Dum Dum Lollipop Activity

I am so excited to share a fun project with you that I've had the honor of doing with my students a few weeks ago.  I partnered up with the company that makes Dum Dum suckers (did you know they're made in Ohio?  I had no clue!) to bring you The Magic of Spring.  They sent me a box of Dum Dums suckers and some "magic jelly beans" and asked me to use them with my class in some way.  I saw a picture or two from friends that did something like this with their toddlers, so I was thinking how in the world could I do this activity with first graders that would keep them engaged, be educational, and teach them something?

Since Dum Dums and jelly beans are edible and made of sugar, I went with it.  We created an edible treat that involved multi-step directions, predictions, and a little experiment.

Supplies for each student:

1. Ice cream cone
2. Cocoa crispies
3. Sugar packet
4. Popsicle stick
5. Jelly bean

I typed up a quick little packet for the students to fill out.  The first thing they did was write out the list of ingredients.  I passed them out one by one so the students could observe them, write them down, and put them together.

I used ice cream cones with flat bottoms so they could stand up.  These were their "pots".  I gave them each a small cup of cereal and they poured that in as the "soil".

Then the dropped in a "seed" (jelly bean).

Next, they wrote their name on a popsicle stick using a Sharpie so that we could identify each child's cone.

Then they sprinkled on some "water" (sugar).

Finally, they wrote out their steps of what they did.  Then they drew a picture of what it looks like and what they thought it would look like when it grew.  They wrote a prediction of what they thought would grow.  The fun part was that NOBODY predicted that a sucker would grow from a jelly bean!

We put them in paper cups so that they wouldn't fall over and spill.  I took them home over the weekend because I was afraid the ants might find them!

I used my Silhouette machine to cut out some paper flowers to stick the Dum Dums through.  I just used some cute printed scrapbook paper.  When they walked in on Monday morning, they were SO surprised!  We talked about if their predictions were correct and why a sucker could grow from a jelly bean.

SO MUCH FUN!  It just goes to show that you can use just about anything and make a great project from it.  This was a cute spring activity, but it could also be a cute Mother's Day gift!  So if you need a last minute idea for tomorrow, go grab some suckers and jelly beans!  :)