Candy and classrooms might not seem to mix well. After all, shouldn’t school be a place where kids come to focus, learn, and grow into healthy people? Most teachers probably agree that a sugar crash would only get in the way!
But with a little creativity, candy can actually be used to help students learn. One of the most important motivating factors in education is a sense of fun, and for most kids, it’s pretty easy to get excited about learning when sweets are involved. What makes the difference is how the candy is used.
That’s why we’ve put together this list of creative ways to use candy in the classroom. These activities range from the arts to math and science, and engage students in all kinds of practical, academic, and social skills. When done right, they can help kids’ minds grow while injecting a sweet dose of fun into the school day!
Five Creative Ways to Use Candy in the Classroom
1. Games
Games have long been a great educational tool. Not only do they allow students to sharpen skills and exercise their memory, but they also help students practice fundamental social skills like turn-taking and sportsmanship.
Though educational games exist for every subject and every grade level, many are especially appropriate for lower grade math. Using candy-based math games can be a great, fun way to help students practice everything from arithmetic and multiplication to estimation and more.
Here are just a few ideas for candy-based math games to try in your elementary school classroom:
- Comparing quantities with candy corn: Using symbols to compare quantities is a fundamental math skill for elementary schoolers. For a fun Halloween-time activity, let students fill in the “greater than” or “less than” symbol with candy corn!
- Guess how many: Guessing the number of candy pieces in a jar is a tried-and-true way to help students use visual and spatial reasoning to estimate quantities.
- Candy mancala: If you’ve never used mancala in your classroom, it’s well worth a try! This ancient African game is full of practical lessons in counting and strategic thinking. To put a sweet twist on it, use candy as game pieces! Since the pieces are touched often by both players, it’s best to use candy that comes individually wrapped, such as Starburst or Hershey’s Kisses.
2. Arts and Crafts
Here’s another great way to use candy with the younger ones. It’s important for young kids to exercise their creativity in classrooms by creating art projects with a range of materials. What better material to use than candy? Just make sure to be very clear with your instructions – for example, remind kids not to eat up all their supplies!
When using candy in arts and crafts projects for school, decide whether you will allow students to eat a designated amount of candy (or take some home) and separate it from the materials the students will need for their activity.
Here are a few fun ways to use candy in your next art lesson:
- Candy mosaics: From Starburst to Jellybeans to M&Ms and more, there’s no end to the types of candy that can be used to make colorful mosaic creations in your classroom.
- Candy sculptures: Soft, chewy candies can also be used to make sculptures!
- Painting with candy: Did you know many popular candies, like Nerds, can be soaked in water to create “paint”?
3. Science lessons
If you’re having a hard time engaging students in science, they’re in for a treat (pun intended). The art of confections is all about chemistry! Using candy in the classroom can be a great way to teach students about the science of crystals (sugar), heat and temperature, the differences between solids and liquids, and so much more. In fact, one of the most fun and interesting ways to experiment with candy is to make rock candy in your classroom.
But there are tons of other options, so if you’re looking for something a little easier, you’re bound to find something. One education blogger found a way to teach engineering skills using jelly beans and toothpicks. The sky’s the limit!
4. Sensory play
Sensory play is important for young children in the lower grades. Manipulating different types of materials helps students practice fine motor skills while getting exposure to different textures and shapes.
You can inject this type of activity with extra creativity and fun by allowing students to make their own edible slime. There are tons of recipes online – some use cornstarch and condensed milk, but others use popular candy like Laffy Taffy and Starburst.
Bonus: This is also a great opportunity to teach students about handwashing and food safety!
5. Cultural and social studies
School is the first place where many of us learn important lessons about the world around us. Before we’re able to travel the globe, we learn about geography and world history in our classrooms. Unfortunately, many students have a hard time engaging in these types of lessons. What better way to make it fun than with candy?
Yep, candy can even be used for cultural studies in your classroom. If your students are doing a research project on a particular part of the world, include an extra credit portion where they research the culture’s favorite candy. At the end of the unit, have a party where the different candies are served!
For geography, students can use candy to help them memorize states or countries on a map. They can cover each state or country with a small piece of candy – think Hershey’s kisses, M&Ms, etc. – and for each correctly labeled section of the map, they get to eat the candy in its place.
These are just a few of the endless possibilities for using candy in your classroom. If you or your students are feeling especially creative, you can even invent your own activities! Many existing games and activities can be adapted to include candy as playing pieces, prizes, materials and more. Remember, as long as you’re clear with instructions, candy can absolutely be a fun and responsible way to inject some fun into learning activities for all subjects!
