Button Tower STEM Activity

Button Towers are an awesome way to spend the afternoon for stem loving kids! This activity comes together with only two supplies to keep the kids entertained and building all day long.

Now more than ever, creative exploration is important for kids.  Mine have been out of school for over 3 months already and we are not sure what the new year will hold. We have been staying at home, and seeing what we can do with the things we have on hand. This Button Tower Stem Activity has been a big hit with both of my kids, and all of the other kids in the neighborhood too! 

You only need 2 supplies to pull this off. Kids will love seeing who can build the biggest tower and what methods work, as well as which ones don't work!

Supplies:

Buttons in assorted sizes

Play Doh

Directions:

Roll an assortment of play doh balls in various sizes.

Offer an assortment of buttons and instruct the children to build a tower.

My kids opted to alternate balls of doh and buttons to stack them up.

They said the key to making them stand was how you press the button into the doh.

Sometimes the towers tumble over on the second or third button; sometimes they stack easily. Either way it goes; it is loads of fun and presents an enjoyable challenge that kids of all ages will love.

I love that this was as simple to set up as digging around in my craft supplies. Some of the best activities really are simple in design.

Be sure to supervise little ones with this, as buttons can pose a choking hazard.

Find more fun ideas for kids here

Reader favorites include:

Seashell STEM Towers

Easy Aquarium Craft

Play Doh Lollipop Counting

Give early math lessons a sweet spin with this play dough lollipop counting activity. It  combines counting, fine motor skills and a touch of creativity to provide lots of hands on educational fun.

Play doh is my go to tool for hands on learning fun. There are so many ways to use it to learn. This play doh lollipop counting activity is fantastic because it uses basic supplies like craft sticks and play doh to create a math lesson little kids will love!

Supplies:
Assorted colors of play doh
Craft Sticks
Numbers or dice


Directions:
Invite your child to form the lollipops with a small bit of play doh and the craft sticks.
Encourage your child to pick a number from the pile or roll a dice.
Whichever number they come up with, encourage them to roll out that many itty bitty tiny balls of play doh in a different color.
Decorate the lollipops with the small balls of doh.
Repeat with more numbers for a hands on math lesson that works in fine motor skill work too!

You can find all of my play doh ideas here
Reader favorites include:
Play Doh Pie Counting
Play Doh Pre-writing
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Play Doh Flower Counting Activity

Make counting and learning early math tons of fun for little ones with this hands on activity that combines early math with hands on tactile play. 

Play doh is the ultimate tool for play or learning at my house. We love to squish, mold and create with it, plus there are so many ways to learn with it. Adding it into our math lessons was a natural choice.

I was looking for a way to get Harper excited about early math, but it is hard to focus in the spring. There are so many colors, sights and smells to take in after months of indoor confinement.

As I took in the sights of spring, my inspiration was blooming all around me. 

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Supplies:

Play Doh; green and any 2 other colors

Buttons

Number Stamps

Directions:

With green play doh, form 2 flower stems

With any other color of play doh form the flower body

Tear off 10 pinches of play doh and shape it to look like petals.

Select two numbers.

Stamp them on the flowers.

Offer your child buttons and the petals of play doh you formed.

Encourage your child to say the number stamped on the doh.

Now, add the coordinating number of buttons to one flower.

Add the coordinating number of petals to the other flower.

Repeat with other numbers.

Find more play doh ideas here Reader favorites include:
Sunscreen Play Dough