๐ Discover๐ฑ Montessori-inspired๐ฌ STEM
๐ Bath Pouring Lab
Three cups in the bath and one question: which holds the most?
Ages
1โ4
Duration
20 min
Cost
Free
๐ถ Kid challenge
Easy
๐ง Parent energy
Light ยท no prep
โ ๏ธ Safety first
Stay within arm's reach the whole time. Never leave a child alone near water, even a few centimetres.
You know your child best โ supervise the whole time and skip anything that isn't right for them. See our Terms.
Why this is good for your child
- โPouring
- โVolume
๐ฑ Montessori-inspired ยท Sensorial
What you need
Cups of different sizesA funnel
How to do it
- 1Put three different-sized cups in the bath.
- 2Ask which holds the most.
- 3Fill and pour to find out.
How it actually goes
The honest version โ including what "going well" looks like at this age.
- โฑ 30-second set-up
- Thirty seconds: put cups of different sizes, a funnel on a tray or a clear bit of floor, and sit down next to it before you call them over.
- ๐ง What you do
- Show it once, slowly, without talking over yourself. Then hand it over and stop helping unless they ask.
- ๐ถ What they do
- Touch, shake, sort and compare until it makes sense to them.
- โ What success looks like
- At 1โ2 they'll tip it out and put nothing back. That's the work โ emptying comes long before filling.
- ๐งบ How to put it away
- Everything back into one basket or tray, carried back to its spot by them. Naming the spot out loud is what makes it stick.
- ๐ When they outgrow it
- Older? Add a blindfold or a guessing round โ same thing, harder.