” Hey guys! Look over here! My magnet sticks to the bike!”

On this warm November morning, our magnetic wands have brought STEM learning to our outdoor classroom. By leaving the other magnetic materials behind, I am hoping to encourage the children to harness their curiosity and creativity for other forms of magnetic exploration. Opportunities like this allow children to learn independently, as well as collectively, as they explore on their own and then share what they have discovered with their fellow magnetic explorers.

This morning’s investigation introduces the children to scientific methods such as forming hypotheses, setting up experiments to test out their hypotheses, analyzing data and recording results. We have math exploration as they learn about spatial awareness, as well as math vocabulary building as they begin to understand and label concepts such as location and ordinal positioning—all in a morning of play with friends.

“Oh, wait! It sticks on the red part, but not on the black seat,” exclaims Harrison.

As the children race over to view Harrison’s latest discovery, I note with satisfaction that they have found their own way on this morning of STEM exploration.

“Why won’t it stick on the black seat, Harrison?” I ask.

“Because it’s not metal,” Harrison shares with the group.

“It’s not metal!” the other children repeat in a chorus of little voices. We are in that modeling stage of language this month. A comment made by one child is repeated by every child, like a group of enthusiastic parrots. This behavior has been making me a bit crazy lately. But, at this moment, I am grateful.

“Wait! This part is black but my magnet sticks here.” Harrison is thinking out loud, and his comment is met with silence as the other children test out his observation and come to the same conclusion.

“Wow, Harrison, I am confused. Why does your magnet stick on the black part there but not on the black seat or the black tires?” I ask.

“This black line is metal,” Harrison shares. “It is black metal.”

The other children parrot his response as the learning continues: “Yes! It is metal—black metal!”

Harrison continues to educate his peers. “The red part of the bike is metal and this black strip here is metal. The tires and the seat are not metal.”

Soon, the magnetic exploration moves to the swings, which leads to another deep dive into STEM learning as the children use their wands to determine which parts of the swingset are magnetic and which are non-magnetic. It is also a great opportunity for us to document our research and meet more Illinois early learning benchmark standards.

We use red and green tape to document our results. Magnetic surfaces are marked with green tape (go) and non-magnetic surfaces are marked with red tape (stop).

We could also record our findings on a clipboard, but this is a fun and visual way to document our data—and it is easier for the children to understand than checkmarks on a piece of paper.

This group doesn’t read yet—and drawing pictures would have slowed down the learning process. If you happen to have an artistic child who loves charts, this is a dream day for them. Make this child your research assistant!

I love it when children learn while moving, playing and sharing with friends.

Experimenting with magnets encourages children to learn by exploring, observing and figuring out how things work. A longer period of time for discovery gives our students more opportunities to learn. I look over at the stump circle and see Eleanor quietly working her way through a solitary study of magnetic fields. Eleanor is deep in concentration as she studies and researches, collecting data and reanalyzing the magnetic poles and the attraction of the multiple magnetic wands.

“It’s called a magnetic field,” I explain. Eleanor is working through her understanding and doesn’t look up from her investigation. I watch her speculate her way through different scenarios and then I try again.

“It’s invisible!” I whisper, and Eleanor’s head pops up.

“Who doesn’t love invisible?”  I continue to whisper: “It’s that invisible power called a magnetic field that is making your magnets push or pull each other. I love invisible.”

“It’s magic!” chirps Eleanor. “I can feel it pulling me!”

Eleanor smiles as she shares her understanding with me. It never gets old for me to observe the excitement and wonder that goes hand in hand with little brains making new connections and discoveries.

The next time you head outdoors with your students, grab the magnetic wands and let the invisible magic of magnetism lead them to a new understanding of magnetic forces and fields. If you’ve gone virtual this new year, magnetic play is a great way to get your little learners to venture out into their own backyards to get some fresh air and learn about magnetism through play.

Stay safe, my friends!

“I found GOLD!” squeals Laura. Four little friends are quick to join her in the latest gold rush in the sandbox. In the wee hours of the morning, often when the sun is barely above the horizon and the coffee is still being brewed, gold will magically appear in our sandbox. Spray-painted rocks that will give our young friends hours of digging, collecting, hoarding and, hopefully, sharing.

Once upon a time back in 1886, the first sand garden was created in the yard of the Children’s Mission on Permenter Street on the North End of Boston. In the late 1800s, sand gardens were viewed as safe places for immigrant children to play in during the summer months while their parents worked in factories. Today, these early sand gardens are often referred to as America’s “first playgrounds.” As we reimagine education during the pandemic, perhaps we should harken back to a simpler time and create sand gardens for our young learners!

A sandbox seems so simple, but it is truly a blank canvas—inviting curiosity and creativity, exploration and investigation. It offers a soothing sensory experience and an opportunity to experience natural textures while experiencing the peace and simple pleasures of sand play. Peer pressure will entice wary friends to strip off their shoes and tentatively join in the fun. Placing a big “Shoe Basket” near your sandbox is essential for your own mental health. It will save you hours of searching for socks and shoes. When we add loose parts to our sand, we create opportunities for counting, collecting and designing. We can explore symmetry and patterns. By adding baking tools, we can explore measurement and estimation. Opportunities abound for vocabulary growth and lessons about location and position.

“Joseph, can you get the trucks to drive under our castle?” The children have been busy building and decorating large mounds of sand. Now they have moved on to cautiously digging out tunnels. Tunnel digging builds engineering knowledge as the children predict, problem-solve and collaborate with friends—all while spending long periods of time engaging in what appears to be play. Are you documenting this? Check those early math and science learning standards off of your list!

We can encourage children to mix sand with water to see how adding water changes the physical properties of the sand. This sand play allows the children to create models of their own making. What they imagine, they can create. They create plans, make observations and experiment with ideas. This is science!

As educators and parents, we often miss the opportunities and possibilities that sand play presents. It took me years to figure out that if I took three minutes to rake the sand and make it more inviting, my effort would be rewarded as more children engaged in hours of deep learning and exploration every single day. Consider preparing your sandbox as essential as prepping any other area of your classroom. If the sandbox is full of leaves, too many loose parts from yesterday’s play or any other undesirables, it won’t be, well…desirable! Make sure your sandbox is inviting, and you will “invite” the children to explore math and science concepts with a soothing blank canvas. Unless, of course, there is a major construction project underway. On those days, I gently place a tarp over the sandbox to protect the project until our pint-sized “construction crew” returns the following morning.

If sand is a new adventure for you, recognize and remove any obstacles early on. One important tip is that you must have a water source nearby to make the sand packable. A garden hose, gallon buckets of water or nearby rain barrels will open up a treasure trove of opportunities that are not possible with dry sand. Shade is another important element to consider. You can create shade with a large umbrella if you do not have a tree to shade your sandbox. Or you can use parachutes from the gym, which can be strategically placed with a little bit of ingenuity to create shade.

I know educators who are allergic to sand in the same way that they are allergic to playdough. Ha! I know who you are! But, in this year of uncertainty, let’s allow our students to enjoy the serenity, sensory pleasures and myriad possibilities of outdoor sand play.

I promise you, it will buy you hours of calm, hands-on learning. If you build it, they will come. Just do it!