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Winter is here, and for many of us, that often means lots of time indoors. If you have kids like mine, being inside often leads to boredom, which leads them to “experimenting” with things around the house. Why kids never play with their actual toys is one of life’s biggest mysteries.
You can harness that natural curiosity and spark the little scientist in your kid with some everyday items.
Here are five simple ways to get started:
1. Will it float?
If your child was/is the type who loved to throw things in the toilet to see what would happen, here is a more productive project that won’t leave you with a flooded bathroom.
What you will need:
1. Bowl or container filled with water
2. Small toys, cups, rocks and any other objects you find around the house
How to:
Have your preschooler pick an object, a toy car, for example, and ask her if she thinks the object will sink or float. Then, have her drop it in the water.
Does it float? Does it sink? Why does this happen?
Bonus activity:
Build a raft to help an object stay afloat.
2. Fun with magnets
Magnets are super fascinating and readily available. Obviously, be careful with using small objects around very young kids.
What you will need:
1. Magnets
2. Metal objects such as keys, coins and nails.
How to:
Divide up the objects and ask your child what he thinks will happen when a magnet is nearby.
Why do certain metal objects stick and others do not?
3. Baking soda reactions
This is a personal favorite of mine. While it can get a little messy, baking soda is a great cleaner; win-win!
What you will need:
1. Several small containers (one for each liquid tested.
2. A variety of liquid, such as vinegar, juice, milk and water
3. Baking soda
How to:
Place a small amount of baking soda in each container. One by one, select a liquid to pour into each container.
Make predictions about what might happen. Did your child guess right? Why do some liquids react differently.
4. Make your own slime
I know the idea of making slime isn’t appealing to lots of parents. It’s sticky, messy and can be a pain to clean. But, every once in a while, it is a cool thing to make, and kids love it.
What you will need:
1. Glue (We used glitter glue)
2. Corn starch
3. Bowl
4. Spoon or popsicle stick for mixing.
How to:
Poor as much glue as you like into your bowl.
Slowly add cornstarch until it reaches desired consistency.
5. Cooking
Cooking is the ultimate science experiment. Seeing how eat changes the consistency of food, measuring and mixing, and much more, are all big science lessons for little kids.
What you will need:
Ingredients and recipe for anything you want to make! I find scrambled eggs to be one of the easiest for my four-year-old to make. Your kids might also love rolling out cookie dough, or blending up vegetables for a soup.
How to:
You best know what cooking utensils you feel are safest for your child. I allow mine to use a knife with supervision and to mix things on our stove top.
Our world is full of things for our kids to discover. How do you add science to your day?
