Measuring stuff around the house is a fun and easy science activity for kids. It’s perfect for Saturday afternoons or whenever you want to spend some quality, stress free time with your child. These simple measurement games are flexible enough to grow with your child’s developing skills.

Here’s All You’ll Need to Get Started:

-Tape measure
-Ruler
-Paper and pencil

Activity 1

The Alphabet Game

Here’s how to play this measuring game…

Hunt for three things around the house that start with the letter A. Measure each item and log the measurement on a piece of paper. (Hint:round to the nearest inch.)

Now hunt for three things around the house that start with the letter B. Measure each item and log the measurement on a piece of paper.

Next hunt for three things around the house that start with the letter C. Measure each item and log the measurement on a piece of paper.

Now put a check mark next to the biggest item. Put a circle next to the smallest item.

(Advanced: how many of the smallest items would it take to equal the length of the longest item?)

Activity 2

1/2 a Sandwich and a Cup of Soup Please

Here’s how to play this measurement game…

Measure the length of your couch. Log the result on a piece of paper. Now find something around the house that is approximately 1/2 the length of the couch–for example: the width of your dining table. Measure it, then log the result on a piece of paper. Now find something that is approximately 1/2 the width of your dining table–for example: a picture on the wall. Measure it, then log the result on a piece of paper. Now find something 1/2 the width of the picture on the wall–for example: your toaster. Measure it, then log the result. Now find something 1/2 the width of your toaster–for example: 1/2 a sandwich. Measure it, then log the result. Keep playing until you find something that is approximately one inch long–a peanut for example. Log the result on a piece of paper.

(Advanced: keep track of how long it took to complete the activity. Compare the result each new time you complete this activity. What’s the trend?)

Activity 3

Double Double!

Here’s how to play this game…

In this game, start by measuring your child’s nose. If you measure the width, it should come out to approximately one inch. Log the results. (Your child will love seeing something like ‘Claire’s nose: 1 inch’ on your chart). Now find something approximately double the length–for example: a strawberry. Measure it and log the results. Now find something approximately double the length of the strawberry. Measure it and log the results. Keep going until you run out of things to measure.

(Advanced: measure the entire length of your house. Using that figure as a guide, estimate the distance to your mailbox, nearest park or grocery store).

Measuring things goes hand in hand with the fundamentals of science. These activities offer basic exposure to measuring procedures, and can be played again and again. As your child becomes more skillful at measuring stuff, work toward more precise measurements by rounding to the nearest 1/2 inch, and eventually to the nearest 1/4 or 1/8 inch. A good way to engage in even more precise measurements is to measure coins or book ends to the nearest 1/16 of an inch! Be sure to record the results. Have fun!

Several fun science experiments can be conducted with basic materials that you already have in your home. These little experiments will keep your children entertained while enhancing and reinforcing their science knowledge.

The first easy experiment will teach your child how sound is caused by vibration.
Gather a small empty box such as a match box or a child’s shoe box, some
rubber bands, a few small drinking glasses, a spoon, and some water. First, fill
the drinking glasses with different amounts of water. Have your child tap on the
glasses using the spoon and point out how the amount of water inside the glass
affects the sound that is produced. Next, wrap the rubber bands around the box.
Make sure they are all facing the same way. The box should look similar to a guitar
if done correctly. Let your child pluck the strings to make sound. There are additional
ways to produce sound as well. For example, you can put wax paper over a comb
and blow on it like a harmonica. Kazoos are also a fun way to produce sound. If
you live near a school supply store you might also consider purchasing a tuning
fork to enhance this experiment.

Static electricity is something else that can easily be taught. For this experiment
you will need a balloon, a comb, a plate, and some small bits of scrap paper.
This experiment works best in the winter. First, tear the scrap paper up into
tiny bits and place it on the plate. Next, let your child run the comb through
his/her hair. The comb will now chase the bits of paper about the plate. After
you are done with that phase of the experiment, blow up and tie the balloon. Vigorously
rub it on your child’s hair or let them rub it through yours. The balloon
should now stick to the wall because of the static electricity.

Another simple science experiment involves learning how plants grow. Gather paper cups, water, dirt, seeds, carnations,
food coloring, a spoon, leaves, paper, and a pencil. First, let your child add
some dirt and a little water to two paper cups. Next, plant some seeds into each
cup. Place one cup in a window or a sunny spot. Place the other plant in a shady
spot that rarely sees the sun such as a closet. Water each plant regularly. As
time passes your child will notice how the plant that receives sun thrives and
how the other plants do not. This experiment proves that plants need sunshine
to grow. There are some related experiments that you can also do. Pour some water
into several cups and add different hues of food coloring to the cups and stir.
Add a carnation to each cup. By the next day, the carnations should have changed
to the color of the water. This demonstrates how plants absorb water. You might
also have your child do leaf rubbings using paper and pencil to show how the plant
food is produced.

As you can see, there are many simple science experiments that can be done with
your child. Gather those materials and let the fun and the learning begin!

Science is a fun and interesting subject for kids because it is all around us. Some people do not realize that science is involved when in almost everything you do such as cooking, cleaning, and playing. When these people think of science they probably remember the classroom and the teachers boring lectures, but the good news is that method is becoming a thing of the past. Science is being brought onto television with police dramas such as CSI.

Most children at an elementary school age want to grow up and be a policeman because policeman help people and they always catch the bad guy. To kids this is the best thing in the world, and for us as parents we can not think of a better role model for our children than a police officer. CSI shows kids how science is used to solve crimes and catch the bad guys. While kids might not understand the exact techniques involved with DNA and others, every kid knows about fingerprints. Teachers can set up a mock crime scene and let children lift fingerprints and other crime lab techniques. At the end the children can solve the crime and write a report on who they think did it, how they figured out who did it, etc. This is a fun exercise for children to do and it is all hands on.

Another reason why kids love science is because what other subject do you get to learn about outer space. Children of all ages are fascinated with the idea about outer space and aliens. Outer space is also interesting because it involves flying in rockets and going places that nobody has gone before. The whole idea about what if lets children use their imagination and learn at the same time.

Science is also fun because you can mix stuff together and make new things. Children from a young age learn that if you take dirt and mix water to it you get mud. And the learning does not stop there, as they get older the learn more about combining ingredients to make new things. Science allows children to make play dough, cookies, slime and all sorts of other gross and fun things. Besides the fact kids can just experiment on their own to see what they can come up with.

Another part of science is animals. Almost all kids love to learn about animals. Basic science about animals involves ant farms, which kids can build themselves with a jar, some dirt and ants. The best part about ant farms is digging in the dirt and trying to find the ants. But as kids get older they can take this type of science to another level, which can include biology and anatomy.

For kids science is fun because what other subject do you get to have all of your questions answered and use your imagination to create things. Science is also filled with wonders about other worlds, such as dinosaurs and why they became extinct, outer space and walking on the moon, and solving crimes. Science involves experimenting and most kids love to try things to see if they work. For example physical science can involve dropping an egg from a roof top to see if it will break, or what will drop faster a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks. By getting hands-on kids can figure out these answers and numerous other answers, the hands-on experiments make science even more fun and exciting.