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Age: 7
This is a fun and yummy way to teach children the soil layers, rocks, land, and a little bit of earth layers.

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Age: 4-6
This is a simple but fun activity to teach children about the Milky Way Galaxy.

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EASY Swirling galaxy science project shows kids how spiral galaxies get their shape. This experiments is perfect for a solar system lesson.

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Age: 5-6
This activity can be flexible and simplified for Kindergartens, so that it can be a great hands-on activity to teach children the 5 layers of earth.

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This atmosphere for kids science activity is easy and fun and full of playful learning. Let's learn about the 5 layers of the earth's atmosphere with a little kitchen science experiment today! Kids of all ages can learn basic concepts...even preschoolers and Kindergarten age kids...with this activity traditionally used as a middle school project.

Let's learn about atmosphere!

This article contains affiliate links.
Atmosphere for Kids

Using things around the house, you can create a visual version of earth's atmosphere in a bottle to make it much simpler to understand and learn. This will be fun!

This science activity for kids is inspired by our friend, Emma, over at Science Sparks who wrote the book, This Is Rocket Science.

If you have a kiddo that is even remotely interested in science or outer space, you have to check out this new book. There are 70 easy experiments in the book that kids can complete at home.

This is one of the activities in the book!

5 Layers of the Earth's Atmosphere Activity for Kids

My favorite part about this activity book is that each activity comes with a lesson. The experiment I am about to show you is a visual representation of the 5 layers of the Earth's atmosphere.

The book explains how the layers work as barriers and explains what each layer does for our planet and how they help us survive.

Let's learn the layers of the atmosphere!

Supplies Needed for Earth's Atmosphere Activity

Directions for Atmosphere Activity for Kids

Step 1

In the order listed above, carefully pour the liquids into a jar. Try not to get the thicker liquids on the side of the jar and try to pour the thinner liquids slowly so that the layers stay separate.

Here are the 5 layers of the earth's atmosphere!

Step 2

Use the labels to title each layer of the "atmosphere" on your jar.

Starting from the top:

Why do the Layers of the Atmosphere Not Mix?

This Is Rocket Science explains that the liquids stay separated because each liquid has a different density and relates that concept back to the Earth's atmosphere.

Layers of the Earth's Atmosphere Video

What is the Earth's Atmosphere?

Earth's atmosphere is similar to a jacket for our planet. It surrounds our planet, keeps us warm, gives us oxygen to breathe, and it is where our weather happens. Earth's atmosphere has six layers: the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, the ionosphere and the exposure.

The extra layer that we didn't explore in this experiment is the exposure layer.

To explore these concepts further, I really like the scrolling explanation from the NASA site which allows kids to start with the world's tallest building and then use a mouse to scroll up, up, up into the different layers. You can find this cool learning tool here.

This is Rocket Science Book Information

This activity book is also great for kids to gain or retain knowledge over the summer break in a way that doesn't make them feel like they are learning!

You can purchase This Is Rocket Science on Amazon and at bookstores today!

More Science Fun from Kids Activities Blog

And if you are looking for more fun science books, don't miss Kids Activities Blog's own, The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments.

Did your kids love learning about the earth's atmosphere with this science activity?

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Easy Layers of the Earth's Atmosphere Activity for Kids

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This atmosphere for kids science activity is easy and fun and full of playful learning. Let's learn about the 5 layers of the earth's atmosphere with a little kitchen science experiment today! Kids of all ages can learn basic concepts...even preschoolers and Kindergarten age kids...with this activity traditionally used as a middle school project.

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Age: 4-6
Oreo Cookie Moon phases activity is a fun and yummy way to show and teach children phases of the moon.

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This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you). Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
Learn the different phases of the moon by using one of your child's favorite snacks - Oreo cookies! This Oreo cookie moon phases activity comes with a free printable worksheet for your kid to learn the names of the moon phases.
Any science activity that involves food is exciting for the kids. And for the moon phase activity, we are using one of kids' favorite food out there - Oreos! So

In this edible astronomy activity, you will recreate the different shapes of the Moon with yummy cookie sandwiches.

The best part? After you finish with the STEM activity, you get to eat it all!

Oreo Moon Phases Activity

Materials:

Instructions:

1. Separate 8 Oreo cookies by slowly twisting the top and bottom cookies. Set the cookies without frosting aside (or eat them!)

2. Use the knife or popsicle stick, carefully scrape off a portion of the frosting to recreate each moon phase.

3. Place the Oreo cookies on a paper plate the free moon phase worksheet in the correct order. I like to start off with the New Moon and go counterclockwise from there.

For younger kids, you may want to help draw a line in the frosting so they know exactly how much to scrape off. For older kids, they can form the moon phases from memory or by looking at the diagram at the top of the worksheet.

I think the Oreo moon phase activity might have been my kids' favorite STEM activity yet! Not surprising though, this is the first time they ever tried Oreo cookies!

And of course, also not a surprise, they want to do recreate the moon phases again and again after they polished off the first set!

The Different Phases of the Moon

Here are the different moon phases for you to go over with your kid:

NEW MOON: When the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, the moon blocks the light from the Sun. Therefore, no part of the moon is visible from Earth.

WAXING CRESCENT: As the Moon continues to orbit Earth, it becomes visible again. This is called the waxing moon (waxing means that it's getting bigger), and the initial phase is called the Waxing Crescent. The waxing moon gets bigger every night until it reaches the First Quarter when we can see half of the Moon.

FIRST QUARTER: Half of the lit portion of the Moon is lit by the sun.

WAXING GIBBOUS: "Gibbous" means that more than half of the Moon is visible but not the entire circle.

FULL MOON: When the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon, half of the Moon is lit. From Earth, we can see the full circle

WANING GIBBOUS: More than half of the Moon is visible and the lit portion gets smaller every day.

THIRD QUARTER: The opposite half of the Moon is lit compared to the First Quarter Moon.

WANING CRESCENT: Less than half of the Moon is visible and slowly decreases to the New Moon.

I hope your kids loved this yummy Oreo moon phase project! For more out of this world activities, check out:

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Oreo Cookie Moon Phases Activity [Free Worksheet] | Mombrite

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This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you). Please see my full disclosure policy for details. Learn the different phases of the moon by using one of your child's favorite snacks - Oreo cookies!

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Age: 4-5
Magic milk experiment is such a colorful way to teach children about chemical reaction.

