Kids will have fun creating these DIY Math Manipulatives.  They are perfect for teaching kids how to do double digit math. 

These will work as base 10 manipulatives, and can help kids visualize what is happening in double digit addition and subtraction problems, whether they are learning the “new” way or the “old” way.  

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Having objects to move around when learning to add or subtract can really help kids visualize what is happening.

Popular objects to use in math centers include bear counters, buttons, and tiny erasers.  

Your child may also enjoy using toy cars, mini figures, or other favorite items they have at home.  When working on early subtracting you can even use playdough and play Subtraction Squish.

DIY Math Manipulatives

Materials Needed:

• Pipe Cleaners (Chenille Sticks)
• Pony Beads
• Scissors

Cut the pipe cleaners into 2 1/2  to 3 inch (6 – 7.5 cm) long pieces.

Have your child string 10 beads onto each piece of pipe cleaner.   You can further challenge them by having them put the beads in a pattern.

Bend the ends of the pipe cleaner pieces to help keep the beads on.  

How to Use Homemade Math Manipulatives

Once you have your DIY math counters ready, use them for some hands-on math.

Get out 2 small plastic containers to hold your manipulatives.  

Put the pipe cleaner sets of 10 in one bowl.   Put a handful of single beads into the other bowl.  

One way to use the DIY manipulatives is to talk about place value in two-digit numbers.

Write a two-digit number on paper, or use a set of number cards like we did.  

Use the strands of 10 to represent the number in the 10’s place, and use the single beads to stand for the 1’s.  

For instance, in the photo below, there are 6 strands of beads to stand for the 6 in the 10’s place, and 3 single beads for the 3 in the 1’s place in the number 63.

Do this several times together until your child seems comfortable with the concept.  You can even stop to count each and every bead on your homemade manipulatives to prove you really have the same number of beads as the number.

There are so many ways to make math fun.  Another way to use your manipulatives is to work on counting by 10’s.   

As your child is counting by 10, line up the beaded pipe cleaner pieces — so there is one pipe cleaner with 10 beads for 10, two when they count 20, and so forth.  This is a great way for them to see what counting by 10’s really means.  

Of course these DIY math manipulatives are also great for helping kids visualize double digit math problems.

These are perfect for helping kids better visualize place value as well as what’s really happening when you add or subtract those double digit numbers.

Why spend money on expensive math counters when you can make your own?  For other ideas on how to make your own base 10 manipulatives, check out The Measured Mom.

More fun hands-on math ideas:

• Kinesthetic Math Activities
• Simple Hands-On Measuring Activity 
• Nerf Gun Math
• ABCs & 123s — Hands-On Learning Ideas 

Note:  This updated post originally was published November 28, 2014.

The post Make Learning Easier with DIY Math Manipulatives first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

There are so many fun solar science activities you can do with the kids.

This solar still experiment is one of our favorite STEM activities for summer.

Learning how to make a solar still isn’t just a fun summer science experiment.

Solar stills are also a simple way to purify water for drinking, making it a great survival skill to learn.  You could use it as part of a survival themed camp, along with our buddy burner tin can stove.  

Or, try it along with some of our other fun summer backyard camp activities for kids.

How to Make a Solar Still

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Materials Needed:

• Clean Glass Jar
• Wide Plastic Bucket or Bowl 
• Plastic Wrap
• Small Rock
• Rubberband or Tape
• Water

Find a sunny spot to place your solar still.  It should be a spot that gets sun almost all day.

Start by pouring an inch or two of water into your large plastic bucket.

To really demonstrate how a solar still can be used to clean and purify drinking water, we decided to use water from our pond.  You could also add a bit of dirt to tap water or just use clean water to begin with. The choice is yours.

Place your clean glass jar in the center of your bucket.  Be careful not to get any of the dirty water inside the jar.

Cover the bucket with plastic wrap.  

Your plastic wrap needs to form a good seal around the bucket.  Some brands of plastic wrap will cling tight, but if yours doesn’t want to stay put try using a large rubberband or a bit of tape.

Finally, place a small rock on top of the plastic wrap, right over the jar.

Then let your solar still sit undisturbed for several hours.

Use the time to learn trail marking in a no-prep scavenger hunt with the kids.  Or, try to make s’mores with a solar oven!

With the help of the sun, the water will evaporate and then collect on the plastic wrap.

