# data[].attributes.body
12/16

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Check out this design designed by HANNA CHUNG.

# data[].attributes.body
12/12

# data[].attributes.body
11/13 Use manipulatives, play doh etc.

# data[].attributes.body
1/21

# data[].attributes.body
03/17

# data[].attributes.body
11/14

# data[].attributes.body
03/24 pg. 4

# data[].attributes.body
2/24 Michael Jordan

# data[].attributes.body
12/2

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Students are given a paper with a shape for the head- triangle, square, or circle. They are also given a marker to draw parts. Two dice will be used, one 1-6 and the other with monster body parts. They will draw the number of body parts which correspond to what is thrown with the monster die.

# data[].attributes.body
11/4

# data[].attributes.body
11/4

# data[].attributes.body
11/15

# data[].attributes.body
11/15

# data[].attributes.body
11/15

# data[].attributes.body
11/25

# data[].attributes.body
11/26

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make an adorable Thanksgiving treat by filling a clear glove with popcorn and colorful candy -- these Popcorn Turkeys are perfect for classroom crafts or parties!

# data[].attributes.body
11/6

# data[].attributes.body
11/7

# data[].attributes.body
11/8

# data[].attributes.body
11/15

# data[].attributes.body
12/3

# data[].attributes.body
11/18

# data[].attributes.body
11/19

# data[].attributes.body
11/20

# data[].attributes.body
11/21

# data[].attributes.body
11/22 Use manipulatives, play doh etc.

# data[].attributes.body
12/11

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free Printable Winter Board Game for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Free printable winter board game for kids. A simple dice game that is perfect for preschoolers and kindergarteners.

# data[].attributes.body
12/4

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free Printable Winter Movement Dice for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Free printable Winter movement dice for kids. A fun gross motor game that is perfect for toddlers, preschooler and kindergarteners.

# data[].attributes.body
12/5

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Easy Pipe Cleaner Icicle Ornament Craft for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Easy pipe cleaner icicle ornament craft for kids. A fun art and craft activity for preschoolers during a Christmas or Winter theme.

# data[].attributes.body
12/6

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Free printable Winter I spy pages for kids. 8 unique puzzles to help kids develop math skills through hands-on play.

# data[].attributes.body
12/9

# data[].attributes.body
12/10

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Threading snowflakes is a fun and easy Winter fine motor activity for kids. Toddlers and preschoolers will develop fine motor skills and create a beautiful snowflake with this wonderful play idea.

It only takes 5 minutes to set up and uses things you can easily find at the dollar store.

Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a commission if you use this link to make a purchase.

The holiday season can be tough on parents and kids who don't want to be inside all day. If you're trying to find fun ways for your kids to play this Winter, then start with these Winter activities for kids. Or invest in the Winter Activity Pack, which is filled with educational ideas for young kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Threading Snowflakes - Easy Winter Fine Motor Activity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Threading Snowflakes is a fun and easy winter fine motor activity for toddlers and preschoolers. Develop fine motor skills with this winter play idea.

# data[].attributes.body
12/13

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Step 3. Using your finger, smudge the pastel lines upwards, making a slight curve as you go. If the colors aren't as bright as you would like, add more color and do it again.

Make the Snowy Mountains

Step 4. The bottom part of this northern lights drawing are the snowy mountains. For the mountains, you'll need to tear the second piece of black paper lengthways, make sure to make the edges jagged as this will become your snowy mountains.

Step 5. Use your mountains as a template, line them up along the bottom half of the page and trace along the edges with the purple pastel.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Northern Lights Art for Kids - Taming Little Monsters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Northern Lights Art for Kids. A easy winter themed kids art idea that preschoolers and kindergarteners will love.

# data[].attributes.body
12/17

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How to Make a Paper Plate Winter Hat Craft

1. Cut the bottom third of your paper plate off.

Draw a line across the bottom third or quarter of your paper plate, then use scissors to cut along the line. You won't need the smaller piece anymore, so you can recycle it or place it with the rest of your craft supplies for future craft projects.

I kept my line straight, so that it would be simple enough for preschoolers to follow. However, if you're doing this fun craft with older kids, you can make the bottom section of the hat slightly curved too.

If you like, you can also just draw a hat onto a sheet of construction paper instead of a paper plate.

2. Paint the plate.

Use whatever you like to decorate your paper plate hat. I chose to stick with regular acrylic paint. However you can also use:

1. Tissue paper collage, and draw designs using marker pens.

2. Watercolor paints with white crayon resist designs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Easy Paper Plate Winter Hat Craft for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Easy paper plate winter hat craft for kids. A fun art and craft activity for toddlers and preschoolers to make this Winter or Christmas.

