Christmas STEM: Design a Sleigh for Santa!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of my links, 
I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

I've shared before about how I love doing STEM in the classroom. I love how engaging it is, that it is hands-on 
for kids, and how they have to exercise their problem-solving skills and creativity. 

I really like it when I can connect a STEM activity to something we read. 
Anytime a lesson crosses different subjects, it gives kids a more complete, well-rounded educational experience. 

I came across a gem of a Christmas book recently, called The 12 Sleighs of Christmas. 
It's not a well-known read aloud, to my knowledge; none of my teacher friends have heard of it, anyway. 
It tells a cute story, in rollicking, rhyming text, about how Santa's sleigh needed repairs, so the elves took to 
building him all kinds of fancy new sleighs.

At the conclusion of the story, I had my students work in pairs and design their own sleighs for Santa. 
I had them work with a partner because it provides invaluable opportunities for social emotional growth having 
to share and advocate for your own ideas, listen to the ideas of others, and to learn how to blend your ideas 
together for a result both parties are pleased with. For some of my students, this was the most valuable part of
the lesson. I had a few students who only wanted to work alone because learning to collaborate is difficult!

I had them sketch their designs first (find the freebie here in my store!) and think about what supplies they would 
need. The only parameters I gave them for their designs was to use no more than about a foot of tape, which I tore 
off and gave to each group. (I've discovered in my STEM adventures that access to too much tape solves too many 
problems too easily and hinders creativity).

I just gave them cheap and recyclable materials, with the exception of these wheels, which are perfect to have on 
hand for these types of activities. 

As usual, I was blown away by the work of my kiddos! The way they brought their ideas to life was amazing--and adorable.

This student went with a car design

This was a canoe, and the little balls of foil and tape inside were bags of toys.

I loved the Santa and reindeer this team added to their sleigh

This group included a magnet so they could pull the sleigh. Genius!

I could not get over how adorable this was, with the Santa made of red craft sticks and the plastic-spoon reindeer harnessed to the front!

This group included spoons to serve as a combination of runners and a snowplow!

This has been one of my favorite activities of the year, by far, and it was a favorite with the kids, too. 
I look forward to continuing this tradition every year. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 
Don't forget to snag your free planning and response sheets here!

Happy Teaching!