The water droplets will then run towards the center because of the rock and fall into the jar, producing clean water that is safe to drink.

Another fun twist to this experiment is to try it using salty water.  The water that collects in the jar won’t taste salty and will be perfect for drinking.

While this isn’t the fastest way to purify water, this DIY solar still is effective.

We let our solar still experiment sit in the sun all day and wound up with about an inch of drinkable water.

If you enjoyed this post, you’ll also like:

• How to Build a Shelter
• Make Solar Oven S’mores
• Summer Science: Make a Soda Pop Geyser
• Fun and Foamy Elephant Toothpaste Experiment 

First published on July 17, 2017.

The post How to Make a Solar Still — Simple Summer STEM Activity first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Are you looking for some new ideas to make sight word practice fun?  

This Nerf gun sight word game for kids is perfect for getting kids up and moving while working on their reading skills.  

Amazon affiliate links have been used below.  See my full disclosure for more information.

If your child loves Nerf guns, you may also want to check out these fun Nerf gun games.  

Nerf Gun Sight Words

Materials Needed:

• Nerf Guns and Foam Darts
• Sticky Notes
• Marker
• Cardboard Boxes, Plastic Cups, or Blocks
• List of Your Child’s Sight Words 

To set up this sight word activity, you will first need to decide which sight words your child should work on. 

I suggest using a few words they have been struggling with, along with some that they have mastered.  This gives them words they can have immediate success with and a few they will need to work a little harder for.  

If your child is no longer working on sight words, you could also use CVC words or other words your child can sound out.

Use marker to write each word on a sticky note.  There should be one word on each note.

Stick the sight words onto cardboard blocks, plastic cups, or even a few empty boxes from your recyclables. 

Having the words on Post-It Notes means you can easily switch them.  You can also put words on both sides of your blocks so each time the targets are set back up a new word can appear.

Finally, arrange the blocks or cups in a row.  You can even stack a couple on top of each other for more fun.  

Wo

How to Play Word Shoot Game

Have your child pick a word to read aloud.  If they read it correctly, they get to shoot it, knocking the block or plastic cup down.  

If they miss the word, they can try it again later.   

Alternate ideas for Sight Word Shoot 

• Call out a word and have your child find it to shoot.
• If you have multiple children, set up two different “ranges” and have a contest to see who can find the correct word to shoot first.
• Create your own DIY spinning targets to write the words on.  

Tip:  Using a Nerf laser sight makes aiming at the right word super easy.   Suction cup tipped darts are also fun with this.  

Playing Nerf gun sight words is a fun sight word practice activity your child will want to do again and again.

You may also enjoy these posts:

• Nerf gun math game
• Dr. Seuss Sight Word Game
• Dinosaur Crafts & Activities 
• Learning with Nerf Guns, by Different by Design Learning

Originally published January 3, 2016.

The post Nerf Gun Sight Word Shoot first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

This Lemon Battery STEM activity would be perfect to do in the classroom, at a scout meeting, or at home.   Use it in conjunction with a lesson on electricity, or do it as a stand alone activity.

If you are looking for more fun ways to keep kids busy and engaged, be sure to check out our other STEM activities for kids. 

Making a fruit battery is a fun science experiment for tweens and teens to do. 

Younger kids will have fun helping or watching what happens once you complete the circuit.

Take the learning further with this graphite circuit activity.  

Lemon Battery STEM Activity 

Materials Needed:

• 6 Lemons
• 6 Shiny Pennies
• Soapy Water
• Sharp Knife
• 6 Zinc Galvanized Nails
• 7 Alligator Clip Battery Leads 
• Mini 5 mm LED Bulb

Depending on their size, you may be able to make your battery using just 4 of your lemons.   We had fairly small lemons, and wound up needing all 6.  If you want, you can start with just 4 and add more as needed.  

Start by rolling and squishing your lemons a bit to get their juices flowing.   This is an important step as the acid in the juice is necessary to make your battery strong enough to light the LED bulb.

Then use your knife to make a ½-inch-long slit in each of your lemons.  Make sure the slit goes all the way through the lemon’s rind.  

Wash your pennies in the soapy water to remove any dirt.  Dry them thoroughly.  

Slide a penny into the slit of each lemon.   Be sure your pennies go in far enough to touch the lemon’s juicy insides.

Next, push a nail into each lemon so only a small portion of the nail sticks out.   The nail should be about 1 inch away from your penny.   You do not want your nail and penny to touch.

