Math & 123s
Science
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Super simple candy counting sink or float science experiment to learn counting and have some laughs! How many will it take to sink the boat?
Ashley is a stay at home mom. She considers herself a “plain jane first time mom.” A mom who didn’t really have any idea what her kids really needed aside from the basics.
She tried going back to work and having her son in daycare after the first year at home with him.
That wasn’t the right fit. So back home with her one year old she went.
“I was overwhelmed knowing that he had been in day care and then me taking over as a new mom, a new stay at home mom. This is all new to me. I had no idea what I was doing.”
She wanted so much to learn how to teach her son at home. And encourage his development but really didn’t know where to start.
Ashley was scrambling for ways to keep his interest and nurture his love of learning.
Her friends suggested Pinterest. “Everyone’s like, just Pinterest. Everyone. That’s everybody’s answer. Just Pinterest. Well, that is a rabbit hole that I don’t want to go down.”
Beginning the Journey in The Activity Room
Ashley discovered The Activity Room through seeing a blip of a post on a friends Facebook profile. She saw the simple activity he was doing with his kids and thought, “I could do that.”
Her simple science experiment using candy and counting below is an activity just as simple that YOU can do too!
She looked into it a discovered our FREE 7-Day Activity Challenge.
“You mean someone’s going to give me a list of supplies that I need and activities to do and I just have to put it together. I can do that.”
She joined up right away and entered the ROOM Members Only Facebook Group.
“I was really happy when I found The Activity Room and a little intimidated. Everybody seemed really good at it. And I’m not crafty. I’m the least crafty person on the planet. So that was a little nerve wracking. But, yeah, I wasn’t good at doing anything.”
At first Ashley was nervous. She didn’t have a lot of craft supplies and no experience. And wondered how she was going to do it.
How simple the activities were and how easily she could find the supplies surprised her!
“The first couple of activities that I did were toothpicks in an Apple with Cheerios. And then it was the cans with elastics. I didn’t have elastics, so I used hair bands.
And I was like, OK, I can do this. Like, this isn’t so scary. It’s not. You know, these are supplies that I have.“
Ashley’s favorite part about her membership is the ease of the activities. The monthly plans and supply lists along with substitutions is all bonus.
Ashley shares a super simple candy counting sink or float science experiment at the end that contains that same ease.
Here is a little more about a simple activity that yielded so much for them over the years:
“One of my son’s favorite things to do was the muffin tin with pompoms. This Kid loved pompoms. Not sure why, but I bought pompoms and I would put them in like a breadcrumb container with the plastic lid on top. He would dump them out. He would sort them by color in the muffin tin. Then he would sort them by number like one pom pom, two pom poms, three. And he would sit there and be happy.
I would make something so simple. And that was, what? Two dollars in pompoms from the dollar store and a recycled breadcrumb container? Easy! Like that. Here’s what you have. And we can talk through the numbers or whatever. And I know he’s learning to count.
Or like right now we can do that with math. So these things can grow with him. As I adapt and having been a member for a couple of years now, my brain just goes like, how can I take this to the next level and use this for something else?”
Another super fun activity that has turned into a math practice for Ashley is the easy candy counting science experiment she shares with us below. This was inspired with our Sink or Float Science Experiment she did with her son when he was a toddler!
Community within The Activity Room
Ashley shares with us how much the community within the group has meant to her. She says it is her absolute favorite group on Facebook. Because there is no judgement or criticism. She tells us she loves all the ideas and support from the other moms and dads on there.
Ashley loves that she can share both wins and fails. That she can go there for ideas on how to twist an activity to work for her son’s personality and supplies she has on hand.
“I feel like I have friends as part of it. Sounds silly. But friends being part of The Activity Room, knowing that I can post an activity fail without judgment. And I can ask a question. And no one’s going to say, ‘You’re 4 1/2, almost five year old doesn’t know how to use scissors? Like that’s silly.’ There’s no judgment.”
What It’s Like Now Doing Activities Together
Ashley’s membership to The Activity Room was started on a trial basis. She figured if it didn’t work for her she just wouldn’t renew it next year. She tells us she has never wanted to cancel. Never. This is why.
