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Marshmallow and Toothpick Snowflake STEM Activity

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January 1, 2018 by Clarissa Hooper 1 Comment

Give a teacher a bag of marshmallows and she’ll find 30+ Activities to use them in! Ha! Anyone else love using ‘mallows in classroom activities? Today we made marshmallow and toothpick snowflakes to learn more about snowflakes and symmetry!

Marshmallow and Toothpick Snowflake STEM Activity the Kids Will Love

Supplies for Marshmallow and Toothpick Snowflakes

  • Marshmallows
  • Toothpicks

(Also, can I get a “whoot whoot” for short supply lists? Yessssss!!!)

Use marshmallow and toothpick snowflakes to explore math and engineering

First, I organized our supplies in a small wooden tray. I find that an attractive presentation makes activities much more inviting to kids.

You can use the tray these lacing cards come in, or this toy’s tray. (No tray? Use a piece of construction paper as a workmat. This helps define the space of the activity and helps avoid marshmallows from spreading across the table).

I added a few toothpicks to start off a snowflake and invited my preschooler over to continue creating.

Marshmallow and toothpick snowflakes also work on fine motor skills

We talked about how snowflake designs are symmetrical, or the same on both sides.

So as my preschooler added a toothpick to one side, he made it even by adding a toothpick to the other side as well.

Counting the pieces of a marshmallow and toothpick snowflake

Pinching and arranging the marshmallows on the toothpicks is a great way for preschoolers to work on fine motor skills, too. (Tip for working with marshmallow- day old ‘mallows are easier to handle as they don’t squish as much).

During a pause from building, we examined the snowflake we’d made. We talked about how many marshmallows we used, how many toothpicks we used, the symmetrical shape, etc.

We also snacked on a few marshmallows and then decided to build another one!

Make marshmallow and toothpick snowflakes to learn about symmetry

Extend this activity by inviting preschoolers to draw their creations on a piece of paper. Ask how many different designs they can come up with and allow them to work in teams to brainstorm other designs.

Looking for more winter fun ideas? Try some of these activities:

Snow Dough Small World

Ice and Snow Pictures

Melted Snowman Sensory Activity

 

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Clarissa Hooper
Clarissa Hooper
Writer at Munchkins and Moms
Clarissa is a former elementary teacher turned homeschool mom and blogger at Munchkins and Moms. She loves to share creative preschool activities that are both playful and educational. Don’t forget to follow her on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram for more inspiration!
Clarissa Hooper
Latest posts by Clarissa Hooper (see all)
  • Marshmallow and Toothpick Snowflake STEM Activity - January 1, 2018
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Filed Under: Math Tagged With: learning about symmetry, preschool winter, snowflakes, winter activity

Comments

  1. Precious Kemp says

    January 1, 2018 at 9:29 am

    I am so thankful for you post and ideas I use them often in my classroom and open me up to new ideas of my own I want to say Thank you

    Reply

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I'm Katie, and I'm a veteran preschool teacher, child development research junkie, and mom of three who lives on little sleep and turns my kitchen into an art and science laboratory.

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