Day 4

TinkEr Trees

Creative Question

What else around your house could you make a Christmas Tree from?

This is a great activity to support the idea that we can make a common object out of anything. This activity helps develop fine motor skills in our younger friends but is fun for all ages

What you need

A variety sizes of nuts, bolts, washers, construction paper, and something creative to create your background.

Dig through your tool set and see what you can find!

If you don't have access to materials at home, you can easily buy a variety of sizes at any hardware store.

What To Do

The beauty of this project is it is up to you!

There is no wrong answer or right way to make a Tinker Tree.

Start with a bolt and then switch back and forth between nuts and washers.

Green Construction Paper and a tissue box were used to

create the ground and backdrop.

Classroom Connection

Tinker Trees supports students learning why different shapes and sizes work together and why they don't.

Ask your students before the build to put materials in groups based on their prediction of what would work.

Did they predict correctly? Why did it work? Why didn't it work? What would they change in their groupings?

Take It Up A Notch

Have students design a completely different object that can be made out of only nuts,bolts, and washers. Have them develop a design plan, create instructions for their fellow classmates, and present their completed projects.