Gumdrop STEM Activities in the Elementary Classroom

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.

I always purchase gumdrops as part of my Christmas decorations. They are so colorful and add a sweet touch to your home. I have a few ideas for using gumdrops in your classroom. They include STEM activities that are so much fun.

You don't need much to do these activities... just gumdrops, toothpicks and an imagination. Students can do this activity and then create their own models.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.

Give each of your students 25 toothpicks and 11 gumdrops. Just stick the toothpicks in each gumdrop to form the base. I like using different colors so students know how many are in each layer.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.
Add pressure to the top to see how this triangular structure can handle compression. Try creating a square structure and compare. Which structure is stronger? Students will see that the square structures collapse easily, giving way at their joints. Students can record their results and reflections from this activity. Now, give the students more gumdrops and toothpicks. They can work in groups to see which structure is the strongest.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.


Try an experiment with gumdrops. Add water to a clear container and vinegar to the other. Record observations.
Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.

I've used lifesavers to make stained glass creations but have never used gumdrops. One thing I HIGHLY recommend is to spray a little Pam on the foil and around the sides of the cookie cutter. My creation stuck to to the foil and cookie cutter. It looks like the gumdrops haven't melted. But, if you press on the gumdrops with a wooden spoon, they will blend together. If you turn the design over, you will see more of a stained glass look.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.
This graphing activity is so much fun. You need larger gumdrops to do this activity. I actually found gumdrop wreaths that will work perfectly. Students can work in pairs by taking turns stacking their gumdrops. Record results and compare with the rest of the class.

Try these easy STEM activities with yummy gumdrops. Your students will have fun stacking and graphing, making stained glass, domes with toothpicks, and experiment with dissolving gumdrops.

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Reading Christmas Legends: The Baker's Dozen FREEBIE


The Baker's Dozen is a beautifully illustrated book for the holiday season. This book study includes graphic organizers for characterization, cause and effect, and main idea. If you are studying legends, I highly recommend this book about Dutch Colonial New York.

This holiday, I'm sharing a beautiful legend called The Baker's Dozen A Saint Nicholas Tale by Aaron Shepard and Wendy Edelson. Aaron Shepard is an award winning author who wrote The Sea King's DaughterThe Legend of Lightning Larry and The Adventures of Mouse Deer. His website is known for being a resource for folktales, storytelling and reader's theater. You can visit his website at  www.aaronshep.com. Aaron has even been published in Cricket magazine. 
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Shopping for Thanksgiving - Math Activities For Elementary Classrooms

Save your Thanksgiving food ads for math activities in your elementary classroom. Your students can survey friends, read and calculate nutritional values from canned goods, and solve math problems from grocery store ads.

Some of you may have read my post about involving your child in shopping for groceries. With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought Thanksgiving would be a perfect theme for using newspaper ads to shop for groceries, compare prices and calculate savings. So, save your ads!

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Honoring Our Veterans With Veterans Day Activities

Looking for Veterans Day activities? I've given you some great resources which include, books, a video, QR Codes about US symbols and more...

It's important for our children to understand the significance of Veterans Day and how our ancestors and other Americans sacrificed their lives to protect our country. My father was a veteran of World War II. He was so proud to serve our country in order to maintain our freedom.

In teaching our students about Veterans Day, I have a few activities to help students learn about this special day and our U.S. symbols.

I came across a great video to share with your students about the Vietnam War and a book called The Wall by Eve Bunting. The video goes back and forth between the little boy speaking from the book and video about the war. (I would recommend showing this video to upper elementary students because of some of the sensitive material.)




Looking for Veterans Day activities? I've given you some great resources which include, books, a video, QR Codes about US symbols and more...

The Wall by Eve Bunting is about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A young boy and his dad travel to Washington D.C. to look for his grandfather's name among all of the veterans who lost their lives during the Vietnam War. This is a sweet book to read to any elementary age child.

By reading H for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet, students learn more about the branches of the armed forces and the meaning of patriotism. The book also tells how much soldiers appreciate letters from home. 

Below is an activity about patriotism and words that describe our soldiers.

Looking for Veterans Day activities? I've given you some great resources which include, books, a video, QR Codes about US symbols and more...

Veterans Day (Our Nation's Pride) is another book to read on Veterans Day. This book helps explain the creation, history and the meaning of the holiday. It also emphasizes the importances of knowing about the symbols of the U.S.. I love the picture of the older veteran on the cover.

Below is a center activity with QR codes that link to information about important symbols of the U.S..

Looking for Veterans Day activities? I've given you some great resources which include, books, a video, QR Codes about US symbols and more...

Encourage your students to interview a veteran they know. The veteran may be a neighbor, family friend or member of their family. This is a great opportunity to get to know more about the person and his/her role in serving our country.

Looking for Veterans Day activities? I've given you some great resources which include, books, a video, QR Codes about US symbols and more...

If you would like more activities to do with your students on Veteran's Day, take a look at my Veteran's Day product.

Looking for Veterans Day activities? I've given you some great resources which include, books, a video, QR Codes about US symbols and more...

Looking for Veterans Day activities? I've given you some great resources which include, books, a video, QR Codes about US symbols and more...


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QR Codes and Google Maps in Teaching Map Skills

QR Codes and Google Maps

Teaching map skills has changed since we began using Google Maps and other online websites and apps. I can type in a location in Google Maps and it not only shows up on the map, a photograph pops up with facts about the place of interest.

Google Maps Scavenger Hunt With QR Codes
A fun way for your students to learn about maps and famous landmarks (or landmarks in your city) is to create QR codes using Google Maps and QR Code Generator. It's so easy and your students will love this activity. You can present the activity in the form of a scavenger hunt. More advanced or older students can do this by themselves.

1. Go to Google Maps.
2. Enter the destination (ex. Statue of Liberty). Make sure the map is the way you want it to look when someone scans the QR code.


3. Click on "menu" and then select "share or embed."



4. Select "share link an click in the "short URL" box.


5. Now, go to QR Code Generator and paste the url from Google Maps. Click on "Create QR Code" and then "download."


6. Put your QR Code on a task card for your students to scan with mobile devices. You probably want to number the cards so you can keep track of the codes.

That's it! You can use this lesson for all sorts of Google Maps activities. You can even add questions or facts on your on your task cards. You can even tape or glue these on a laminated map.

For more map reading activities, go to my TPT store and purchase this new product.




  • © 2015 Google Inc, used with permission. Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc.

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