Welcome to our “It’s a Sweet Life – Candy Week” – an at home camp filled with days of relaxed learning and fun activities all themed to the oh-so-fun sweets and treats! After all, what better way to get them to keep learning than to pick something they LOVE – sugar and sweets!
For this day, we turned our attention to the wonderful world of chocolate! We dove a bit deeper into the history of chocolate and tried out some fun chocolate experiments! Read on to check out a fun filled day of learning, reading, crafts, and activities all on chocolate!
A TYPICAL DAY
All kids are different and you can definitely vary your day with whatever works for you 🙂 Our relaxed & learning fun day kicks off with an introduction to the day’s theme. Then, we move onto videos and themed activities (reading, writing – or story telling – time, crafts, food crafts/snacks, and games or experiments). Feel free to pick and choose whatever works for you 🙂
INTRO
Who has not heard or tasted chocolate at some point in their lives? Chances are, you and your little one(s) are already very familiar with chocolate 🙂 If not – or if you just want a chocolate fact refresher, check out the links below. They’re perfect for providing a brief intro for your little ones (or to gather up some knowledge as well!)!
WHAT TO WATCH
We find that mixing in a short video themed to our day is a great way to add some learning fun! We try to pick informative videos OR mix in a cartoon favorite (where they don’t even realize they’re learning). Below are some of the videos we picked from for the day:
- Where Does Chocolate Come From? By SciShow Kids (3.5m)
- Who Invented Chocolate? By Colossal Cranium (3m)
FOOD CRAFTS / SNACKS
What’s more fun than taking a break and having a simple snack??? Including the snack in your theme of the day! We find that our kiddos are more than happy to eat the snacks they create especially when they can arrange them into fun shapes and scenes!
There is sooooo much you can do with chocolate 🙂 Here are a few ideas ranging from super simple to a bit more complex 🙂
- M&Ms (pairs well with one of the STEM activities of the day)
- Chocolate chip cookies (pairs well with one of the STEM activities of the day)
- Smores (any excuse to make smores should be taken
- Oreo Dirt Cups by Modern Meal Makeover
- Chocolate Nests by Kids Cooking Activities
- Any chocolate molds
- Any chocolate goodies 🙂
READING
It’s no secret that reading is an important part of learning, which is why we pick out a handful of books that are fun and filled with some learning tidbits. For our older ones, we have them fill out some worksheets (or let them create some of their own comics) to describe what they read and/or learned! These are a few we picked from for the day:
- Who Was Milton Hershey by James Buckley
- Smart About Chocolate: A Sweet History (Smart About History by Sandra Markle
WRITING & WRITING PROMPTS
Just like reading, writing is a great way to keep kids learning by both encouraging their creativity and thought process as well as helping them practice their motor skills and penmanship.
If you’ve got a little one, have them trace words related to the theme: SUGAR, SWEETS, CANDY, CHOCOLATE
If you’ve got older children, have them write a sentence or two up to a page or two (depending on their age). Encourage them to be creative AND give reasons for why they made certain choices. This was our writing prompt of the day (and we offered up some examples as well) but definitely pick something your kiddo might be interested in writing about!
- If you could sculpt anything out of chocolate, what would you create?
- If you could create a new chocolate flavor combination (for a candy bar or hot chocolate), what would it be and why?
CREATE & CRAFT
If you’ve got a crafty little one, a simple craft is a great way to keep them interested in the topic. While their creative juices are flowing, you can also chat about what they’ve learned so far or ask them what else they’re excited about learning! Below are some of the crafts we looked at:
- 3D Hot Chocolate Craft
- Super Simple No-Cook Chocolate Play Dough by Mama Papa Bubba
- Marshmallow structures with toothpicks (pairs well with the snack of the day if you’re going with hot chocolate 😉 )
STEM & STEAM ACTIVITIES
While crafting and writing get their creativity and imagination flowing, we also like to add in an activity that gets them thinking along the lines of science, technology, engineering, or math! These engaging activities or experiments are a great way to keep them learning!
We tried the first one – it’s pretty simple, easy, and incredibly satisfying to see the m’s float! But there are links to a few other science experiments that would be great for older kids who had a bit more time.
- Candy Science – Floating M&Ms by Steve Spangler
- Baking a classic: History, STEM, and chocolate chips by PITSCO Education
- The structure and properties of chocolate by The Royal Society of Chemistry
THANK YOU!!!
Thank you for checking out our at home learning fun article! If you enjoyed this post, please let us know what you think in the comments below and/or follow us on Pinterest
Also, if you haven’t already, check out some of our other Candy Week days, Sweets & Treats Ideas, as well as our DIY At Home Camps!
Happy Learning!
