Looking for a last-minute kids’ Christmas gift? Stimulate your children’s cognitive abilities with this perfect building kit. In this post, we’ll show you some ideas to make from Straws and Connectors!
The Straws and Connectors come in 4 intriguing packages:
• R60901 Straws and Connectors™ Creative Building Set (390 Straws, 315 Connectors)
• R60990 Straws and Connectors™ Structure Pack (100 Straws, 84 Connectors, 1 Big Blue Veil)
• R6085 Straws and Connectors® (230/pkg)
• R6090 Straws and Connectors® (705/pkg)
You can even order replacement straws (R6084 Replacement Straws) to replenish your classroom supply!
Straws and Connectors come in a brilliant array of colors, so you can use them for sorting projects! Ask children to sort by color and by type–such as separating Straws from Connectors.
You can even introduce angles with the Straws and Connectors! Even though it seems like a tough subject to teach, using actual concrete objects helps to reinforce certain concepts in children’s minds, especially if they can manipulate the object into different possibilities. Attach one of the Straws to a Connector and describe the Connector as the vertex of an angle. Attach another Straw to the opposite side of the Connector to make a 180 degree angle.
Next, align two Straws with the Connector at a 90 degree angle. Once you have made a 90 degree angle, demonstrate how to make a 45 degree angle by placing another Straw directly in the middle of the L.
These concepts will help children grasp how to make simple shapes with combinations of Straws and Connectors. Make squares, rectangles and triangles! You can even make circular objects!
Here, our Art Campers worked together to make their very own sculpture with bends and curves!
In another group, the Art Campers constructed a rectangular structure from the Straws and Connectors. They used dried painted Color Diffusing Paper that they had made previously with pipettes and watercolor paint to decorate the interior and exterior of the sculpture.
They consulted with each other how they would cover their sculpture with the Color Diffusing art and worked out a system of ‘waving’ the art through the Straws.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow04SYfL5_E]
Watch the video above to see just why YOU need a box of these versatile construction materials!
Thanks for sticking around! We love to hear your feedback. If you’ve ever used Straws and Connectors and have photos of your structures, send us your pictures to get published in an upcoming post. Send to subscriber@roylco.ca!
