Your Child Will Learn
Investigating characteristics of Earth’s materials
Here’s What to Do
- Read or tell your child the story of the Three Little Pigs.
- Head outside to a park, backyard, or other green space. Bring a small figurine or doll to act as the “pig.”
- Collect 3 different types of outdoor materials. If you can, collect something not very strong (like leaves, flowers, grass, straw), medium strong (like twigs or bark), and very strong (like rocks).
- Have your child build a little house out of each material. Place your figurine inside the house and conduct the ‘wolf test’ by blowing as hard as you can. Which material made the best house? Why?
Put PEER Into Action
PAUSE
- Let’s tell the 3 Little Pigs story before we start our activity.
ENGAGE
- “Let’s find 3 different nature building materials to build a tiny house for your toy. What kinds of different materials do you think we should use?
- “Let’s use these leaves to build our first house. How do you think we should do it?”
ENCOURAGE
- “Let’s see, we have sticks and flowers, do you think we can find a third material that would make a really strong house?”
- “Just like the little pig who made their house out of straw, this house blew right over! Let’s try again, are any of the other ones stronger?”
REFLECT
- Which was the best building material? Why? If something wasn’t a good building material, what are some other ways it might be useful to animals or people? Why?
Not Quite Ready
Pick one material you think will be easy for your child to build with, like rocks, and just build with that material.
Ready for More
Can your child build a bird nest out of outside materials? What materials are good for bird nests but less good for houses?
As Your Child Masters This Skill
They will understand properties of different Earth materials
Time to Complete
30 minutes
Materials Needed
Outdoor building materials (leaves, flowers, grass, twigs, rocks)