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Did you know that it is easy to turn ordinary milk into a rainbow of crazy colors? With only four common kitchen items, kids are thrilled by the color explosion created by the hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules in our magic ingredient!

Watch our demonstration video, then print out a materials list and instructions to plan for this simple and fun science experiment. Easy to understand explanation of how it works is included below.

JUMP TO SECTION: Instructions | Video Tutorial | How it Works

Supplies Needed

Milk (Must be either Whole or 2%)

Food Coloring. The more colors the better

Dish Soap

Shallow Dish or Bowl

Magic Milk Experiment Instructions

Step 1 - Pour some milk into a shallow dish or bowl until the milk covers the bottom.

Step 2 - Add some drops of food coloring on the milk. You can use a variety of colors, just be sure to add 3-4 drops of each color.

Step 3 - Add a drop of dish soap into the center of the milk.

Step 4 - Watch in amazement as the colors dances across the surface of the milk. Do you know what caused the colors to move around in the milk? Find out the answer in the how does this experiment work section below.

Video Tutorial
Detailed Magic Rainbow Milk Science Experiment Step by Step Instructions
How Does the Science Experiment Work

The key to the dancing colors in this experiment is soap! Soap molecules consist of a hydrophilic ("water-loving") end and a hydrophobic ("water-fearing") end. Water molecules are polar molecules that can dissolve other polar molecules. Fat (and oil) molecules are nonpolar molecules, so they cannot dissolve in water.

Milk is a mixture of water, fat, vitamins and minerals. When soap is added to the milk, it helps to separate the water and fat in the milk. When soap is mixed in with the fat and water, the hydrophobic end of the soap molecule breaks up the nonpolar fat molecules, and the hydrophilic end of the soap molecule links up with the polar water molecules. Now that the soap is connecting the fat and water, the nonpolar fat molecules can be carried by the polar water molecules.

As the soap molecules connect to the fat molecules, the molecules of the food coloring get pushed around everywhere resulting in an explosion of color! As the majority of soap molecules attach to the fat molecules and the soap spreads throughout the milk, the color explosion will slow and eventually stop. Add more soap and see if there are more fat molecules that haven't attached to soap - if there are unattached fat molecules still, the color explosion will begin again.

This experiment works best with 2% and whole milk because they contain more fat.

Other Ideas to Try

Try this experiment again using milk with different fat percentages. Try it with skim milk, 1% milk, 2% milk, whole milk, half and half, and cream. Consider even trying evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. See how the amount of fat affects the explosion of color!

I hope you enjoyed the experiment as much as we did. Here are some printable instructions:

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Magic Milk Science Experiment - Amazing Explosion of Color!

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Did you know that it is easy to turn ordinary milk into a rainbow of crazy colors? With only four common kitchen items, kids are thrilled by the color explosion created by the hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules in our magic ingredient! Watch our demonstration video, then print out a materials list and instructions to plan [...]

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Age: 6-7
This experiment is a fun way to teach children motion of objects, force, and energy using marbles and a ruler.

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Grab some marbles! This simple science experiment is such an easy and fascinating way to demonstrate how energy is transferred from one object to another.
Energy is defined as the ability to do work. We learned about the difference between potential energy (stored energy), and kinetic energy (the energy of moving things). Our ping pong ball shooters were the perfect thing to learn about potential and kinetic energy! When you stretch the balloons, they have potential energy, and when you release them, they have kinetic energy which they transfer to the ping pong balls, thus shooting it across the room.
Then we did an experiment to further study the transfer of energy from one object to another.
For this experiment, all you need is a ruler with a groove in the middle and some marbles.

First, we lined up three marbles in the middle and one marble at the edge. I asked the boys what they thought would happen when I flicked the marble. They thought that the marbles in the middle would roll away.
Surprise! Only one of the marbles rolled away!
We repeated the experiment with different configurations of marbles (like shooting 2 at 3), and pretty soon the pattern emerged: the number of marbles that you flick equals the number of marbles that roll away. In other words, the rolling marble can only transfers its energy to the marble it collides with, which transfers the energy to the next marble, and so on.
Tips:
In order to get the best results with this experiment, you'll want to make sure that the surface you are working on is level. Marbles roll away when you don't want them to if there is any slant to your table!

Also, kids will need to give the marble a good, solid flick. Not too wild - you don't want marbles all over the place! But too weak of a flick will not give you great results.

Looking for more simple science experiments?

Car Science Experiments - Use toy cars to study air resistance and mass.

Lift water with a working Archimedes' Screw - this is a lot of fun!

Demonstrate Newton's 3rd Law of Motion with an Epic Bottle Rocket!

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Transfer of Energy Science Experiment - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls

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Grab some marbles! This simple science experiment is such an easy and fascinating way to demonstrate how energy is transferred from one object to another. Energy is defined as the ability to do work. We learned about the difference between potential energy (stored energy), and kinetic energy (the energy of moving things).

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Age: 4-5
Apple Volcano is a fun way to teach about chemical reaction using baking soda and vinegar.

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I do love classic, tried-and-true science activities.

EASY and FUN science activities.

You know, the ones that make your kids get all wide-eyed and curious? Nothing fancy, just plain fun?

Well, that's just what this easy volcano science activity is all about! And the good news is that it's part of an amazing collection of over 100 other easy and fun science activities!
Disclosure: I was given a copy of The Curious Kid's Science Book to review. My review is honest and my own. This post also contains affiliate links for your convenience.
I love to pass on a wonderful resource when I find it! When Asia Citro asked if I'd review her latest book The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-On Activities for Ages 4-8, I jumped at the chance. You might recall when we made gingerbread ornaments using a simple recipe from Asia's earlier book, 150+ Screen Free Activities for Kids. When I got my hands on her new science book, I showed it to the pre-kindergarten teachers in my preschool and they asked if they could try some with their science curriculum.

The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-on Activities for Ages 4-8

Asia Citro has an M. Ed in Science Education and was a classroom science teacher. She currently shares amazing ideas at her Fun at Home with Kids blog. In fact, that is where I first met Asia, as I was searching for creative activities to share on my Facebook page.

