
๐ Sink or Float?
Guess first, then drop it in. Two piles at the end.
๐ Learnยท20 minยทFreeยทAges 2โ5ยท๐ถ Easyยท๐ง Hands on ยท 3 min prep
โ ๏ธ Safety first
Stay in the room. A few centimetres of water only, never leave water unattended, and use items too big to swallow.
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
- โPredicting
- โSorting
๐ฑ Montessori-inspired ยท Early Math
What you need
Bowl of water ยท 5 household objects ยท Towel
How to do it
- 1.Line up five objects beside a bowl of water.
- 2.Guess each one before it goes in.
- 3.Sort them into two piles: sank, floated.
How it actually goes
- โฑ 30-second set-up โ
- Thirty seconds: put bowl of water, 5 household objects, towel on a tray or a clear bit of floor, and sit down next to it before you call them over.
- ๐ง What you do โ
- Show it once, slowly, without talking over yourself. Then hand it over and stop helping unless they ask.
- ๐ถ What they do โ
- Line things up, count out loud, and notice what's the same.
- โ What success looks like โ
- At 2โ3 they'll do it their own way, not yours, and stop after five minutes. Both of those are fine.
- ๐งบ How to put it away โ
- 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 โ
- Older? Count it, then ask how many there'd be with one more.