Arrange your lemons in a circle.  This will make it easier to connect them together.

Now you will need your alligator clips.  You can find these at a local car parts store or online.

Clip one alligator clip to the penny in your first lemon.   Fasten the other end of the lead to the nail in the next lemon. 

Continue connecting the clips in this manner until you get to the last lemon.

On your last lemon connect a clip from one alligator lead to the penny, but do not connect it to the next nail.  Instead you will use your last  lead to hook onto the remaining nail.   

You should now have 2 clips not connected to anything.

Attach these 2 remaining clips to the wires on your LED bulb. 

Look carefully at your LED bulb.  There should be one wire that is slightly longer.  The clip connected to the penny should clip to the longest wire of the bulb. (This is the bulb’s positive side.)   

Your bulb should light up. 

If your bulb doesn’t light up, try unhooking it and turning it to clip the leads onto the opposite wires of the bulb.

If it still doesn’t light up, check all your connections.  Make sure the clips are secure and the pennies and nails are far enough into the lemons and that they do not touch.

If it still doesn’t work and you opted to try 4 lemons first, try adding another lemon.

How a Lemon Battery Works

In order for a battery to work, you have to have 2 electrodes, separated by an electrolyte.

In your battery, the lemon juice is the electrolyte and the zinc nail and copper penny are acting as the electrodes.

Chemical reactions occur inside the lemon where the electrodes touch the juice. These reactions produce electricity as soon as you complete the circuit and a path is made with your leads from one electrode to the other.

Each lemon is one cell of your battery.  So if you use 4 lemons, you have a 4-cell battery.  If you use 6 lemons, it is a 6-cell battery.  

Extension Activities for Lemon Battery Experiment 

• Make a hypothesis.  Can other fruits or vegetables to produce electricity?   Test out your hypothesis and try it with oranges, apples, or potatoes. 
• How will using other metals affect your battery?   Try using other metals as your electrodes.   Instead of pennies try nickels or quarters.  Use different types of nails instead of the zinc ones.
• Can your battery light up more than one LED bulb?  Give it a try!  
• Now that you know how a battery works, use one to make an electromagnet. 

This Lemon Battery STEM activity is a fun way for kids to learn about circuits and electricity. 

You may also like these posts:

• Make Crystal Egg Geodes
• Engineer a Solar Water Still
• Design a Roller Coaster

The post Make a Lemon Battery STEM Activity first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Making a homemade marble roller coaster is a fun Marble Run STEM Activity for kids of all ages.

Affiliate links have been provided below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Roller coasters are a fun way to explore physics. 

In the past we have had fun creating our own cardboard tube marble run. 

Making a pool noodle marble roller coaster provides kids the opportunity to be creative while exploring potential & kinetic energy, momentum and centripetal force.    

Caution:  Marbles can be a choking hazard for young children.  Make sure all marbles are safely put away after this activity.

Marble Run STEM Activity 

Materials Needed:

• Pool noodles
• Duct tape
• Scissors
• Small marbles
• Paper cup  

Start by cutting one pool noodle in half lengthwise.  This will give you two pieces of track.   (If you are working with younger children, you may want to do this step ahead of time.) 

Roller coasters usually start with an exciting drop down a big hill.  Lots of smaller hills, and sometimes even loops, follow.  

The goal of this STEM activity is to create a roller coaster which will transport the marble from the top of the first hill, all the way through the track.  This means you need to start with a steep hill.  

Use tape to secure one piece of track to the back of a kitchen chair, table, or countertop so it forms a hill. 

Place your cup at the bottom of the track and test out the hill. 

When you place your marble at the top of the hill and let it go, the marble should end up in the cup.  If it comes off the track, adjust your pool noodle and try again.  

Now comes the fun part!  Your child gets to design and engineer the rest of the coaster.

Remove the cup and use your other pool noodle half to continue your track. Use duct tape to attach it to the bottom of your hill.   Make sure when you connect the pieces that you smooth the tape out.  A bump in the tape will make your marble jump off the track.

Once the second piece of pool noodle is connected, you can use it to make a small hill or two by bending it into a hill and taping it in place to the floor. (Remember to keep your tape smooth.)

Or, you can make a loop with the pool noodles by curving the free end up and over.  Once you form the loop, use a piece of duct tape to secure the inner parts of the loop. Use more duct tape to hold it in place on the floor. (Sometimes it helps to have someone hold the track pieces while you tape.)

