traditional game where discs of varying sizes are stacked onto rods. The discs are stacked in order with the smallest on top and the biggest on the bottom. They can only be moved one at a time, and can only be placed either on an empty space or on a larger disc.

More STEM Activities

Here's an extended list of STEM project-based learning activities to try:

1. Tiny Dancers (Science)

2. Build a Volcano (Science)

3. Apple Oxidation (Science)

4. The Rock Scratch Test (Science)

5. Build a Tiny Rain Shelter (Technology & Engineering)

6. Build a Pulley Machine (Technology & Engineering)

7. Money Math (Math)

8. Mirror Symmetry (Math)

9. Build a Rubberband Helicopter (Engineering)

10. The Cork Launcher (Engineering)

11. Build a Simple Pneumatic Machine (Engineering)

Sites for STEM Project-Based Learning Activities

STEM to Critical Thinking

Like we said earlier, STEM activities are a great way to harness learners' critical thinking abilities for awe-inspiring learning. These activities are the perfect companions to our most popular companion, The Critical Thinking Companion. Explore dozens of games and activities, many of which are STEM-related in their own right. Between the lists above and what's in the guide below, you're never going to run out of ideas for terrific STEM learning adventures.

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36 Resources for STEM Project-Based Learning Activities

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If you're a teacher or homeschool parent looking for ideas for STEM project-based learning activities, then you've come to the right place. We've compiled a list of terrific STEM project-based learning activities that can be tailored to meet your students' needs.

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Driving Question Tubric 2.0

The DQ Tubric 2.0 helps you practice writing Driving Questions by framing initial words, person or entity, action or challenge, and audience/purpose.

The Tubric is a fun, hands-on way to practice the often-challenging task of writing a Driving Question for a project.

Use the Tubric in professional development or collaborative planning time to help you and your colleagues design effective projects.

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Driving Question Tubric 2.0 The DQ Tubric 2.0 helps you practice writing Driving Questions by framing initial words, person or entity, action or challenge, and audience/purpose. The Tubric is a fun, hands-on way to practice the often-challenging task of writing a Driving Question for a project.

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Project Based Learning

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Impact on students

PBL blends content mastery, meaningful work, and personal connection to create powerful learning experiences, in terms of both academic achievement and students' personal growth.

PBL can be transformative for students, especially those furthest from educational opportunity. Now more than ever, we need young people who are ready, willing, and able to tackle the challenges of their lives and the world they will inherit - and nothing prepares them better than Project Based Learning.

Here are just some of the ways that PBL transforms students' educational experiences:

- Engaged hearts and minds

Students actively engage with PBL projects that provide real-world relevance for learning. Students can solve problems that are important to them and their communities.

- Deeper learning

PBL leads to deeper understanding and greater retention of content knowledge. Students are better able to apply what they know to new situations.

- Exposure to adults and careers

Students interact with adults, businesses and organizations, and their community, and can develop career interests.

- A sense of purpose

A great project can be transformative for students. Seeing a real-world impact gives them a sense of agency and purpose.

- Success skills

Students gain skills valuable in today's workplace and in life, such as how to take initiative, work responsibly, solve problems, collaborate in teams, and communicate ideas.

- Rewarding teacher relationships

Teachers work closely with active, engaged students doing meaningful work, and share in the rediscovered joy of learning.

- Creativity and technology

Students enjoy using a spectrum of technology tools from research and collaboration through product creation and presentation.
See Stories of PBL Success

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We believe Project Based Learning is transformative, providing students with real-world challenges and meaningful experiences that lead to deep and long lasting learning.