The first thing I noticed when I received The Curious Kid's Science Book was how nicely organized it is, complete with colorful photos. While the book is geared for children older than the ages I teach, many of them can be easily adapted for younger children. However, I've barely seen the book since I shared it with the pre-kindergarten teachers in my preschool. When I finally asked if I could have the book back, they asked me to please not remove all the torn pieces of paper that were serving as bookmarks, as they intend to use Asia's book often for their class science activities. Now that is pure love for a book!

Simple Preschool Science Activity that Makes a Volcano

The very first activity of Asia's that they chose was the baking soda to vinegar experiment on page 170.
Do you think adding baking soda to vinegar or adding vinegar to baking soda will make a bigger reaction?
Only two ingredients are needed for this activity! The teachers set them up on the table. (Note all the torn paper bookmarks. These teachers might not ever give The Curious Kid's Science Book back to me!)

Before starting the experiment, the teachers asked the children what they predicted would explode more. They wrote each child's name under their prediction.

Because their theme that week was apples, they chose to hollow out a red and a yellow apple to use as containers for the volcanoes. After making their predictions and writing them on the white board, the children gathered around the science table.

In one apple, the baking soda was placed first, then the vinegar was poured on top. In another apple, the vinegar was poured inside, and then the baking soda was added.

Eyes grew wide as the volcanoes erupted.

We won't spoil the fun and give you the answer, but most of the children's predictions were correct!

Fun, right? You can see how simple yet educational these types of science activities are. Our pre-kindergarten teachers do, too, and that is why they have bookmarked many more ideas, such as:

How deep should you plant a seed to get the best growth?

How can you make ice melt faster?

How many drops of water can fit on a penny?

How can you design an egg drop container?

Where you can buy The Curious Kid's Science Book
Barnes and Noble Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)
Who would enjoy this book

Teachers, parents, caregivers, grandparents ... anyone with young children in their lives!

More science stuff you will enjoy:
How to Set Up a Preschool Science Center 15 Rainbow Science Activities 10 Preschool Science Experiments
Check out our favorite science toys and materials:

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Simple Preschool Science Activity that Makes a Volcano

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I do love classic, tried-and-true science activities. EASY and FUN science activities. You know, the ones that make your kids get all wide-eyed and curious? Nothing fancy, just plain fun? Well, that's just what this easy volcano science activity is all about!

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Age: 4-6
You could go into more dept with wach of these with older children. But these stations ae a great way to teach about animals, living organisms, and habitats.

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I’m a big believer that playing is learning. So any time I can integrate exploration and hands on purposeful “play” in the classroom, I consider it a win! That’s why I love these animal adaptation stations in this Next Gen Science Unit on Organisms! Let’s chat about each station, the adaptation k…

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Age: 7-8 (2nd Grade)
Teaching the butterfly life cycle is a great wat to teach children about insects, habitats, and relationships of living organisms. You could even take it further and get a butterfly life cycle get with real eggs, so you see the cycle happen in your classroom.

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Fun and Easy Butterfly Life Cycle Activity for Kids - Taming Little Monsters

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Learn all about the Butterfly Life Cycle with this Free Printable. A fantastic science activity for preschool and kindergarten classrooms.

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Age: 5-6
This is a fun, colorful activity to teach about capillary action, plants and plant life, and how they get the nutrients they need to survive.

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I just love this color changing flowers science experiment! It is really easy to do and the kids love watching the flowers change color. We think it is the perfect science activity for spring!

I even created printable recording sheets that kids in preschool and early elementary can use to show their observations. Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the post to get them.
Related: Walking Water Science Experiment
Color Changing Flowers Experiment

We love a good science experiment and this one did not disappoint. It was really neat to watch the flowers change colors. If you are looking for a science activity to try this spring, you should definitely give this one a go!
Supplies Needed:

Free printable recording sheets (button to download at the bottom of this post)

White carnations

Liquid food coloring in a variety of colors

Instructions:

1. To start you will want to trim down the stems of the flower so they fit your cups or glasses.

2. Add water to each cup.

3. Then put about 10-15 drops of food coloring in the water and stir around a bit.

4. Add at least one carnation to each glass of colored water.

5. Check in on the flowers every couple of hours and observe any changes.

Observing the Flowers Change Color

We did this color changing flower experiment in the early evening and we started to see changes within a couple of hours. Some of the flowers started showing faint streaks of color along their petals.

By the next morning, most of them were even more colorful. The flower in the purple water didn't seem to be taking in much water, so I trimmed the stem a little more and it soon started showing more color in the petals.

The following day the color was even more vibrant.

We continued to watch the flowers over the next few days. They did get a bit brighter than the pics above, but never completely saturated in the color.

Next time, we plan to try even more food coloring to see if we get even more saturated colors. We also decided that we will try roses alongside carnations and see if one takes on the color better than the other.

There are lots of ways you can change-up the experiment. You can try doing several different flowers at once. Or you can try different amounts of food coloring.

How Do Plants Drink Water?

Plants drink water from the ground up through their roots. The water travels up the stem and into the petals of the flower. Although, our flowers didn't have roots anymore they were still able to pull water up from the cup into the stem and up through the flower to the petals.

It is through capillary action that plants are able to defy gravity and pull water up and into their leaves and flowers.

To read more about capillary action, check out this awesome walking water science experiment!

We hope you'll give this fun color changing flowers science experiment a try soon!

Other Fun Science Experiments for Kids

This rainbow Walking Water Science Experiment is one of our most popular science activities!

Try this super simple Oobleck recipe that only requires two household ingredients!

This rainbow skittles experiment is sure to WOW the kids!

You can also make a rainbow of flowers with this super cool color changing flowers experiment!

Explore chromatography with this fun chromatography science experiment for kids!

This rain cloud jar science experiment give children a chance to explore clouds and rain in a hands-on and engaging way

The kids will get a kick out of this super cool dancing raisins science experiment!

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Color Changing Flowers Science Experiment

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I just love this color changing flowers science experiment! It is really easy to do and the kids love watching the flowers change color. We think it is the perfect science activity for spring! I even created printable recording sheets that kids in preschool and early elementary can use to show their observations.

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Age: 4-6
Depending on the steps of the lesson and inquiry this experiment you can do with a few different ages. It is a great seed growing experiment to teach about seeds, the life cycle, and process.

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Seed Germination Experiment - Little Bins for Little Hands

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Set up an easy seed jar science experiment to watch check out how plants grow with your kids! A seed jar science activity is an amazing spring STEM project to try indoors this season. Learn about seed science, plant science, and simple science experiments with an easy to spring science activity all…

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Age: 4-5
This is a fun activity to engage children in sorting adn classifying, while learning shapes.

