Summer STEM activities and project-based learning are great for keeping the summer exciting. I know… yeah right. Really, students, kids at home, families need something to focus on. I have two projects for this summer that will have student and families at home excited and having fun throughout the summer. What are they? Composting and growing a pollinator garden.
Summer STEM Activities for Elementary Students
I want to show you how you can send your students off with some actual reading assignments and projects that just might get them to actually do a little work without realizing it. First, you need to create the hype. I would choose one of these activities rather than both, but you are driving the wheel so whatever floats your boat. The best way to create hype is to create empathy for these topics. Composting is literally one of the coolest things ever to watch take place. Do your students know that what you put in the trash could fertilize someone’s garden? Here is the hype factor…… if they can create a successful compost bin, they could actually sell their compost throughout their neighborhoods or even around town. Money equals hype for sure!!!
You will need to introduce this to students and show them how to do this very easily without spending very much money. It really can be done. Then send them off into the summer with a little research done and maybe even a plan for doing it at home. If possible to stay in touch through Google classroom or email, we all know this can be done now thanks to Covid-19, do so because it will increase excitement!
Project Based Learning for Summer
Pollinator gardens are really simple, and basically, they are weeds. You can make pollinator garden look very beautiful by planning the area and planting different varieties of these plants. Where can you create hype for this summer STEM activity? Just let them know what would happen to our food supply if bees and pollinators were really gone for good. Facts are just facts. Students have hearts and want to be part of saving something. Start a little area at school around March or at home. By mid-summer, this area will be in full bloom. In August, it will be teaming with life. Students will be overjoyed by this! One of the best plants to plant is milkweed. A weed people…. a weed!
Again, you will need to guide students in the right direction with a little research and a little knowledge that they can bring to their families. It’s all about planting seeds. How ironic…..plant seeds. Be passionate for topics and projects you want students to work on during the summer, and it will carry over. No, it won’t carry over with all of them, but it will for some. That’s all that matters.
Fun Summer STEM activities
If composting and pollinator gardens seem like too much to tackle, why not try some STEM that has summer as the theme. Anything with water, pool, or beaches says summer all day to me!
I love doing this challenge with my students! Basically, students will try and create the biggest splash by creating a “cannonball” with certain objects like clay or blocks. We all hold it from a mock-up diving board over a small bowl of water. We usually try different heights. To find out who can make the biggest splash, we put butcher paper under the bowl of water and measure the splash radius. This is always a hit. Students don’t even realize how much they are learning. They usually come back after summer and tell me they did it at home, too!
If you need support with composting and saving the bees, I am providing a link to my Summer PBL Bundle.
Another link to my Cannonball Splash Challenge is here, as well. Read up on a few other STEM challenges that can be done with students throughout the summer if you are doing STEM camps or any other kind of camp, too!
Do you need extra help in your STEM/STEAM or project-based learning classroom? I have the best guide for you that is totally FREE! Check out my STEM Guide!
