A handful of activities my kids have enjoyed

My first grader calls science experiments “science experiences.” He started calling them that a couple years ago. And he’s not wrong. This is how we get to experience science firsthand.

Also, I just love it when my little people come up with their own terminologies.

I’ve made a short collection of some super fun science experiments I’ve done with my kids over the past several months. We did them during Christmas break, on random rainy Saturdays, and even on unexpected snow days in.

So here you go … in case you’re looking for something to do …

Grow a rainbow

Simple and not too messy.

I remembered seeing this done on Ryan’s World, and I think it turned out pretty good for us. Caeden went ahead with his own versions afterward and he did great!

It’s so easy! Just use markers to color the rainbow on either end of a long piece of paper towel. Then have both sides dipped into cups. And just watch the rainbow grow!

How large the cups and how much of the rainbow you color really depends on the materials you have.

Dinosaur volcano

Stinky and pretty messy. But worth it.

This one was a hit and had my kids (well at least one of them) begging to do it again and again until my supplies ran out. No lie, it was super fun to watch!

In an old plastic cup, you mix baking soda with food dye (if desired) and a portion of one egg white. Then pour some vinegar into the cup and watch the magic! It’s so neat!

For easier clean up I made sure the creation was all contained in a dish. And beware it’s a little smelly … but the giggles and gasps are worth it.

Indoor snow

Super messy, smells strong if the shaving cream has a fragrance.

Okay, so I pulled out the ingredients for this when we were hearing rumblings about snow coming to our area. Some of us were really counting on it. (I, for one, was praying for a chance to see my kiddos experience snow for the first time!)

I had found this idea from an IG reel.

Just mix about equal parts shaving cream and baking soda—or let them—and enjoy!

The more it’s manipulated it does kind of “melt away.” But they loved it!

Skittles rainbow

Easy peasy. And sugary.

This is a super easy experiment that my oldest actually did all on his own. (I hadn’t suggested it cuz I wasn’t sure anyone wanted to volunteer their skittles as tribute …)

All you do for this is line up your skittles in a dish (like pictured) and then pour some warm water gently until it fills up the plate. Then sit back and watch. The colors will gravitate toward the middle and your candies will be left white! (And actually you could eat them if you don’t mind a little mystery flavor.)

Magnet magic

Probably the easiest. Not messy at all.

For a clean alternative there was this magic with magnet tiles. I took a dark crayon and wrote numbers on the page (you could write messages, etc) and matched whatever color the magnet was I scribbled over each number. So when you pass the tile over them you can clearly see what was written beneath.

Pretty cool, huh?

Baking things

As messy as you want—or not. Creates work for a dishwasher.

And what better science experience is there then something you can eat?? We made gingerbread cookies, gingerbread latte cookies, vanilla cupcakes with icing and sprinkles, and even chocolate dipped pretzels. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Closing thoughts

I do so wish I always had the energy to do things like this all the time because they just eat it up! They’re so eager to get involved with their hands.

But.

I cannot forget about grace and common sense… even when it applies to me.

Talk to you soon!