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Kindergarten Printables File Folder Games Math Preschool

When it comes to file folder games, I love putting together ones that work on various different skills. This printable button sorting game, for instance, not only helps your preschooler or kindergartner work on their early math skills through sorting and counting, it also allows them to work on both color and shape recognition. On top of that, they'll also have the chance to see the names of different shapes written out and will be able to begin associating those words with the actual shape.

Now, in our house, we LOVE file folder games.

They make reinforcing various concepts super simple and they're so easy to put together. The best part? Once they're put together, we can use them over and over again.

In fact, the preschooler is now using a few of the games that I originally put together a few years ago for her older brother.

And this game? It couldn't be easier!

The printable download, which you'll find below, contains six labeled jars for the buttons to go in, and buttons in those same six shapes, in four different colors.

To make this button sorting game, you'll first need to print and cut each of the pieces out.

When your pieces are cut, grab a manilla file folder and use some contact paper to stick the jars onto the folder. Make sure that you completely cover the jars so that little fingers can't pick at them and pull them up. Three jars to each side of the open folder fit perfectly for us.

Then, just laminate the buttons to make them a bit more durable and you're ready to play.

I often tape a small plastic zippered bag to the back of the file folder to make holding the pieces for each game a lot easier and with the pieces of this game, you can easily work a little counting, shape or color recognition practice into your preschooler's day.

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Button Shape Sorting Printable File Folder Game - From ABCs to ACTs

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Kindergarten Printables File Folder Games Math Preschool When it comes to file folder games, I love putting together ones that work on various different skills. This printable button sorting game, for instance, not only helps your preschooler or kindergartner work on their early math skills through sorting and counting, it also allows them to work on both color and shape recognition.

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Age: 4 (Preschool)
This is a fun game with dramatic play that teaches sorting and classifying.

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Preschoolers love to pretend to deliver mail.

When we took our little ones to a pretend neighborhood, they all wanted to dress up as mail delivery workers and put envelopes in the tiny mailbox. It was adorable.

Since learning to recognize colors and color words is an important skill for toddlers and preschoolers to master, I thought it would be fun to combine colors and mail delivery into a simple preschool color sorting game!

With this simple color recognition activity, kids can pretend to "stamp mail" and work on learning their colors. And, after the initial setup, you can reuse it over and over again.

It's perfect for preschool busy bags, centers, or morning tubs!

Read on to see how to get your set!

And for more color sorting fun, check out our Colorful Cubes Color and Number Sorting Worksheets!

Multicolor Mail! Preschool Color Sorting Game

To play this preschool color sorting game, you'll need the following: ( This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

This game includes "envelopes" that feature the color words for:

Simply cut the envelopes out, fold them in half, and laminate them.

Add a loop sticky dot to the square in the upper right corner of each envelope.

The color stamps are all printed on one page. Laminate the page, then cut out each stamp.

Add a hook sticky dot on the back of each stamp.

Then you're ready to play! Show the kids how to attach the correct color stamp on each envelope.

Since the color words appear in the color they identify, this is a simple color recognition game for little ones.

You can work on primary colors first, then add secondary colors and neutrals, if you like.

Divide up the colors and see who can match their stack up first!

This would be a wonderful busy bag activity. You can just store the stamps and the envelopes in a resealable bag and let the kids practice anytime!
Scroll down to get your copy of this Preschool Color Sorting Game!
Don't miss these other preschool learning activities!

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Multicolor Mail! Preschool Color Sorting Game

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Preschoolers love to pretend to deliver mail. When we took our little ones to a pretend neighborhood, they all wanted to dress up as mail delivery workers and put envelopes in the tiny mailbox. It was adorable.

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Age: 5-6
This more and less dice game is great for teaching more and less.

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This is a simple, easy-prep game you can use to teach more and less to your prekinders.

I used bear counters, but the possibilities are endless. You could use Unifix cubes, flat floral marbles, foam craft shapes, or any other manipulatives to match your theme.

Prepare the activity:

I chose two colors of the bear counters and put them in two baskets (I used red and blue). I used a wooden cube from the craft store to make color dice. You can use white dot stickers, color them the colors you need for your game, and attach them to the sides of the cube. The stickers can be pulled off later to reuse the wooden cube for another game. Since I couldn't find my dot stickers, I wrapped masking tape around the cube and drew colored dots on the sides of the cube. I gave the dice 3 red sides and 3 blue sides, since you only need to use two colors.

Print out a copy of the grid paper (link at bottom) for each child.

Here's how to play:

Children roll the cube and name the color. Take a bear of the same color out of the basket and place it in a square on the grid. Continue rolling the cube and placing a bear on the grid until the whole grid is full (one bear per square). Then have children sort the bear colors they have by putting the red ones on one side of their mat and the blue ones on the other side. Count how many of each color. Which has the most, least, or same amount?

Put the bears back in the basket and keep playing!

Download the Math Grids

Note: This is a free printable, just click to download.

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This is a simple, easy-prep game you can use to teach more and less to your prekinders. I used bear counters, but the possibilities are endless. You could use Unifix cubes, flat floral marbles, foam craft shapes, or any other manipulatives to match your theme.

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Age: 7-8
Cow Pastures is an algebra activity to do with addition, reconition, and sequences.

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Age: Kindergarten

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Apple Race Math Game - Playdough To Plato

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Will the red, green, or yellow apple reach the top first?! This playful apple race math game has kids graphing, counting and comparing - important early math skills. It's perfect to use as a math station, homeschool activity or morning work. Getting Ready To prepare this game, I first printed the game board (found at the [...]

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Age: 7
Weather Graphing Activity is a fun activity that teaches chilren graphing, gather data, and pose questions.

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{FREE} Weather Graphing Activity: Data Analysis for K-2

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Want to combine math and science? Your kids will love exploring the weather and important math skills with this simple weather graphing activity for K-2.

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Age: 6-7 (First Grade)
Bowling with Bar Graphs is a fun hands-on activity to teach children how to collect data and record it and make predictions.

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It's the first week back to school and y'all, it's true...there's no tired like teacher tired. Like for real. This week has been off to such a great start though! We have been so busy learning all about our rules, procedures and enjoying lots of group activities.

