Math meets art in this simple winter snowflake STEM activity for kids!
We have been using geoboards and leftover Rainbow Loom bands to create these beautiful snowflakes. It’s a great way to explore shapes and symmetry.
We had some small geoboards that were cracked, so I decided to order some new ones. I found these Learning Resources Two-Sided Geoboards (affiliate link), and they are awesome and a great value. They are a generous 10 inches wide and have two sides – one with 11 pins by 11 pins in straight lines and one with a pattern block design. You can see both sides in the photos below. The pattern block side allows kids to make hexagons and equilateral triangles.
The geoboards came with rubber bands, but we decided to use leftover white Rainbow Loom bands. They were perfect!
This activity works well for a wide range of ages. My 6, 9, and 12 year old’s all enjoyed designing snowflakes, and I did too! My 4 year old has had a great time building snowflakes, but he doesn’t really get how to create a symmetrical snowflake yet. Still a fabulous activity for fine motor skills and to encourage creativity!
I can’t decide which one is my favorite!
I made the one above, and my oldest son made the one below. It’s fun to see how everyone approaches this differently!
We have had the geoboards out for a few days, and it’s fun to just work on a snowflake when you have a few minutes! We have been re-using the loom bands.
Have fun creating!
3 Comments
Deborah from Mommy Crusader Jan 6, 2016
This is fantastic! I love how much math is incorporated into this activity! I have this scheduled for sharing on my FaceBook page.
smitha Jan 12, 2016
loved this activity. fantastic.
Crystal Jan 20, 2016
We received a geoboard from my sons school during an IEP meeting today ( even though it was closed due to snow). I was so surprised at the differences between the plastic verses wooden geoboards. My son loves the 2 sided plastic version but never wanted to play with the wooden one we had at home. He played with the board for over an hour today!! Very glad we found your snow flake designs! I just showed him this post and he wants to try them all!! BTW.. The first design is his favorite! Perfect ending to a perfect day:)
Sarah Jan 22, 2016
Oh, that's great! I'm glad he enjoyed the snowflake designs! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
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