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August 1, 2019

Make Learning Fun With Kids Science & Math Activities

by Katie Wallace

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 3 kids in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I love Jesus, coffee, creative projects, taking photos and traveling. I’ve previously worked as a web designer, journalist and barista. I hope you enjoy our creative projects and family adventures!

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Hello

Hi I'm Katie! Create. Play. Travel. is my family lifestyle blog based in the Pacific Northwest. Our family homeschools, goes on adventures, and even travels internationally with our three kids. I hope you enjoy our creative ideas.

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📍Grassington UK 🎬 We stopped by and PBS just 📍Grassington UK 🎬 We stopped by and PBS just happened to be filming scenes for All Creatures Great and Small season 4. It was fun to see behind the scenes! #createplaytravel #allcreaturesgreatandsmall #homeschoolfamily #worldschooling #adventureswithkids
When we don’t know where we are going, we can AL When we don’t know where we are going, we can ALWAYS trust God. 😀🌄 #createplaytravelTrust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬#travelwithkids #worldschooling #familyadventures #takethekids
Stopping by a fruit stand 🍓 in England and feed Stopping by a fruit stand 🍓 in England and feeding a baby lamb. ☺️ #createplaytravel➡️ See more of our adventures on YouTube 🎬#homeschoolingfamily #worldschooling #adventureswithkids #takethekids
Take the kids! 🍁 There’s so many things to ap Take the kids! 🍁 There’s so many things to appreciate about exploring with kids. Yes, we have to travel slower. But once we started, I want to show them everything. Next trip, we’re bringing a baby. 😉😊 #createplaytravelBackstory: we quit our tech careers, moved to a small town and learned how to be entrepreneurs. Now we Airbnb our home and began traveling internationally with our 3 kids. I’m not really sure where this path we’re on leads, but God knows. 🙂
Beautiful Sgwd yr Eira waterfall in Wales along th Beautiful Sgwd yr Eira waterfall in Wales along the Four Waterfalls Walk. 🍁😃 Who else would like to explore this waterfall after school? 😉 #createplaytravel #worldschooling
We brought some fun things back from Europe! Our a We brought some fun things back from Europe! Our adventures will continue into 2024 and beyond 😉🍁 #createplaytravel #adventurefamily #uktrip #exploringwithkids
Yay! Feels like we finally know what we’re doing Yay! Feels like we finally know what we’re doing. 😄 Our family’s homeschool style is to combine workbooks with family adventures. I’m not a teacher at heart, but I’ve learned to enjoy the rhythms of our school routine. 📚 I like the structure of workbooks, completing lessons, and encouraging my kids.😉 I DO NOT like collecting school supplies.🍁 This fall we’ll enjoy simple school days, followed by more family adventures!⁉️ What gets you excited about back to school? #createplaytravel #homeschoolfamilylife⁠⁠#thisishomeschool #adventurefamily #exploringwithkids #learningisfunwithus #homeschoolkids
Super cute pumpkin candy machine! 😍 I snagged t Super cute pumpkin candy machine! 😍 I snagged this for $5 from Target in the dollar section. 🎃 Let the fall decorating begin! #createplaytravel #hellofall🍂 #targetdollarspotfinds #creativefamily
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