STEM & Gross Motor Jumping Over Fire

Chaharshanbe Suri is the Persian Festival of Fire. The Festival of Fire takes place the week of Nowruz, typically on a Tuesday or Wednesday. One may see bonfires sprouting up in various public areas, in alleys, in front of homes and sometimes parks.This is symbolic of burning all that was bad, pain, unhappiness, sickness, worry and looking forward to a new beginning. People jump over the burning cinders to bring good health, light, and purity.

This is not only STEM invitation but a gross motor activity as well. You can read books about Nowruz that talk about the tradition of Chaharshanbe Sure or show videos or images before building the 'fire', followed by jumping over it.

You will need blocks, sticks, natural blocks, and red/orange/yellow tissue paper. Invite the child to build a fire first with the blocks/sticks. Followed by creating fire with tissue paper. Place the tissue paper in the middle fo the block structure.

Next is the gross motor part! Jumping over the fire. Gross motor skills are those used to move your arms, legs, and torso in a functional manner. Gross motor skills involve the large muscles of the body that enable such functions such as jumping. Since jumping requires a lot of strength and power, this is a perfect invitation for a child to build those gross motor skills.