Building a snow fort using chunks of snow and ice sparked some creativity in our group this month. We wondered how we could bring the interest indoors in such a way that would challenge the various ages in our group. We decided to make it just that - a challenge!
We split into three groups and gave each group a set of short plastic cups (condiment cups). Our challenge was for each group to work as a team and create a “snow” structure that could stay standing. The groups got busy exploring ways to arrange and stack the cups. As they worked away, we began adding materials for them. First, we gave them more cups which was met with a lot of excitement as they realized having only a limited amount of “snow bricks” made things tricky. As they added to their structures, we gave them a few wooden spoons, some cotton pads, and some white paper plates. Each group eventually created a standing structure and every group’s structure stood without support!
This group activity not only challenged the children’s creativity, but it really challenged them to work together. Each group had to work through some conflicts over differing ideas. We worked on listening to the ideas of others and giving others a chance to add materials to the structure even if the idea came from someone else. We learned that sometimes we need to try a strategy and fail before we can get to a method that works, and we learned that sharing our individual ideas can lead to some really neat larger ideas! By the end of our challenge, we had three groups that were incredibly proud to share their creations.
So, what’s next? Making the activity into a “challenge” seemed to really spark motivation in our group. They also seemed to really like the added elements as we went along as opposed to getting all the materials right at the beginning. We are looking forward to more challenges, experiments, and other small group activities that keep our group connecting with others from outside their own grade and friend groups. We can’t wait to see what they dream up next!