We started off bowling as a whole group using pins and a bowling ball that my team and I borrowed from our gym.

After each student bowled, they put a sticky note on the number of pins that they knocked down.

To close out day 1, we looked at our graph and analyzed our data.

On day 2, I put students in table groups to create their own graphs by recording their own data. We used plastic cup pins and a tennis ball to keep things size friendly for our table groups.

After each student bowled, they recorded their data (the amount of pins they knocked down) on their graphs.

You can download the recording sheet here. This game was such a blast and it was a great back to school activity to help establish group work rules!

And, if you're interested in making your own plastic cup pins...here's a quick how to!

If you are looking for more engaging graph activities that gets your students up and moving, check out my Graphs on the Move pack below.

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Bowling with Bar Graphs! - Smitten with First

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It's the first week back to school and y'all, it's true...there's no tired like teacher tired. Like for real. This week has been off to such a great start though! We have been so busy learning all about our rules, procedures and enjoying lots of group activities.

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Age: 4-5
Pattern blocks are a simple but fun way to teach children shape reconition, paterns, spatial, 2D shapes, and positions.

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You might think that pattern blocks and pattern block mats are just for teaching your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students to identify shapes and practice fine motor skills. Did you know that pattern blocks are an important part of early math development in preschool?

Pattern blocks can actually help your little learners build a strong foundation for learning geometry later.

Why Use Pattern Blocks?

If you haven't tried pattern block mats in your classroom yet, your kids are in for a real treat - they're going to love them!

When it comes to teaching your kids about shapes, problem solving, spatial skills, and even symmetry - pattern blocks are a must.

According to National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), interacting with pattern blocks helps young children begin to problem solve.

Consistent use of pattern blocks in the early childhood classroom can help develop these important math skills:

Recognize and describe two-dimensional shapes

Comparison

Visual Discrimination

Recognize and describe three-dimensional shapes

Angles

Pattern Block Mats

If you're looking for hands-on learning activities that will keep your kids on-task and and engaged, then you need pattern block mats in your teacher life!

Add pattern block mats to your math centers or small group time in preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten.

Here's everything you'll need to get started:

How to Get Started with Pattern Blocks

To get started, just print out these pattern block mats (choose from seasons, holidays, or themes), laminate, and start building - easy peasy!

The printable mats are available in color, but there's also a black and white version you can print on colored paper or as-is to save ink.

You can use plastic or wood pattern blocks, choose the ones that best meet your needs and those of your students.

How to Use Pattern Block Mats

You can use the season, holiday, or theme pattern block mats during your small group time. Just give one mat to each child in your small group, place the blocks in a basket or container that is within easy reach, and invite them to start matching and building.

Kids can place the pattern blocks directly on their mats to start. As they begin to develop their pattern block skills, they may choose to recreate the designs shown on their mats directly on the table using the mat only as a visual guide.

The color mats provide both color and shape support, while the black and white mats are a little more challenging because they only offer one method of support.

Eventually, your kids will begin to create their own designs with the blocks in the math center, without the use of the mats.

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Pattern Block Mats for Preschool - Pre-K Pages

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You might think that pattern blocks and pattern block mats are just for teaching your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students to identify shapes and practice fine motor skills. Did you know that pattern blocks are an important part of early math development in preschool?

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Age: 4-5
Tape towers is a block game that teaches children spatial, building with 3D shapes, shape reconition, and explore of block play.

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Age: 3-4
Hop and Roll Shape game teaches shape reconition.

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First published Jan 2016.

Hop Roll Game For Toddlers

Played a simple game that introduces shapes for toddlers while also encouraging gross motor development! This is a super easy indoor activity to begin with, but I was able to reuse the taped shapes I used for our Tracing Shapes with Trains activity which made it even easier!

Little Sister (22 months) loved this Hop Roll Shape Game! Although this is one of our first experiences with introducing shapes, I was surprised at how quickly she recognized the shape on the cube matched the one on the ground.

Here's what you'll need:

:: Painter's Tape (test on your floor before this activity to make sure it doesn't remove the finish)

:: A large cube (We love this one)

:: Either a marker to draw the shapes or our downloadable shape cards (see below)

How To Play Roll & Hop Game

1. Print and cut out the shape cards and put them in the photo cube. Use painter's tape to make the corresponding shape on the ground.

2. Have your child roll the "dice" and then hop on the corresponding shape!

Continue playing until this shape game until your toddler tires of it! This was a super simple shape activity and lots of fun!

Even Little Brother thought it was great (and it was a helpful review of 2-dimensional shapes).
And yes, he does have pants that actually fit...he just chooses to continue wearing pants that are way too long. ;)

Check Out More Fun Activities For Toddlers
Indoor Activities For Toddlers
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Pumpkin Activities For Toddlers

Toddler Shoe Game

We attempted this shoe game with Little Brother today, but he wasn't quite getting it....

Learning Walk

Sometimes the simplest things can be the most meaningful... The weather has been much nicer...

Outdoor Activities For Toddlers

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First published Jan 2016. Played a simple game that introduces shapes for toddlers while also encouraging gross motor development! This is a super easy indoor activity to begin with, but I was able to reuse the taped shapes I used for our Tracing Shapes with Trains activity which made it even easier!

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Age: 6-7 (First Grade)
Composing SHapes activity/worksheet teaches children 2D shapes, spatial, and use of space. It also let's them explore these skills with freedom and creativity.

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Composing Shapes is such a fun topic in first grade and kindergarten geometry! Learning how to compose 2D and 3D shapes is fun because, well, they get to build! What kid doesn't love building?

I have a TON of small group activities, centers, and ideas to share with you for teaching composing shapes that I hope your students will love!

First and foremost - use pattern blocks in every activity that you can! Students are so much more engaged when they can hold and physically manipulate the shapes to build new ones.

Give them time to explore.

They love making pictures out of the blocks so that's an easy introductory activity to get them used to putting the blocks together to make a picture.

Let them build whatever they want on their mat then write how many of each pattern block they used. I recommend printing out the color version of these mats and either laminating them or putting them in a sheet protector like I did above and having students use a dry erase marker to write on them. That way you can use them over and over and the kids can build and record multiple pictures in one sitting by writing and wiping.

Then, in small groups, you can have them build something specific. Have each person build a flower (in their own way) or a robot, person, butterfly, a big triangle, etc. Talk to them about how they put the blocks together to make a new shape. Have them talk to each other about the shapes they used.

