Create Play Travel Pacific Northwest family lifestyle and creative ideas
  • DIY
  • Crafts
  • Kids
  • Eats
  • Homeschool
  • Lifestyle
  • Family Travel
  • PNW
  • About
  • Resources

We may have received one or more of the products mentioned below free for review purposes. Our posts contain affiliate links which allow us to earn a commission, at no additional cost to you. All opinions are exclusive to Create. Play. Travel.

Make Learning Fun With Kids Science & Math Activities

by Katie Wallace | Updated: August 1, 2019

Childhood often seems like a series of one moment after another filled with exploration and learning. Young kids can discover new things every day, such as how to pour their own cereal, how to tie their shoes, and how to sound out the alphabet. Older kids can learn the skills needed to teach themselves practically anything. You never have to stop learning. I’ve found many ways to make learning fun for my kids during summer break, weekends and ordinary school days.

Make learning fun with kids science and math activities

Our family is about to start another year of homeschooling. Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, our kids will be in preschool, kindergarten and 2nd grade. We start our school days with reading, writing and math, which are essential core topics to give kids a strong academic foundation. We explore science and art in the afternoons by doing easy experiments and crafty activities.

Engaging educational TinkerActive Science and Math workbooks for kids

My kids love learning by doing the exercises found in workbooks. Our 7-year-old especially enjoys these TinkerActive Science and Math workbooks which combine educational principles with engaging projects.

TinkerActive Science and Math workbooks

TinkerActive workbooks are filled with interactive exercises that cover the essential math, science and problem-solving skills. Kids can apply what they’ve learned with creative hands-on activities that use common household materials. TinkerActive workbooks offer plenty of practice with at least 8 dynamic pages on each key concept. Kids are inspired to learn through play as they interact with curriculum-based exercises designed for all learning styles including visual, auditory and kinesthetic.

We received the TinkerActive Kindergarten and 2nd Grade workbooks covering science and math concepts. Workbook exercises are intermixed with related tinkering and engineering activities. The charming and clever citizens of TinkerTown, the MotMots, humorously guide kids through each new concept.

Design 3D marshmallow shapes with TinkerActive workbooks

Build 3D Marshmallow Shapes

My kids enjoyed experimenting with this creative project straight out of a TinkerActive workbook. We used wooden sticks and marshmallows to make 3 dimensional shapes. This lesson in geometry is a physical way to test the strength of different shapes. Some of the 3D shapes we made were stronger than others. Shorter sticks created stronger 3D shapes than longer sticks. My daughter had to figure out how to use balance and symmetry to effectively design strong marshmallow shapes.

TinkerActive Science and Math workbooks combine educational principles with engaging projects

You can make 2D or 3D shapes by following the TinkerActive 2nd Grade Math workbook instructions. Design these shapes using small wooden sticks and marshmallows. You can take the project a step further and apply engineering concepts to discover which shapes are the strongest and why.

TinkerActive workbooks reinforce science and math concepts

Mix Up Homemade Neon Play Dough

Making homemade play dough is another of our family’s favorite school-inspired creative activities. Play dough is timeless — even adults enjoy playing with it! One of the benefits of making your own play dough is that you can mix up any color, add fragrances or even sprinkle on glitter. We used gel food coloring to turn our best homemade play dough recipe into neon colors! You can make play dough using ingredients you already have on hand: water, salt, cream of tarter and flour.

Try our easy recipe for the best homemade play dough!

Once your homemade play dough is mixed, kids can use it to sculpt all kinds of imaginative creations. I like to encourage my kids to keep their play dough colors separate so they don’t mix the vibrant colors into dingy brown. We do sometimes use play dough for intentional color mixing. Kids can combine play dough colors to make new colors and learn about the color wheel. Different amounts of the primary colors red, blue and yellow mixed together will create different hues of secondary colors green, purple and orange. You can easily turn play dough into a hands-on tactile art lesson!

Best homemade neon play dough recipe

Dye Eggs with DIY Natural Food Coloring

A final way to make learning fun for kids using science and math is by dying eggs with natural food coloring. This project combines art, concepts of time, color and chemistry! To make DIY natural food coloring, first we identified some natural food dyes such as beets, turmeric, blueberries and spinach. We boiled, blended or crushed these naturally vibrant foods and added some vinegar to make our homemade egg dye.

Learn how to dye eggs with natural food coloring and see the colorful results of our project!

Natural Easter egg dying kids activity

Every Day is a Learning Opportunity

Whether your kids are in school or you teach them at home, every day is an opportunity to teach them something new. It’s been helpful for our family to replace some of our screen time with simple creative activities. Our little kids can practice motor skills as they trace lines, color and play with play dough. My 7-year-old loves designing paper crafts, drawing and using simple chemistry to bake cookies.

TinkerActive workbooks are a great way to reinforce science and math concepts, especially for kids who learn by doing. I love that kids can do a few work pages and then further explore a topic with a hands-on tinkering activity or engineering project. These workbooks provide ideas for exercises and experiments that we can effortlessly integrate into our school routine to make learning extra fun!

TinkerActive kids workbooks for science and math concepts

Katie Wallace
Katie Wallace

Hi, I’m Katie! I live with my husband and 4 kids in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I love Jesus, coffee, creative projects, photography, and traveling. I’ve previously worked as a web designer, journalist, and barista. I hope you enjoy our creative projects and family adventures!

