I have picked the most benign object I could find and come up with a short unit study to keep your summer fun and fantastic! The famous but often-overlooked dinner spoon. Take a peek at the ideas below, and add your own ideas in the comments!
Math & Science
Heat conduction – Test different spoons of varying materials to learn how heat transfers.
Plastic Spoon Catapult – Plastic spoons and popsicle sticks combine for hours of fun!
Art
Plastic Spoon Lily pads – Learn about frogs and make your own lily pad banners out of spoons and pom-poms.
Pineapple Lamp (for older kids) – For the more artsy among you, try your hand at lighting and make a pineapple lamp shade.
Music
How to Play Musical Spoons (links to YouTube) – This folk tradition is fun for young and old!
Plastic spoon maracas – Too little for playing spoons? Grab a leftover plastic easter egg, some rice or beads, and make some maracas.
Games
Spoons! – the classic family card game!
History
Learn About the History of Spoons (and other dinner cutlery!)
Literature
Don’t forget about the most famous runaway spoon in history!
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
Hey, diddle diddle!
The Cat and the Fiddle!
The Cow jumped over the Moon!
The little Dog laughed to see such sport,
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon!
Culinary
Frozen Spoon Pops (use your favorite yogurt, smoothie, or other fruit or nut spread if peanut butter isn’t your jam)
Spoons in Real Life!
Don’t forget to take the spoons outside for play! Use them as shovels, swords, and plant markers, build a house with spoons, hang them up to watch the wind blow… the possibilities are endless for the simple spoon in the hands of a child.