Kids love making pictures out of the blocks... and will do it anyway whether it's an activity you give them or not, so it's best to get this out of their system early :)

Once they've had fun exploring, give them activity cards to build!

In small groups, show the entire group one card, place it in the center of the table so they can all see, and have them build it. Ask them questions about what shapes they used, how many shapes make up the new shape, etc.

If you want to make this an independent center after you use it in small groups, simply give the kids a stack of cards and a recording sheet. I made 2 sets of them so they can do the math station twice (or you could copy it back to back and give more cards to challenge higher kids). Have them take a card, build it, then color in the shapes they used for that card like this:

If you want to be referred to as the "best teacher ever" for the day, you could also incorporate dough into these composing shapes lessons.

Give each kid at your table their own can of dough to build into a ball then have them flatten it. It's important that each child uses the entire can so it's thick enough to imprint in. Then, select a card for them to build with the pattern blocks. Have them build it on top of the flat dough.

Once they've built it, have them push down really hard to imprint it into the dough. Have them hold the pieces together in place as they push so the blocks don't move away from each other. Have them carefully peel the pattern blocks off and it will reveal their new shape!

I also made these composing shapes cards for 3D shapes. You know me, I differentiate everything I can so there are 2 sets - one where it's just combining two 3D shapes and one set where it also combines 3 shapes like in the N card seen below.

Students simply look at the card and color in the 3D shapes that the new composite shape is made of. You can also have them build each card with three dimensional shape blocks if you have them.

Asking questions about which shapes were used is a great vocabulary review for geometry as well.

If you want to incorporate the dough again, a great small groups activity is talking about what shapes make up 3D shapes. For example, show them a cylinder and point to the circle face and ask them what shape it is. They can stamp it into the dough to see that it is a circle. Do this for all the three dimensional blocks (triangular prism, rectangular prism, etc.) to see what shapes they're made of. Again, it's a great vocabulary review to talk about "faces" and apply that to real world questions.

"This rectangular prism is made of 2 square faces and 4 rectangle faces" etc.

You can do this with any of the shapes. Give them a hexagon and have them build a bigger one... and a bigger one... and a bigger one... You can also do it with trapezoid or the square. It's just super fun and encourages critical thinking - I really recommend it.

Another game I absolutely LOVE is Fill Me Up!

Kids take turns rolling the dice to know which shape to grab and add to their hexagons. I made 2 dice - one with a hexagon and one without so you can make the game easier/harder. They can move their pieces around at any point in the game to fit new ones because their hexagons have to be filled perfectly where there is no white space and no shapes overhanging (going over the lines). The first person to perfectly fill all their hexagons wins!

It's a kid favorite but I personally love it because they have to be critically thinking in order to fill their shapes perfectly and they're super motivated to manipulate them around. It's just a lot of great practice where they don't even realize how much thinking they're doing. :)

I also included 2 different spinners so you can do spinners instead of dice. I also made a more challenging game board where they have to fill up both triangles perfectly (no white space or over hangs) to win!

Just because you're doing a cut and paste activity doesn't mean they can't use blocks! Again, the more you can use hands on materials, the better! It really just helps them build that conceptual understanding and
see the new shapes they're making.

Let them get those pieces on the paper and build it to figure out the new composite shape.

The same thing goes for the paper and pencil worksheets. They can still use the blocks.

For example, this activity asks them to figure out how many of each block they need to make a certain shape.

See how they "filled" a hexagon with triangles on top of it to figure out how many it took?

Then, for the next question, they're doing the same thing with the rhombus blocks.

For this activity, they're supposed to make a new shape with the given ones and draw it. They can build it with blocks first on their paper then trace and color them. It's just nice to give them that added support. These worksheets can be used independently or in small groups.

Again, the level is in the corner. See how this level C below is just a little more challenging by adding 3 blocks? I'm all about the sneaky differentiating. :)

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Composing Shapes is such a fun topic in first grade and kindergarten geometry! Learning how to compose 2D and 3D shapes is fun because, well...

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Age: 5-6
Using a balance scale teaches children to measure weight, comapare, and make estimates on which is heavier or lighter.

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Are you looking for an activity about measurement for kids? Your kids will enjoy comparing the weight of everyday objects in plastic containers using a bucket balance scale. They will learn the concepts of heavy and light and will have fun sorting the objects by their weight.

Early childhood educators are some of the most resourceful people on the planet. Who else do you know that collects so many little plastic containers, bottle caps, and random pieces of styrofoam? This resourcefulness (notice that I don't call it hoarding) drives my husband nuts. Well, I was very excited to show him that I found a great use for some of those little plastic containers in my closet.

Here is a simple math activity that you can add to your math center, science center, or STEM center. Use some everyday objects and a bucket balance scale to create a fun activity featuring measurements for kids. You can show your kids how to use a weighing scale and can even walk your kids through the scientific method as they learn.

The Comparing Weight Activity Printables pictured in this article can be purchased in my store, but you can also do the activity without the printables.

Containers

I used some of the empty plastic baby food containers that I found in my supply closet to hold my materials. I bet you can get some similar containers by asking your kids' parents, your friends, or the lady who walks a stroller down your street every morning.

If you don't have baby food containers, you can also use plastic containers that you pick up at the dollar or discount store. Make sure that they are small enough to fit in the balance's bucket.... and it is best if the containers are all the same.

Fillers

This is the fun part! Find random items around the classroom or house to fill the containers. Be sure that the containers have a variety of weights so that they are easy for kids to compare. You can let kids help you with this task.

Here are some ideas:

Are you interested in seasonal fillers? Check out these articles for winter weigh stations, spring weigh station, Easter weigh station, Christmas weigh station.

If you don't want them to open up the containers and spill the contents, tape or glue the lid on them. I used a roll of brightly colored, thin, duct tape or washi tape to tape mine shut.

The Scientific Method

You can easily walk kids through a simplified version of the scientific method as they use this activity. The scientific method includes these steps:

1. Make observations

2. Form questions

3. Develop a hypothesis or prediction

4. Experiment to test the hypothesis

5. Gather and record the results

6. Share and discuss the results

Make Observations

To begin, let kids experiment with the containers and the balance. Here are some questions to engage them:

What kinds of materials do you see in the containers?

Tell me what you notice about them?

