STEM Jr. Experiments - Pumpkin Playdough

Hey guys! It's Meredith from Creativity to the Core. I am thrilled to be blogging for the first time on this new collaborative blog with so many talented teachers!

This year, I am working as the Communications Director and Character Education teacher at the private elementary school that I grew up in! Crazy, right?! Although I do miss the classroom, I love the environment that this school provides. Soooo to get my teaching juices flowing, I started...The Goop Group!

I mean, what kid doesn't love getting gooey?! This group of 17 K-2 kiddos meets once a week after school for an hour to do nothing more than make goo. I call it STEM "Junior" because we follow all of the scientific method steps on a primary level. We practice measuring while having fun with many gooey ingredients. We have made glitter goo, apple oobleck, sprinkle goo, and pumpkin play dough! It is loud. It is messy. It is full of fun-filled kid memories! 

Today, I am sharing this week's experiment in picture form with one of my STEM Jr. friends. Enjoy!

You will need these ingredients....

and a recording sheet!

Your little scientists will complete the front page first. They will make sure that they have all of the ingredients, hypothesize, and predict. The STEM Jr. layout allows kids to just color in the box that shows their answer. I created this to include coloring instead of writing because A) I have young kinders and B) our hands are messy already!

Then it's go time! Kids can color in each step as they finish it. This will help youngsters and/or emergent readers in your group to follow along.

The pumpkin spice seasoning is optional (be careful about allergies!), but it smells OH SO yummy! 

When all of the pictures are colored in, you are done! Then you color to show our conclusions and explanations. I also add a scientist blurb at the bottom. This helps us to learn a new vocabulary word each time we meet.

 Once the recording sheet is complete, the kids are ready to play with their creation! Make sure to store it in a plastic bag or small air tight container.

And there you have it! A primary-friendly STEM experiment for young learners!

If you are interested in this activity and would like to try it with your kiddos, just click the image below! It is on sale for today only! Or check out the other STEM Jr. activities in my store!

 Thanks for stopping by! Head back over tomorrow for more bright teaching ideas!