Use hands on building skills all in Winter spirit sledding fun, without being in real snow! Do you have a car lover? Do you have a child who likes to make toy airplanes fly and could slide firetrucks around the house all day? This experiment is amazing for these children who get excited about things that go fast!

Benefits:

Builds creative thinking skills, critical thinking skills, and fine motor skills

Materials:

Use a variety of art materials you can find around your home! Some materials can include pipe cleaners, rubber bands, straws, toothpicks, tape, glue, and recycled cardboard or posterboard to make a ramp!

Instructions:

1. Set up a piece of cardboard as a ramp. Place it against a wall, a table, or on stairs.
2. Set out the variety of art materials and allow your child to create a sled. Assist them in taping and gluing as needed.
3. Once your child finishes their sled, allow them to place it at the top of the cardboard ramp and let go.
4. When you have more than one child, try turning it into a competition to see which sled will be faster or slide the farthest!

Age/Difficulty Variations:

• For younger children (Ages 1-4 years), ask them which materials they want to use first (Ex. “Do you want to use the pipe cleaners or the straws for your sled?”) while you help them build it.
• For Infants, they might just enjoy watching you slide it down the ramp. This can help with object tracking (important for visual development).
• For older children (Ages 5-Elementary), allow them to make a prediction on which sled will slide down the ramp the fastest. After it slides down the ramp, have your child measure the distance it traveled with measuring tape or a ruler! Have them record it and continue to make changes to their sled to see which materials might help it slide farther!

We hope this activity for day 5 out of the 15 Days of Winter Break Activities series brought some excitement into your home! Tag us with pictures on Instagram and Facebook!
Instagram: @ lmeclife
Facebook: @ Living Montessori Education Community

Coming Next For Day 6: Color Coding!

You will need paper, markers/crayons, plastic sheet protector, dry erase marker, and a printer (optional).