Describe what happened when you placed a container in the bucket?

Why do you think that happened?

What happened when you placed a container in the other bucket?

Why do you think that happened?

What do you think will happen if you switch them? Why?

What do you think will happen when you put this one in?

Demonstrate that the heavier object will push the arm or beam of the scale down more than the lighter object. The heavier object will always be lower and the lighter object will be higher.

Form a Question & Develop a Hypothesis

Now, ask kids to select two containers. Before putting them in the buckets, ask them to predict what they think will happen....why?

Experiment or Test the Hypothesis

Let the kids take turns placing their selected containers in the buckets of the scale to see if their predictions were correct. Which container is heavier?....and which one is lighter?

Record, Share, Discuss Results

Kids can record the results of their experiments on paper or in blank books. If you have the weight comparison printables from my store, kids can also record the results on the weight comparison mat. Here are a few questions for discussion:

Were you surprised by the results? Why?

Do you think you will get the same results if you weigh them tomorrow?

What happens if you put the containers in different buckets on the scale?

Do you think the lighter item is heavier than another container on the table?

Additional Activity Ideas

When kids understand the concept of heavier and lighter you can ask them to place the containers in order by weight. Start them out with just a few and then challenge them to compare a larger quantity of containers.

Additional Ideas

Send an empty container home with each child and ask them to fill them up with items from home.

Use seasonal or thematic items to fill the containers.

Use leak-proof containers filled with liquid. Fill with different amounts of the same liquid to talk about volume or fill with an equal amount of different liquids to talk about density.

I hope that you enjoy measuring weights with your kids. Now go dig those little plastic containers out of your closet and start filling them up. I would love to hear what kinds of fillers

Purchase the Comparing Weights Printables

To purchase the Comparing Weight printables pictured in this article, and to check out the seasonal editions, click on the images below.

Below are some items from Amazon that can be used for the activities mentioned in this article. The links below are affiliate links. If you happen to purchase something from a link, there will be no additional cost to you, but a small portion of your purchase will be used towards the cost of maintaining this website.

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Measurement for Kids: How to Compare Weights with a Balance Scale

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Are you looking for an activity about measurement for kids? Your kids will enjoy comparing the weight of everyday objects in plastic containers using a bucket balance scale. They will learn the concepts of heavy and light and will have fun sorting the objects by their weight.

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Age: 4-6
Thas activity can be used in many ways. You can get more technical with the older children. But this activity teaches comparing, measuring using standard units, and quantity.

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Kids learn best when they are having fun. Hands-on math activities are one way to do that. This hands-on measuring volume activity is guaranteed to be a huge hit, and it is super easy to set up.

Materials Needed:

The multi-colored rainbow rice we have for sensory bin filler was perfect for this activity. To create an invitation to explore measurement, I poured the rice into a large, shallow container and added our measuring cups, spoons, and several small plastic containers of various sizes. Don't have a large enough container? Just pour the rice into a container wide enough to scoop from. Setting it up on a tablecloth will help with clean-up.

We used our measuring math station for several days.

Day 1: The first day we used this math bin, I allowed the kids to freely explore the containers, pouring rice from one to the next. I listened in as they commented about how many of the smaller containers they thought it would take to fill a larger one. Eventually a few small toys were added to the bin, all part of the learning through play experience.

Day 2: The next day I set the math station up a bit differently, placing all the rice into a smaller container that the kids could scoop out of. The other containers and measuring cups were placed nearby. To introduce the idea of measuring volume, I asked them to figure out which of the containers could hold the most rice. Then I asked them to compare different pairs of containers to figure out which one would hold the most. They were surprised to discover several differently shaped containers that held the same amount. I allowed them to continue to explore on their own.

Day 3: On the third day of our measuring activity we focused on fractions.

This time around we looked at the measuring cups and talked about which one held the most. Then I asked them to figure out how many 1/4 cup measuring cups it would take to fill the 1 cup measuring cup. After they saw it took 4, I asked them to use that knowledge to guess how many 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup measuring cups it would take to fill the 1 cup measuring cup. Then we tested their theories. It was a great hands-on way for them to see just what those fractions mean.

Extensions:

Allow the kids to use colored water to explore measurements. This is great to do outside on a warm day, or take the activity to the bathtub.

Try other units of measurement. How many cups does it take to fill a pint container? What about a quart or a gallon?

Take the measuring to a new level and add in weights. Use a digital scale to find out how much a quart of rice weighs. Does a quart of water weigh the same?

This simple hands-on math activity was a fun way to teach measurement of volume. For more fun hands-on learning ideas, check out our ABCs & 123s ebook.
You may also like these fun hands-on math activities:

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Hands-On Measurement Activity They'll Love

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Kids learn best when they are having fun. Hands-on math activities are one way to do that. This hands-on measuring volume activity is guaranteed to be a huge hit, and it is super easy to set up. Materials Needed: The multi-colored rainbow rice we have for sensory bin filler was perfect for this activity.

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Age: 4 (Preschool)
This activity teaches children to make comparisons and about quantity.

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Practice nonstandard measurement with this pom pom preschool measurement activity! This hands-on math activity is a great introduction.

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Age: 5-6
This card game helps children subtize numbers, counting, estimate, compare, and number reconition.

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Subitizing is such an important skill for early learners to master, and the best part is that the students also enjoy learning it! Subitizing is being able to quickly identify the amount of objects in a group without counting. Subitizing can be practiced by using real-life objects, or symbols, such a dots, on paper.
When students roll a dice and know the number rolled without having to count the dots, they are subitizing!

Here are a few ways we subitize in my Kindergarten classroom:

My students love playing the classic card game of "War" so I made a Subitizing War that they can play during Math Centers!
To play, divide the stack of cards between two students. Students will turn over one card each and whoever has the highest number represented on their cards gets to keep both cards. Whoever has the most cards at the end of the game wins!

Check out this awesome video Jessica, from Learning With Littles made using my Subitizing War cards. She shows how to play the game and also gives other ideas of how to use the cards to build number sense!

To introduce numbers 0-10, we have been using this Subitizing Sort in the pocket chart so the kids can see the numbers represented in different ways.

Quick Images

My class also loves to watch all of Jack Hartmann's videos on subitizing. Here is just one that we love, but they are all available on YouTube! (Along with many more of his awesome videos!)