# data[].attributes.body
1/22

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you). Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
Learn the different phases of the moon by using one of your child's favorite snacks - Oreo cookies! This Oreo cookie moon phases activity comes with a free printable worksheet for your kid to learn the names of the moon phases.
Any science activity that involves food is exciting for the kids. And for the moon phase activity, we are using one of kids' favorite food out there - Oreos! So

In this edible astronomy activity, you will recreate the different shapes of the Moon with yummy cookie sandwiches.

The best part? After you finish with the STEM activity, you get to eat it all!

Oreo Moon Phases Activity

Materials:

Instructions:

1. Separate 8 Oreo cookies by slowly twisting the top and bottom cookies. Set the cookies without frosting aside (or eat them!)

2. Use the knife or popsicle stick, carefully scrape off a portion of the frosting to recreate each moon phase.

3. Place the Oreo cookies on a paper plate the free moon phase worksheet in the correct order. I like to start off with the New Moon and go counterclockwise from there.

For younger kids, you may want to help draw a line in the frosting so they know exactly how much to scrape off. For older kids, they can form the moon phases from memory or by looking at the diagram at the top of the worksheet.

I think the Oreo moon phase activity might have been my kids' favorite STEM activity yet! Not surprising though, this is the first time they ever tried Oreo cookies!

And of course, also not a surprise, they want to do recreate the moon phases again and again after they polished off the first set!

The Different Phases of the Moon

Here are the different moon phases for you to go over with your kid:

NEW MOON: When the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, the moon blocks the light from the Sun. Therefore, no part of the moon is visible from Earth.

WAXING CRESCENT: As the Moon continues to orbit Earth, it becomes visible again. This is called the waxing moon (waxing means that it's getting bigger), and the initial phase is called the Waxing Crescent. The waxing moon gets bigger every night until it reaches the First Quarter when we can see half of the Moon.

FIRST QUARTER: Half of the lit portion of the Moon is lit by the sun.

WAXING GIBBOUS: "Gibbous" means that more than half of the Moon is visible but not the entire circle.

FULL MOON: When the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon, half of the Moon is lit. From Earth, we can see the full circle

WANING GIBBOUS: More than half of the Moon is visible and the lit portion gets smaller every day.

THIRD QUARTER: The opposite half of the Moon is lit compared to the First Quarter Moon.

WANING CRESCENT: Less than half of the Moon is visible and slowly decreases to the New Moon.

I hope your kids loved this yummy Oreo moon phase project! For more out of this world activities, check out:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oreo Cookie Moon Phases Activity [Free Worksheet] | Mombrite

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you). Please see my full disclosure policy for details. Learn the different phases of the moon by using one of your child's favorite snacks - Oreo cookies!

# data[].attributes.body
1/22

# data[].attributes.body
1/7

# data[].attributes.body
1/8

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Making crystal snowflakes seems to be the 'classic' Borax crystal science project. I've seen it in a bunch of places (like here, here, here, and here), but everyone seems to do it slightly differently. Some leave their snowflakes white. Some use coloured pipe cleaners. Some add food colouring to the solution. (And I'd heard of a fourth technique used to make crystal rocks, which I was super keen to try out with snowflakes to see if it worked!)

So, being a science family, we decided to do a little comparison experiment at home, to see which technique yielded the best looking crystal snowflakes.

Suitable for

Generally I'd recommend this activity for primary (elementary) aged kids (ie 7-9 year olds). Younger kids ( 5-6 year olds) may like to try it too, with assistance. My kids first made Borax crystals when they were 4 year olds, BUT they fully understood the need to take safety precautions and not put any Borax in their mouth. Please see safety notes at the bottom of this post when judging if this activity is right for your child.

Four ways to make crystal snowflakes

contains affiliate links* to similar products

We used:

6mm furry pipe cleaners in white and navy blue (also called chenille stems)

invisible nylon thread and scissors

Borax powder

4 wide mouth jars (or, more accurately, we used 3 jars and 1 tumbler - as I didn't have a 4th matching jar...)

boiling water

spoons for stirring

pencils or chopsticks for balancing on top

paper (optional)

safety glasses (optional, but recommended. We have these ones.)

1. Create pipe cleaner snowflakes by cutting and twisting the pipe cleaners. We used about 1.5 pipe cleaners per snowflake. Please bear in mind that snowflakes are always six-sided. Your snowflakes also need to be small and narrow enough to be able to easy dangle inside your containers, without touching the sides or bottom. We made 3 x white and 1 x blue snowflake.

