Hands-on learning encourages problem-solving, critical thinking skills, and artistic expression. It gives your child a chance to experience learning. Many children retain so much more information through hands-on projects than they do through traditional methods. Hands-on projects never need to be pushed to the side; they simply transform into more complex learning experiences.
I'm going to show you a few examples of hands-on projects my middle-school age children have done.
Pocahontas Museum
When my oldest daughter was in 7th grade, she was using America the Beautiful. One of her assignments was to create a Pocahontas Museum, and she had a blast with it! She created several "exhibits" and got very creative with them. You can read more about that here.
Messy Science Experiments
She also loved doing science experiments in 7th grade! Here is a post with a few examples. These were a chance for her to do "fun things" in the name of learning. It was always a positive experience for her to take a break from the books and impress her siblings!
Mercie is in 8th grade now, and she still gets excited when she has a fun experiment! Here she microwaved soap to see what happened.
Math Projects
Hands-on activities always make math more fun, even into middle school. When she was in 7th grade, one of her math activities was to make a simple abacus. She helped with the design and really enjoyed learning how to use it!
Art Projects
I always try to make our art projects things that will be used and treasured, not junk that we will throw away. These stained glass pictures were a lot of fun for my middle-schoolers! A lot of the "harder" art projects would be really beneficial for older kids to try out.
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Cooking
My kids have always loved to cook. Sometimes cooking and baking are part of their school projects, but most of the time it's just a life skill they practice! My daughters can both easily put together an entire meal. In fact, I bet my boys could do the same with a little direction. They've all seen me cook and bake, been my helpers in the kitchen, and heard me talk about it enough to have a pretty good grasp on the basics.
History and Geography Projects
There is nothing that makes history come to life more than history projects! My middle schoolers have always enjoyed doing crafts, recipes, and games that teach them about history and geography.
Diorama of the Savanah
There are so many more types of hands-on projects your middle schoolers can do to enhance their learning. Let me know in the comments which types of hands-on projects your middle schoolers have worked on!
We love hands on learning! Those are all such great experiences. Love the images you share. Giving me ideas!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I have always loved hands-on projects, which is why I guess I kept my kids going with them.
DeleteMy middle schooler that I currently have hates hands on projects but both is brothers loved them and I kept them going well into high school as well with edible cell models and cake layers of the Earth. Building bridge challenges using spaghetti and tape.. things like that. So many great STEM or even STEAM challenges on Pinterest that we easily built lessons around.
ReplyDeleteYes! We have done many STEM challenges and also made cell models and play-dough earth layers! I just didn't always take pictures, and I wish I would have!
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