Here is a set of subitizing cards I made to use whole group with my class while working on number sense. These cards have different dot representations for the numbers 0-10. I simply hold a card up and the kids show me the number using their fingers held up in front of them. (Or sometimes we just yell out the answer!)

Click on the image for your free copy.

How do you practice subitizing in your classroom?

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Subitizing, being able to quickly identify the amount of objects in a group, is a very important skill for early learners.

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Age: 4 (PreSchool)
Domino Line-Up teaches counting with 1:1 correspondense, subitizing numbers, combining two numbers (intro to addition), recognizing printed numerals, creating a graph, and understanding that numbers can be composed of different numbers (think 5 is made of 1 and 4 & 3 and 2).

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Domino Line-Up Preschool Math Activity - Busy Toddler

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Head to your game closet - it’s time to make a domino line-up. A quick and easy preschool math activity to develop number sense skills.

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Age 8
Fraction flower teached children fractions and whole numbers

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It's Spring! So it's time for a fun Spring learning idea. I created a printable set of Fraction Flowers that includes fractions through 1/10. This can now be purchased in my shop.

Fraction Flowers are a fun way to learn about and to practice fractions. They are also great for learning fraction equivalents. To make them, print out the fraction pies from my printable. Then cut them out and glue them into the center of some paper plates.

Once the glue is dry, cut the plates apart. The printable set also includes a flower stem to attach if you want to make them into flowers. My daughter loved turning them into flowers!

They can also be built and also you can substitute parts of different flowers to make a complete circle in different ways!

Grab this printable in my shop- or add it to your cart now!

Want more fraction ideas? See my Hershey Fractions post! I also have a post on Fun Ways to Teach Fractions to Kids.

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It's Spring! So it's time for a fun Spring learning idea. I created a printable set of Fraction Flowers that includes fractions through 1/10. This can now be purchased in my shop. Fraction Flowers are a fun way to learn about and to practice fractions. They are also great for learning fraction equivalents.

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Age Level: 5-6
Pom Pom addition game teaches to idetify numbers on dice, addition, and counting.

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There's just something fun about pom poms. They're soft, fuzzy, and perfect for a little hands-on math work. This Pom Pom Addition game is a simple activity that can be played by one student or a small group. They'll have a blast practicing their addition skills this way.

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Age: 6-7

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Last updated on
If you're looking for cool things to do with dry erase markers, you have to check out this floating ink experiment! It's a fun and easy science activity to do with kids and a great party trick that will "wow" the grown-ups too.
I have another very cool dry erase activity for your kids to try. It's a dry erase and water trick that's going to blow your kids' minds! We've used the Dry Erase Markers with Ink Indicators that the good folks at EXPO sent us, and we've made drawings that float on water!

I didn't even know that dry erase ink could float until I saw the dry erase stick-man trick (more on that in a bit) making its way around the web a few months back.

That trick looked so awesome that we were inspired to try it ourselves but instead of making floating stick-men, we made floating hearts.
Check out this video that I shot for you:

How fun is that?!!

The kids were fascinated! They did the experiment over and over again, testing different colours of ink and different writing surfaces. This is definitely a science activity that kids AND adults will love.

You may also love these 5 dry erase activities that don't require a white board.

Supplies:

EXPO Dry Erase Markers (affiliate link)

dinner plate or baking dish

jug of water (we also experimented with medicine droppers)

Towel or vinyl table cloth to protect your work surface

To do the Dry Erase and Water Experiment, you'll need:

A note about our drawing surface:

a white ceramic quiche dish

a white dinner plate

white disposable plastic plates

We experimented with a few different surfaces for this activity. I've heard you can use any glass surface or even a laminate table top, but we wanted to contain our water, so we tried the experiment with 3 types of plates:

1. Test your markers
Test your markers to make sure the ink is flowing well.

2. Draw shapes
Draw shapes, stick figures or letters on your plate or baking dish.

3. Add water
Pour water into the dish close to the edges of your drawings.

Within seconds, you'll see the dry erase ink reacting with the water, and the edges of your drawings will begin to lift. As you add more water, the ink will lift away from the bottom of the dish and float to the surface of the water. Note: Some of your drawings may only lift a little, and some might not at all. Our results were different every time.

How to Make Dry Erase Ink Float

Experiment again and again

We had a great time doing the experiment over and over again, pouring out the water, drying the dish, and trying new shapes and colours to see what would happen.

Make observations
1. Is there a colour of ink that works best?
It was fun to make observations to try and determine what factors made the experiment work best. Have your kids do the same. Here are some questions to ask your kids to think about when doing the dry erase and water experiment:

Is it the colour of the ink? Does it depend how thick the layer of ink is? See if your kids can nail down what works best for them.
2. Which drawing surface works best?
We found that a thicker layer of ink worked best, and the colours we used had varying results. We had the least success with the black ink. Sometimes the red ink floated quickly, and other times, like in the video above, the red wouldn't come away from the plate at all. Was this due to how hard we pressed? How much ink we used? Which colours work best for you?
3. Do solid shapes float better than stick figures or letters?
The disposable plastic plates didn't work as well as our dinner plate, and the quiche dish worked best of all. For some reason, our drawings seemed to stick to the dinner plate more than the quiche dish. The quiche dish was ideal too because of the rim. We could pour quite a bit of water into it and not have to worry about spills.
4. Can you pick up your floating shapes!
Experiment with different types of drawings - letters, pictures, outlines, solid shapes etc. to see which ones float best.
5. Does the temperature of the water make a difference?
What's really cool is that we were able to pick up our floating shapes with our fingers. When we did, they completely deflated and looked like a little strand of rubber, but when we gently placed them back on the surface of the water and jiggled them a little, they expanded back into their original shape and floated again.

Try your experiment with hot, cold and room temperature water and observe your results.

And have fun trying the experiment over and over again!

Why DOES dry erase ink float?

If you'd like to know the science behind the dry erase and water experiment, this dry erase stick-man article explains how dry erase ink floats.
This post was sponsored by EXPO Markers. The ideas and opinions are my own.
Learn more about EXPO Dry Erase Markers with Ink Indicator here. #EXPOTeacherWin

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Dry Erase and Water "Floating Ink" Experiment

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Last updated on If you're looking for cool things to do with dry erase markers, you have to check out this floating ink experiment! It's a fun and easy science activity to do with kids and a great party trick that will "wow" the grown-ups too.