One of my absolute favorite childhood memories was making s'mores around a campfire during the summer months. This is a tradition my family and I do every summer now, and I love seeing them enjoy it as much as I did growing up. I mean, what's not to love about a s'more? Today I am sharing with you a fun spin on traditional s'mores making - solar oven s'mores!!
My Pre-K Box: The best educational subscription box for preschoolers
My Pre-K Box is an educational subscription box for preschoolers filled with different learning activities for math and literacy skills! Each box is based on a different theme and is focused on play-based learning. Your kids will love exploring new activities each month while practicing kindergarten readiness skills!
Solar Oven S'Mores
Do your kids love to play outside during the summer? My boys do! So much so that sometimes bringing them inside for activities can be challenging. But guess what, that is A-okay with me because there are SO many fun, engaging learning experiences that can be done outside! Just like this activity that I'm sharing with you all today - solar oven s'mores. I am certain this experiment will easily become a favorite for your children too!
Materials for the Solar Oven S'Mores:
- empty pizza box
- craft knife or scissors
- aluminum foil
- graham crackers
- marshmallows
- chocolate bars
- plastic wrap
- tape
- stick or wooden dowel
|
Before we get started... Here is a welcome gift! The Solar Oven S'mores is perfect for camping too and speaking of camping, we got these FREE camping-themed preschool worksheets just for you! Enjoy it while waiting for the Solar Oven S'mores to be ready! The Camping Preschool Fun Pack is filled with activities that will help prepare your kids for Kindergarten! Learn more about the Camping Preschool Fun Pack in this blog post, or download it now!
|
 |
How to Make Solar Oven S'Mores
Step 1 Use a craft knife (or scissors) to cut out a square that will serve as the "oven door" at the top of the pizza box. *cut down, over, and up but not across the top!
Step 2 Put aluminum foil on the inside of the box.
Step 3 Cover the inside of the "oven door" with foil.
Step 4 Place a graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate inside the solar oven on top of the foil! Yummy! 🤤
Step 5 Wrap the base of the oven, over top of the s'mores, with plastic wrap.
Step 6 Place your oven outside in direct sunlight. Use a stick or wooden dowel to hold the top open at an angle.
|
While waiting, you might want to... Check out this freebie! Yes, we got another gift for you! Get the Science Preschool Fun Pack to extend your science learning after this fun Solar Oven S'mores experiment. This collection of science worksheets is a great way to introduce science and STEM concepts to your little one. Read more about the Science Preschool Fun Pack here, and be sure to download a copy before you go!
|
 |
Step 7 Watch and you will start to see the chocolate melting and the marshmallows puffing up from the heat. The time it takes to cook will depend on the temperature outside.
Step 8 Open the top and unwrap the plastic wrap.
Step 9 Assemble your s'mores and ENJOY!!
Step 10 Discuss with your child the science behind the solar oven!
The Science Behind Solar Oven S'Mores
There are a variety of different STEM-based principles that you and your child can discuss either as you are enjoying your s'mores! We talked about how the sun is the heat source and other sources of heat that are used for cooking (oven, stove, fire, microwave, etc.) We also discussed the purpose of both the foil and plastic wrap. The foil helps to reflect the light from the sun and maximize the light coming into the oven. Then the plastic wrap traps the light particles, called photons, to generate heat. Lastly, we talked about how different weather conditions would affect the result, for example, if it was cloudy or cold.
For more STEM activities and experiments that you can try at home, check out these blog posts!
- Robot Stacking — An Easy STEM Activity for Preschoolers
- Preschool Science Experiment: Fizzy Dinosaur Eggs
- Skittles Rainbow-Science Experiment for Preschoolers
 |
 |
 |
Want a more convenient, no-prep learning kit to teach STEM and other Kindergarten skills?
I bet your preschooler enjoyed this Solar Oven S'mores STEM experiment! It was a really fun experiment, but as parents, we might not have all the time to prepare an activity like this one regularly due to our busy schedules. Good thing there is a more convenient way to have enjoyable and educational activities like this every month! How? By subscribing to My Pre-K Box!
My Pre-K Box offers the most fun play-based preschool learning available! Each box has its own unique theme and is filled with different learning activities to target math and literacy skills. Best of all, we provide all the materials and instructions you need RIGHT IN THE BOX. Totally NO PREP! We take all the searching, prepping, and stress out of planning preschool activities. Your kids will have fun exploring the new activities, and you will delight in the fact you are helping them with essential Kindergarten readiness skills! And you'll never have to worry about what activity to do next or spend hours looking for ideas online again!
Let's Connect
We absolutely LOVE seeing your preschoolers learning through play! Please take photos and videos of this delightful preschool science experiment and share your photos of your Solar Oven S'mores with us on Facebook and Instagram. Also, if you aren't already, be sure to FOLLOW and LIKE our social media pages for more fun activities to do at home with your little ones!
Haven't yet tried My Pre-K Box?
 |
My Pre-K Box is the best monthly subscription box for kids ages 3-5.
Everything you need to create, play, laugh, and learn!
|