2. Tie on a loop of nylon thread to one of the snowflake arms of each snowflake. This will be used to dangle the snowflake inside the jar (and also doubles as a handy ornament hanger later on).

3. ( Please see safety notes at the bottom of the post before starting this step.) Fill your jars with boiling water. Add Borax powder and stir. Keep adding Borax until the solution becomes super saturated and you can't add any more without Borax powder settling on the bottom of the jar. We used about four tablespoons of Borax powder per jar.

4. Add blue food colouring to just one the jars.

5. Loop your snowflakes over pencils (or chopsticks), to balance on top of the jars. Add a white snowflake to the jar with the blue food colouring, and the other snowflakes to the remaining jars. You can also add paper covers if you wish, by cutting out a circle slightly larger than the jar diameter, and cutting a radial line for the thread to pass through.

6. Leave for 24 hours (or longer). The solution will be cloudy at first, but will start to clear after about an hour. You can start to see small crystals forming, and they'll continue to grow for the next couple of days.

7. Remove the snowflakes from the solutions. You should now have a blue crystal snowflake (the food colouring one), a second blue crystal snowflake (the blue pipe cleaner one), and two white snowflakes.

8. Here's where we tried out the special new technique! Use watercolour paints to paint one of the white crystal snowflakes blue, and watch how the crystals absorb the colour towards the centre of the structure - it's fascinating! (Thanks Happy Hooligans for the inspiration!)

Below is a pic of the watercolour painted crystal after it's had a chance to dry. Can you see how the large outer crystals have remained largely transparent, and that the blue colour has snuck in through the little crevasses, in towards the pipecleaner at the centre of the crystal structure? This is a great way to demonstrate how moisture can seep though rocks. SO AWESOME!

I'm so excited about this new technique - we're definitely going to try this again!

But, ahem, getting back to our original question - what's the best way to make crystal snowflakes?

Let's compare.

Below is how they all look being held up to the window. (Top left = watercolour, top right = food colouring, bottom left = blue pipe cleaner, and bottom right = control / plain white.

And here's how they look outside in the sun. (The water colour one is the bottom right, and the food colouring one is bottom left.) I love how they all sparkle in the light!

And here's how they look on the coffee table inside. (You can tell the watercolour one by now right? It is at the top.)

The verdict?

For me, the watercolour snowflake wins, hands down. Not only are you able to choose the colour that you want more easily (as you can choose from the whole watercolour pallet), but the way the paint is absorbed through the crystal structure is both fascinating AND beautiful!

Fun Science

Borax (also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate or disodium tetraborate) is a naturally occurring mineral and salt, that is mined from seasonal lakes. Borax has numerous industrial uses. It is often dissolved in water to form an alkaline antiseptic solution that is used as a disinfectant, detergent, and water softener (which is why you can often find it in the laundry aisle. Or you can also find it online).

When you stir Borax into very hot water, you can see that the water becomes very cloudy. This is because the Borax molecules become suspended in the water. As the water cools to room temperature, the solution becomes super saturated, and Borax separates from the water molecules and attaches to whatever it can, including the sides of the jar, and the pipe cleaner decoration dangling inside, forming beautiful translucent crystals.

Borax crystals are generally well formed and quite large, although you won't typically find them in jewellery or in museum displays. This is because the crystals won't hold their structure over long periods of time, like other crystals would. Because they are a salt, they go through a process called efflorescence. Dehydration causes the translucent crystals to become opaque, and eventually crumble into a white powder. (This is just starting to happen to the Borax crystal flowers we made almost 2 years ago, with a dusting of powdern just starting to appearing on the surface of the crystals).

Making crystal snowflakes would be a great winter science project, but as it happens, we made ours just before Christmas, and Christmas falls in summer-time in Australia! Snowflakes in summer? Ha! I guess somehow Christmas and snow are intrinsically linked, even for us down-under! (If you are interested, you can find more Christmas science projects here.)

Homemade crystal ornaments do look amazing hanging on your Christmas tree. (I have some pics of them on the tree, but they're still on my camera. I'll add them when I get a chance!)

We went a bit crystal crazy this year - it seems we've amassed quite a DIY Christmas crystal decorations collection! (And this pic below doesn't even include the crystal candy canes that we made last year!)

You can see all our crystal activities on Crystal Science page. Yes, we are officially crystal-obsessed. 🙂

While we are on the topic, just a quick note about storage. Because Borax is a salt, the crystals will eventually dehydrate, and start to crumble back into a white (or perhaps blue!) powder. This is a slow process - but it is starting to happen to some crystals we made about 2 years ago, and I'd like our Christmas crystals to last longer than that! So, in an attempt to slow down this process, I'm trialing storing our crystal Christmas ornaments in a zip lock bag between seasons to prevent moisture loss. I'll let you know how they go!

