June 15, 2017

STEM Series- Father’s Day Chocolate

STEM, Father's Day, Oriental Trading Co., Candy, Chocolate, DIY

STEM Series- Father’s Day Chocolate

This review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product listed above. I was provided the sample free of charge by the company or PR agency and I have given my honest opinion. No other type of compensation was received for this review.

STEM Series- Father’s Day Chocolate. I am SO excited about this series!! My littlest son loves all things math and science, and was so thrilled to finally be old enough to join STEM at school…unfortunately, it didn’t meet his expectations, and he stopped going. My mama heart broke a little. Then, I found out that several of my friends’ kids had also dropped out of STEM, for similar reasons…So, this summer, each Tuesday we are hosting STEM days at our house, and I will share what we did on the blog each week. In my mind, STEM is cooking, it is building, it is racing, it is measuring, it is literally everyday life. We decided to kick off our Summer STEM with a lesson about Chocolate, and then we actually made chocolate candies! So yummy, and so fun. Since this week is Father’s Day, I thought it would be nice to have the kids make chocolates for their dads. I created a fun free printable that can be used with or without homemade chocolate. I ordered the chocolate candy kit from Oriental Trading Company (along with several other STEM activities for the kids). While the kids learned about the process of making chocolate, and the ingredients in a candy bar, they took the cacao beans and broke them, tasted them, smelled them, and felt them. They decided they didn’t care for the taste, but they could faintly smell the signature chocolate smell. They were all so excited to learn the process from plant, to bean, to candy.

Then, we roasted some marshmallows, and talked about the science of roasting marshmallows. We decided that we would build marshmallow structures at one of the next STEM sessions. All the kids are so excited to come and learn more this summer. I know it’s not a conventional STEM environment, but anytime I can make learning more fun for my kids, I will.

Do you have any fun STEM activities? I would love to hear your ideas!

Download the free printable Father’s Day tag here. Please remember, free printables are for personal use only. They cannot be edited, altered, or resold.