“I feel successful. I feel prepared. And I know that I am the envy of a lot of other moms on my personal Facebook page. I feel like my son can look back and we can have these special memories of doing these super simple things. Where it’s just him and I.
He’ll ask, mommy, can we do an activity now? And I might not be prepared. But I know like there’s something in the back of my head that I can come up with. Even if I haven’t looked at today’s activity. I feel comfortable that. We can figure something out together. So I’m much more confident in my activity preparedness.”
Ashley’s son is almost 5 now and his preschool was closed due to the pandemic. Ashley believes she can continue getting him prepared for Kindergarten. Because she has these activities at her fingertips
With all the lessons learned through doing activities with her son, one thing stands out big time.
“Don’t stress, and don’t be afraid of the mess. Everything can be cleaned up. Let them figure it out. I know it’s really, really hard to be hands off. It’s really, really hard. But you have to let them do it their own way, and that’s how they’re going to be proud. And I think that’s my biggest takeaway, is just letting them do it.”
Let’s Meet Ashley
How many kids do you have and how old are they?
One boy, 4 years and 10 months!
Why do you love doing activities with your kids?
I love doing activities because I feel like he’s learning and were spending quality time together.
How long have you been in The Activity Room?
I joined the activity room three years ago. I think.
What is your favorite activity you’ve done in The Activity Room?
We have loved the sensory bins, anything with painters tape and pom poms in the muffin tin.
Don’t forget to check out the super simple candy count science experiment activity she shares with us at the end!
What’s your favorite thing to do with your kids when you get a few moments?
have a quick and easy activity ready to do together.
What’s your best tip for doing activities with your kids?
This was hard for me, but let them do it their way. perfect is in the inperfections.
If you were to tell a friend about The Activity Room, what would you say to them?
The Activity Room has been an invaluable resource to me to keep my son engaged and keep us active together.
Share your favorite quote
“It’s not so much what we have in this life that matters. It’s what we do with what we have.” Fred Rogers
Candy Count Sink or Float Science Experiment – Sweet and Easy:
My son loves to see things sink or float.
For Valentines Day I wanted to get candy hearts and fill a small plastic Tupperware or heart shaped plastic bowl with candy. Then put them in a bowl of water and fill it to see how many it takes to sink or how many to keep it floating.
For the Candy Counting Science Experiment You’ll Need:
- Large container to hold water
- Small containers (or boats) that will float and can hold candy
- Variety of sizes of candy
Get Counting with Your Candy Science Experiment
First off fill a large container with water about half way up.
You want enough water that the smaller containers don’t touch the bottom when full of candy.
If they can touch the bottom then the boat won’t tip over and the experiment won’t work.
Next pick a small container or boat to use with your first candy selection.
The key in this experiment is weight and mass. As the boat gets heavier as well as has less room for air you will eventually sink your boats!
That’s the funny part!
And a good excuse to pop some wet candy in your mouth before it dissolves!
(Or switch the activity to see how long it takes to dissolve or if it does.)
Once you have picked your boat and candy start filling the boat with one candy at a time.
This is the counting part of the candy science experiment.
How many candy’s will it take to sink the boat.
Make a guess ahead and see who was right.
Keep track of your findings with each candy just like a real science experiment!
Try different types of candy and different sizes.
Note how smaller candies take more to sink the boat than bigger candy.
Adapting this Candy Science Experiment
Older kids can work on counting candy by 5s or 10s with their science experiment.
First count them into smaller containers or little paper cups and pour them in one group at a time while counting till it sinks.
And there you have it!
A super simple counting candy science experiment.
You can adapt this easily to count things that are not candy too!
- Paperclips
- Erasers
- Magnets
- Lego blocks
- Beads
- Pom poms
- Dried beans
- Toy cars
- Rocks
We just love activities that have lots of room to grow and adapt to any child’s age, skill and interests!
We have loved the Activity Room, I feel supported when I win or fail and its a judgement free zone. I love seeing other moms share their activities and spins to get ideas. The activities are easy to do and set up so and planned for you so you don’t even have to go down the rabbit hole looking for some crazy activity. I have learned that you don’t need to crazy things to make the moment and memory.
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