Teaching STEM Using Yeti in My Spaghetti
Yeti in My Spaghetti , a popular preschool game which is super affordable by the way, is a great way to teach your child(ren) STEM principles. Physics, math, logic, engineering…it’s all there. Let’s look at how we can use Yeti in My Spaghetti as a STEM lesson.
How to Play Yeti in My Spaghetti
Yeti in My Spaghetti is a super simple game that requires no reading or prior math skills. To set the game up you place the plastic noodles over the bowl and set the Yeti on top. Players take turns removing noodles until the Yeti falls into the bowl. If you happen to make the Yeti fall into the bowl on your turn, you’re the loser. You can also play cooperatively, which is usually how we do it because we don’t like to focus on competition at the preschool stage.
Yeti in My Spaghetti
Yeti Set GoPlush Yeti
PRO TIP: The game suggested 3-8 players but 2-4 is far more reasonable. The game also states that it’s for ages 6+ but I see no reason why it can’t be played from ages 3+.
Tips for Playing Yeti in My Spaghetti
Yeti in My Spaghetti comes with an annoyingly shallow bowl, which really just doesn’t work well for the game. We use a larger metal mixing bowl (the bowl from my Kitchenaid mixer, actually) and the kids love the tinkle of the Yeti falling onto the metal. Plus, it makes the game a lot easier to play.
PRO TIP: If you store games in their original boxes you may want to use plastic tape to cover the Yeti-sized hole in the box because the noodles WILL fall out and you WILL find them all over your house and it WILL drive you batty.
Teaching STEM with Yeti in My Spaghetti
Physics – Does the Yeti fall faster or slower than another object? Experiment with objects such as feathers, bouncy balls, & ice. For more ideas regarding the physics of falling check out this article by Wired.
Technology/Engineering – We’ve all done the building a bridge with straws and popsicle sticks activity, Yeti works on the same engineering principle. Can your child build a bridge strong enough to hold the Yeti? What if you replace the plastic noodles with straws? How about chopsticks? What happens if you heat the noodles in warm water or ice water first? You can get even more ideas about building straw bridges in this article by Sciencing (a realllllly cool site with tons of STEM education ideas!)
Math – Count how many noodles are pulled out before the Yeti falls and graph the results over many games. Calculate the mean, median, and mode of the answers. Estimate how many noodles there are in the game before you play (and after you invariably “misplace” the noodles after the fall out of the Yeti-sized hole in the game.) You can learn more about calculating mean, mode, and median at this link by Purple Math.
These are just a few of the lessons your child can learn with Yeti in My Spaghetti. Can you think of any more? Leave a comment below or join our Gameschooling group to share your ideas and learn more!
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