Safety notes...

Be careful with boiling water around young kids. Place the glass jars down on a table before adding boiling water - glass with boiling water inside will quickly become too hot to hold.

Borax is a commonly used natural ingredient in grade school science experiments, and is safe for older kids to handle when used responsibly. It is not edible however, and will irritate if put directly into eyes. It is also a mild skin irritant for people with sensitive skin. Treat it like you would handing laundry powder. I recommend wearing safety glasses, using spoons, and washing hands afterwards.

With Borax being inedible, please be mindful of who might be able to reach your crystals afterwards. Make sure that your crystal creations are stored out of possible reach of babies, toddlers or pets. We hang ours up high on our Christmas tree, and store them in zip lock bags in our Christmas box in the garage for the rest of the year.

All kids' activities on this blog require attentive adult supervision. Parents and carers will need to judge whether a particular activity is appropriate their child's age and skill level. Click here for more information.

You might also be interested in our Go Science Kids and Crystal Science boards on Pinterest.

And, of course, you can always subscribe to our newsletter, to receive all our latest activities straight in your Inbox. We'd love to have you join us!

* This post contains affiliate link(s) to similar products used. An affiliate link means I may earn a referral fee or commission if you make a purchase through my link, without any extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to make the best Crystal Snowflakes - Go Science Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What's the best way to make crystal snowflakes? Try this crafty winter science experiment for kids. Making crystal snowflakes seems to be the 'classic' Borax crystal science project. I've seen it in a bunch of places (like here, here, here, and here), but everyone seems to do it slightly differently.

# data[].attributes.body
1/13

# data[].attributes.body
1/14

# data[].attributes.body
1/16

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Make A Fortune Teller: Best Guide And Steps With Photos

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Paper folding is the process of creating a paper sculpture using different techniques. Do you want to know how to make a fortune teller?

# data[].attributes.body
1/23

# data[].attributes.body
1/27

# data[].attributes.body
1/28

# data[].attributes.body
1/29

# data[].attributes.body
1/30

# data[].attributes.body
2/3

# data[].attributes.body
2/4 Coloring pages from play last week

# data[].attributes.body
2/5

# data[].attributes.body
2/6

# data[].attributes.body
2/10

# data[].attributes.body
2/12

# data[].attributes.body
2/13

# data[].attributes.body
2/14

# data[].attributes.body
2/25 I want to be... pg.17

# data[].attributes.body
2/26 Bear Prompt

# data[].attributes.body
2/27 Penguin Prompt

# data[].attributes.body
03/03 hands and feet

# data[].attributes.headline
shamrock buddy pt.2 (white sham w/ face)

# data[].attributes.subject
shamrock buddy pt.2 (white sham w/ face)

# data[].attributes.body
03/03 body and face

# data[].attributes.headline
shamrock buddy pt.3 (use arm & leg strips)

# data[].attributes.subject
shamrock buddy pt.3 (use arm & leg strips)

# data[].attributes.body
03/03 arms and legs

# data[].attributes.headline
St. Patty's Add & Subtract Color by Number

# data[].attributes.subject
St. Patty's Add & Subtract Color by Number

# data[].attributes.body
03/05

# data[].attributes.body
03/06

# data[].attributes.body
03/10

# data[].attributes.body
03/11 pg.8

# data[].attributes.headline
St. Patty's Add & Subtract Color by Number

# data[].attributes.subject
St. Patty's Add & Subtract Color by Number

# data[].attributes.body
03/12

# data[].attributes.body
03/13

# data[].attributes.body
03/18

# data[].attributes.body
03/19

# data[].attributes.body
03/25

# data[].attributes.body
03/26

# data[].attributes.body
03/27

# data[].attributes.body
03/31 Pet Store prompt

# data[].attributes.body
04/01 Pick a partner and take turns answering 3-4 questions with each other.

# data[].attributes.body
04/02 Pick a partner and take turns doing the community building prompt together.

# data[].attributes.body
04/03 Make a spring/easter collage

# data[].attributes.body
04/09 pg. 5

# data[].attributes.body
4/14-4/17

# data[].attributes.body
04/10

# data[].attributes.body
4/29

# data[].attributes.body
4/28, 4/30, 05/01

# data[].attributes.body
butterfly craft life cycle

# data[].attributes.body
05/07

# data[].attributes.body
05/08

# data[].attributes.body
tissue paper flowers

# data[].attributes.body
mascot coloring pages