A fantastic way to explore hands on math with the kids this summer! Turn a watermelon into a geoboard for math, science, and fine motor development fun.
“Mom, let’s get some watermelons! To eat, but you know what else we should do? Make one of those math things AND see if we can make one explode with rubber bands!” (Said very loudly, with gleeful enthusiasm.)
“Bud, that sounds like a fantastic idea! Let’s do it!” (Said at a much more sedate volume, but with just as much enthusiasm.)
Oh, the conversations my son and I have in the grocery store sometimes. If nothing else, I know we provide endless entertainment to our fellow shoppers (I know I heard some snickers after my son’s exclamations.)
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Hands On Math Fun with a Watermelon Geoboard
We have a fondness for “those math things” (aka geoboards) around here, be they the more traditional square boards or unique three-dimensional versions. So this watermelon geoboard wasn’t too far of a jump for us!
Supplies We Used
Well, our supply list was pretty short. We grabbed the basics needed for a traditional geoboard, along with a couple of watermelons. I love that an activity with just three “ingredients” can pack such a punch when it comes to playful learning.
- Rubber bands
- Golf tees
- Watermelon
What the Kids Did
We settled outside with our materials and dug in. First, the kiddos added golf tees to the watermelon. We had a hammer on-hand, just in case, but didn’t end up using it here. The tees were rather easy to push into the watermelon we chose.
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Once most of the watermelon was covered in golf tees, we broke out the rubber bands. We made a variety of shapes, and we tested out creating letters on the geoboard too. There were also a few experiments to see how how we could make some of the rubber bands stretch.
Yes, the watermelon ended up pretty covered with rubber bands by the end of it. We didn’t remove the rubber bands between each shape, pattern, and letter. So it got a bit crowded, but we didn’t mind.
One of the kids went back after a while and added as many golf tees as possible to the watermelon. He seemed to enjoy the sensory aspect of pushing the tees through the watermelon rind. He also enjoyed testing how many tees he could fit in one area before the watermelon cracked.
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Learning with a Watermelon Geoboard
As I mentioned previously, this activity has the ability to touch on a variety of early learning concepts, including hands on math exploration. Here are just a few of the concepts you can delve into with a watermelon geoboard:
- Shapes
- Counting
- Letters
- Fine motor skills
- Sensory exploration (particularly touch and sight)
- Scientific experimentation and observation
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Have you ever made your own geoboard with the kids, at school or at home? If so, I’d love to see photos of them over on Fun-A-Day’s Facebook page!
Oh, and in case you were wondering, YES we did manage to make a watermelon explode using rubber bands. Check out our video here:
Preschool Watermelon Lesson Plans
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
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Get your plans here > > > Preschool Classroom | Home Preschool | Teachers Pay Teachers
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