Math and science work well together; your child can explore both areas at the same time. Simple activities that allow your child to mix, pour, and make things are also helping him explore math and science concepts through hands-on experiences. The following project will provide a fun way for your child to learn math and science skills at the same time.
Making play dough is an easy and fun math and science experience in itself; it also produces material that your child can use to explore a variety of math and science concepts.
Here are some questions to ask your child before you start making play dough:
Using a large piece of paper, create a recipe chart with pictures and words explaining the number of cups, the utensils, and each step.
2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
1 cup of warm water
Mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Mix flour and salt together in the mixing bowl. Gradually add water while stirring with the spoon. Lift dough from the bowl and form a large ball. Knead dough with your hands on a flat surface until it is smooth. Add a little flour to your hands if dough is sticky. Store in an airtight plastic container or sealed plastic bag.
Have your child help measure, pour, and mix the ingredients, as well as kneading the play dough. Compare the size and shapes of the containers you use, and the amounts of the ingredients. How much more flour is used than water? Which ingredients have the same amount? If we wanted to make twice as much play dough, how much flour, water, and salt would we need? Would we need a bigger bowl? Ask your child to notice what happens to the flour and salt as it mixes with the water. Help your child talk about the changes in texture and shape as she makes her play dough.
If you want the play dough to be all one color, add food coloring to the water before you mix. For a variety of colors, places chunks of play dough in plastic bags and add several drops of food coloring. Seal the bags, then mush the color through the play dough and see what happens!
Your child can explore numbers, shapes, size, and other math concepts by comparing the biggest play dough ball, longest snake, or the number of pieces she gets by cutting up a pancake. She can discover fractions as she cuts a play dough snake in half, then in half again. She can also use it to represent all kinds of living things – from turtles to trees to oranges and bananas. Use these representations to talk about what qualities make them living things.
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