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Water being poured between two ceramic jugs

๐Ÿ› Sink or Float?

Guess first, then drop it in. Two piles at the end.

๐Ÿ“š Learnยท20 minยทFreeยทAges 2โ€“5ยท๐Ÿ‘ถ Easyยท๐Ÿง‘ Hands on ยท 3 min prep

โš ๏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

  • โœ“Predicting
  • โœ“Sorting

๐ŸŒฑ Montessori-inspired ยท Early Math

What you need

Bowl of water ยท 5 household objects ยท Towel

How to do it

  1. 1.Line up five objects beside a bowl of water.
  2. 2.Guess each one before it goes in.
  3. 3.Sort them into two piles: sank, floated.

How it actually goes

โฑ 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.
๐Ÿง‘ What you do โ€”
Show it once, slowly, without talking over yourself. Then hand it over and stop helping unless they ask.
๐Ÿ‘ถ What they do โ€”
Line things up, count out loud, and notice what's the same.
โœ… What success looks like โ€”
At 2โ€“3 they'll do it their own way, not yours, and stop after five minutes. Both of those are fine.
๐Ÿงบ 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.
๐Ÿ“ˆ When they outgrow it โ€”
Older? Count it, then ask how many there'd be with one more.