Water play is one of the most exciting forms of play for young children.
A lot of learning can happen while in the bath tub without any formal
lessons being taught. The bathtub is a great place to explore math
and science concepts. Why not make your child's bath time an ongoing
science experiment? When they experiment, they can learn about different
properties and volumes of objects. They also understand more about
water and how it moves.
MEASUREMENTS
Let your child experiment with water by pouring and measuring. Provide
different sized measuring cups, measuring spoons, funnels, plastic
bottles, pitchers, an eye dropper, and a turkey baster. Let your
child try to predict if pouring water from one container to the
next will fill it exactly, overflow it, or not be enough. Count
how many tablespoonfuls it takes to fill a measuring cup. Predict
how many tablespoonfuls it will take to fill other similar sized
objects. Look for any patterns. Try to always refer to the measuring
cups and spoons by their correct measurement name, i.e. ¼
cup or tablespoon.
SINK OR FLOAT?
Gather some everyday objects that can be put into the tub, such
as a sponge, a large plastic toy, a small plastic toy, a swimming
shoe, a bottle of lotion, a block, a quarter, a paper clip, a cotton
ball, a Styrofoam plate, a spoon, and a rock. Try to find different
sized and weighted objects. Ask your child if she thinks each individual
object will sink or float. Have your child explain why she thinks
this will be the case. Let her drop the object into the tub. Did
her prediction come true? Let your child tell you possible reasons
why. Typically, children believe that large objects sink and small
objects float. Try another object. Discuss her findings and conclusions.
COLOR
Fill each egg hole of a white Styrofoam egg carton 3/4 full of water.
Add red food coloring to one section, blue to another section, and
yellow to another section. Give your child an eye dropper. Show
her how to use the eye dropper to move the colored water to the
clear water sections. Notice how the color changes. Let her experiment.
Have her mix colors. Can she make green or orange?
Make colored ice cubes by adding a drop of food coloring to the
water before freezing. Toss them into the bath tub and watch them
melt. Why do they melt? What happens to the color? Mix colors.
You can also play with color by squirting shaving cream into a muffin
tin and then adding a drop or two of food coloring to each squirt.
Mix the colors with your finger to blend. Let your child "body
paint" with the shaving cream. Be careful to keep it away from
your child's eyes.
AIR PRESSURE "MAGIC"
Young children love this "magic" trick! Have your child
crumple a piece of paper and push it to the bottom of the plastic
cup. Next, have her turn the glass upside-down. Make sure that the
paper remains stuck up in the cup. Have her keep the cup perfectly
straight up and down (vertical position) and push it through the
water until it touches the bottom of the tub. If she's kept it perfectly
straight, the air trapped inside the glass will prevent the tissue
from getting wet. Wow!
BUBBLES
The day before your bath experiment time, mix together water, dish
soap and glycerin. I've heard that sugar will work as well as glycerin
but have never tried it. Leave it alone until bath time. The longer
bubble juice sits the better the bubbles will last. Pour the bubble
juice into a loaf pan and give your child different objects to try
to blow bubbles through, i.e. slotted spoon, water bottle sport
cap, a straw, a small funnel, cookie cutter. Experiment with different
objects and see which work better and discuss why this may be so.
What happens to the bubbles when they land on something dry? What
about on something wet? Can you catch the bubbles? Can you stack
the bubbles?
Have fun and learn without your child even noticing it!
