DIY / STEM Paint Brush Solution!

The other day I was planning on doing some painting with my students but when I got to school and realized I'd forgotten my paint brushes at home! I quickly went into our school's STEM closet and found some toilet paper rolls and bubble wrap (rather than going to the Art room --- which would've made so much sense! haha!). I wasn't sure how or IF this idea would work exactly, but I decided to test it out anyway...

When my students saw what they were going to be painting with they began asking so many questions. It turned into an awesome STEM  discussion! I explained what my problem had been, I walked them through my solution process, I showed them my first (failed) design, and then we tested my final product! As they painted with our "paint brushes" they talked amongst themselves about how they would've solved the problem and what other supplies may have worked as a pint brush instead! I loved this impromptu lesson so much that I may have to "forget" my paint brushes again next year and have them design and build a painting tool!

(Here is our finished banner for our Laps for Liberty fundraiser! Students painted olympic rings, added motivational words, and determined their racing place using pop-up ordinal numbers!)