Tags

  • Kids Science

Post navigation

Family Hike to Kootenai Falls & Swinging Bridge
Creative DIY School Supplies

Related posts

Creative Ways to Teach Kids Through Play
August 5, 2025
by Katie Wallace  /  16 Comments

Creative Ways to Teach Kids Through Play

How to Color Eggs Using Natural Dyes
March 10, 2023
by Katie Wallace  /  8 Comments

How to Color Eggs Using Natural Dyes

Playdough Volcano Kids Science Activity
March 5, 2025
by Katie Wallace  /  1 Comment

Playdough Volcano Kids Science Activity

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
Recipe Rating




guest
Recipe Rating




0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Kids Categories

  • Kids Activities
  • Paper Crafts
  • Toys
  • Snacks
  • Fashion

Hello

Wallace Family 2024 create play travel

Hi, I'm Katie and we are the Wallace family! We homeschool, go on adventures, and travel internationally with our four kids. I hope you enjoy our creative ideas on Create. Play. Travel.

Do it Yourself

do it yourself watermelon fruit bowl See our creative projects, kids activities, & party ideas »

Homeschool Ideas

katie wallace homeschool ideas Homeschool Tips & Ideas »

Popular Tags

  • Babies
  • Baking
  • Beauty Tips
  • California
  • Camping
  • Colorado
  • Disney
  • DIY
  • Europe
  • Fall
  • Fashion
  • Gift Ideas
  • Idaho
  • Kids Activities
  • Kids Science
  • Memories
  • Pacific Northwest
  • Paper Crafts
  • Party Ideas
  • Product Reviews
  • Sensory Play
  • Snacks
  • Teens
  • Toys
  • Valentines Day
  • Videos
  • Wood Projects
  • Worldschooling

Latest YouTube Videos

Create Play Travel Youtube Videos@createplaytravel on YouTube »
Europe with kids YouTube videosEurope with Kids Video Episodes »

createplaytravel

Traveling the world with our 4 kids! 🌍🌟🌺 Homeschooling + family adventures

Saturday morning entertainment 🤣➡️ What’s your favorite cereal??🌟 Inspiring families to live creatively and make memories, through adventures! 🌎🩵 follow along! @createplaytravel
Kiera turned 13 this summer! I can’t believe we Kiera turned 13 this summer! I can’t believe we have a teenager in the family! 😳🎀😁 @teenglowtravel To be fair, we celebrated her birthday in Italy, Slovenia, and France. Our journey was such a blast, full of adventures every day! How special to turn 13 🎂 while traveling in Europe!🌟 Inspiring families to live creatively and make memories, through adventures 🌎🩵➡️ follow along! @createplaytravel @teenglowtravel #travelwithkids #adventurefamily #worldschooling #kidswhotravel
📍 Ripon Prison Museum - Step back into the earl 📍 Ripon Prison Museum - Step back into the early 1800s in Yorkshire, England, where crime came with serious consequences. Even children were punished with prison time for stealing food or property. 😭We walked through cold cells and learned about the forced labor and bleak meals given to inmates. This glimpse into Victorian prison life was sobering, but such a powerful experience for our kids.Would your homeschool family enjoy this field trip? 🕯️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🌟 Inspiring families to live creatively and make memories, through adventures 🌍🩵➡️ follow along! @createplaytraveltraveling with kids, family adventures
I love seeing their faces light up when my kids di I love seeing their faces light up when my kids discover something new. 😃I love watching them try new things. 😎Sometimes, the best part of travel is watching my kids experience whatever we’re doing. 🌍I’m just here collecting a thousand unforgettable memories. 😌🌈🏰🌟 Inspiring families to live creatively and make memories, through adventures! 🌎🩵➡️ follow along! @createplaytravel#familyadventures #travelingwithkids #worldschooling
Anyone else have no idea what the future holds?? W Anyone else have no idea what the future holds?? We’re so thankful that God can use us to be a light in each life stage, wherever we are! 🫶✨🌟 Inspiring families to live creatively and make memories, through adventures 🌎🩵➡️ follow along! @createplaytraveltraveling with kids, family adventures
Praise God for the amazing hope he gives us throug Praise God for the amazing hope he gives us through Jesus Christ! 🙌 Everyone who trusts in the name of Jesus will be saved, and receive new life now. 💗 You can pray to him just like you would talk to a friend. We’ve had the privilege to share this with a few people on our adventures in Europe. 🌍✨➡️ follow along! @createplaytravel🌟 Inspiring families to live creatively and make memories, through adventures 🌎🩵traveling with kids, family adventures,
I loved watching every moment of our baby’s adve I loved watching every moment of our baby’s adventures this summer. But it went too fast! 💔🥹➡️ follow along! @createplaytravel🌟 Inspiring families to live creatively and make memories, through adventures! 🌎🩵
All good things ✨🗺️⬇️ Traveling with o All good things ✨🗺️⬇️Traveling with our 4 kids has been so rewarding! We’ve seen our kids grow up before our eyes, as they experience new cultures, try speaking other languages, and eagerly explore new places. 🇮🇹🏰🏛️Family life has been very busy! Each day we fit in exploring, homeschool, family meals together, and naps for baby. 🌍 Overall it’s been an amazing adventure, or 183 days of exploring to be exact. 🤯Don’t miss watching our first two YouTube videos of family adventures in Rome! 🎬 Just posted!🌟 Inspiring families to live creatively and make memories, through adventures 🌎🩵➡️ follow along! @createplaytravel#travelingwithkids #worldschool #kidswhotravel #familytravel
Follow on Instagram
  • Elara Pro by LyraThemes.com
  • Copyright © Create. Play. Travel. • Privacy Policy