Hey there, Halloween enthusiasts and curious minds! Get ready for some spine-tingling fun as we learn about some exciting STEM activities and coding projects perfect for this spooky season. This blog will show you some of these to keep you excited and learning.
1. Lifecycle of a pumpkin
The lifecycle of a pumpkin starts with a tiny seed and ends with a big, orange Halloween decoration. This video will take you on a wild ride through the life of a pumpkin, showing you all the cool changes it goes through along the way.
You'll see how a seed transforms into a sprout, push its way up through the soil, and finally grow into a fruit. Watch as the pumpkin plant grows long vines and big leaves, spreading out across the ground.
As the video continues, you'll witness pumpkins growing from small, green balls into the large, orange globes we use for jack-o'-lanterns. Along this pumpkin journey, you'll discover fascinating science facts about plant growth and how different seasons affect pumpkins. So get ready to be a plant detective and uncover the secret life of pumpkins. It's an adventure you won't want to miss!
2. Melting Monster
The Melting Monster Halloween Science Activity combines the spooky fun of Halloween with fundamental scientific concepts. In this activity, kids can create a gooey colorful monster that melts before their eyes. By doing this, kids can learn the following concepts:
1. States of matter: Kids learn about the unique properties of half-solid-half-liquid materials as they mix cornstarch and water to create "oobleck".
2. Color mixing: As children add food coloring to their monsters, they explore how different colors combine.
3. Creativity and artistic expression: Decorating the monster encourages imaginative thinking.
4. Scientific observation: Watching the monster melt promotes careful observation and questioning.
Through projects like this, kids can develop critical thinking, scientific curiosity, and a hands-on understanding of STEM concepts. By integrating seasonal themes with educational content, kids can feel engaged and excited to explore the world around them.
3. Storybook "Room on the Broom"
Want to become a witch and start a broom fly in this spooky season? "Room on the Broom" by Julia Donaldson is a delightful storybook that gives you some glimpse on it.
The story follows a kindhearted witch who keeps losing her things during a windy broom ride. As she searches for her lost things, she meets some animals who help her and ask to join her on the broom. The witch welcomes each new friend, despite her cat's grumbles about the crowded broom. When a dragon threatens to eat the witch, her new animal friends come to help her.
What makes "Room on the Broom" stand out are its good rhymes and beautiful illustrations. Donaldson's rhythmic text flows smoothly, making it a joy to read aloud and easy for children to remember. The colorful, detailed pictures by Axel Scheffler bring the characters to life, keeping young readers engaged throughout the book.
By reading "Room on the Broom", kids can learn several valuable lessons and skills:
1. Friendship and kindness: The story teaches the importance of helping others and making new friends.
2. Imagination and creativity: The magical setting encourages children to use their imagination.
3. Vocabulary building: The rich, rhyming text introduces new words in a fun context.
4. Early literacy skills: The rhyming pattern helps develop phonological awareness, a crucial reading skill.
4. Halloween-themed coding on Create & Learn
Create & Learn is an online learning platform that offers computer science classes for kids. They've developed a series of Halloween-themed coding projects to make learning more engaging and seasonally relevant. Here's what they offer:
1. "Whack-a-Ghost" game: Kids create this game using MakeCode, a free coding platform by Microsoft. It's inspired by the classic arcade game and teaches basic coding concepts.
2. Various Scratch projects: These include:
- Candy Clicker game (teaches variables and conditional statements)
- Costume Designer (uses Scratch's drawing editor)
- Halloween Movie maker (utilizes text-to-speech feature)
- Spooky Dance Party (uses custom sounds)
- Flying Witch game (teaches keyboard events and motion blocks)
- Jumping Game (introduces loops and conditionals)
- Trick-or-Treat game (practices using the "touching" block)
- Halloween Chase Game (works with sprite movement)
- Halloween Platformer Game (introduces functions)
- Haunted Flappy Bird (an advanced project for experienced Scratch users)
Through these projects, kids can learn various coding concepts such as variables, conditional statements, loops, functions, and event handling. They also get to practice using multimedia elements, game design, and problem-solving skills.
5. Halloween Secret Coding Pictures
Imagine combining the spooky fun of Halloween with the exciting world of coding—that's exactly what the Halloween Secret Coding Pictures activity does! This clever, screen-free activity introduces young minds to coding concepts through a creative and engaging Halloween-themed project.
In this activity, kids follow a set of coded instructions to reveal hidden Halloween images, much like how real computer programs work. They'll use colored pencils or markers to draw lines on a grid, following step-by-step directions that act as a simple algorithm. As they work through the instructions, a spooky surprise emerges—maybe a creepy spider, a witch's hat, or a grinning jack-o'-lantern!
This hands-on approach helps children grasp fundamental coding concepts like sequencing, algorithms, and even debugging. If they make a mistake, they'll learn to retrace their steps and fix it, just like real programmers do when troubleshooting code.
Perfect for grades 1-4, this activity requires only simple supplies: printed worksheets, colored pencils or markers, and a regular pencil with an eraser. It's an ideal way to introduce coding to young learners without the need for screens or complex technology.
By completing these Halloween Secret Coding Pictures, kids not only have fun and get into the Halloween spirit, but they also build crucial skills for the digital age. They'll practice following precise instructions, develop attention to detail, and start thinking like programmers—all while creating cool Halloween art!
Conclusion
These Halloween STEM activities and coding projects are sure to make your spooky season both fun and educational. Ready to start your Halloween learning adventure? Grab your lab coat (or witch's hat) and try things you want to do! And don't forget to share your cool creations with us. Happy Halloween, and happy learning!