Place your cup at the end of the track and test out your coaster again by sending the marble down the big hill.  

If your marble comes off the track, try again. If it continues to come off you can loosen the tape and try adjusting the track.   

Building the track for the marble to go through is a bit like building a maze. 

Looking for more maze ideas?  Check out this simple Lego Hexbug Maze.  

How Does a Marble Roller Coaster Work

Just like the cars on a real roller coaster, the marble has potential energy when it is at the top of the hill. 

The energy becomes kinetic energy when the marble rolls down the hill.  As it rolls it gains speed and momentum. This enables the marble to continue rolling when it comes to the smaller hills.  

If the marble has enough momentum when it gets to a loop it will continue to travel,  and centripetal force will keep the marble rolling forward through the circular path.

Extensions for the Roller Coaster STEM Activity

• Make your track even longer by adding additional pool noodles. Can you make a curve?   Can you get the marble to go through 2 loops?
• Use other materials, such as cardboard boxes, to add other elements to your coaster. Try making a tunnel or using the boxes to help make hills.  
• Experiment with changing the height of your first hill.   Try making it taller or shorter.  How does it affect the coaster? 

Kids of all ages will have fun with this marble run STEM activity.  

You will also enjoy these posts:

• Paper Plate Marble Maze
• Make a Mechanical Hand with Straws
• How to Make a Rubber Band Shooter
• Make a Salt Crystal Egg 

The post Build Your Own Marble Roller Coaster! first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Legos are perfect for inspiring kids’ imaginations.   They are also perfect for a variety of STEM activities for kids.

One of our favorite activities with the bricks has been this Hexbug Lego Maze STEM Activity. 

The mix of STEM and feel of a game is a fun combination kids will enjoy over and over. 

Affiliate links have been used in the post below.  For more details, see my full disclosure.

Mixing learning with blocks, like we did with our DIY Lego board game, is always fun.  

If your kids enjoy this activity, they may also have fun building their own cardboard tube marble maze.  It’s just one of the fun activities you’ll find in my book, Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids.  

Hexbug Lego Maze STEM Activity 

Materials Needed:

• Hexbug Nano
• Lego Base Plate
• Collection of Assorted Lego Bricks

Set up for this Lego STEM challenge is super simple.   Start with an empty base plate, a tub of Legos, and your Hexbug.  

Challenge your child to build a path for the Hexbug to travel.

Younger kids may want to start with something simple at first.  

Encourage your child to test out the maze as they go.  This will allow them to fix any issues before they get too far.  

Why Build a Lego Hexbug Maze

STEM activities are a fun way for kids to be creative while experimenting with their own ideas.  They can help foster team-working skills as well as problem solving skills. 

As your child builds their Hexbug maze, they will encounter plenty of problem solving opportunities.  

• Are the walls high enough so the Hexbug doesn’t climb over them?  
• Are there gaps in the walls?  If so, the Hexbug could get stuck.  
• Are the paths wide enough?  Or, are they too wide?  We discovered that paths that were 3 dots wide worked the best for keeping the Hexbug going forward.  
• Did they have enough room to make the necessary turns?   You need enough room to make the turn, but still not so much room that the Hexbug may turn around and go the wrong way.  

Once your child figures out the best design plan, they can add to the maze.  

They may choose to make the maze longer or add a few extra turns to make it more complicated.  

Your child might even decide to add a few fun pieces just for decoration.   Let them get as creative as they want!  

My son added an open window at the end of the path for the Hexbug to go through. 

He also added a few fun pieces, like a spider web and some palm tree leaves.  

One thing your child will notice as they build their winding path is that the bumpy surface of the Lego base plate slows Hexbugs down quite a bit. 

Once your child creates a couple mazes that are successful, you may want to challenge them to build a Hexbug Lego habitat without using a base plate.  This will give them a whole new set of problem solving opportunities as the Hexbug travels faster through the labyrinth.  

It will also allow your child to make the maze larger than the size of the base plate. 

This simple Hexbug Lego Maze STEM Activity is the perfect boredom buster if the weather has your child stuck indoors.  

You may also enjoy:

• Must Have STEM Supplies for Home
• Build a Shelter Challenge 
• Why Kids Should Take Apart Electronics
• 30+ Educational Activities for Kids That Love to Build

The post Build a Colorful Hexbug Lego Maze! first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.