Things you need
- Food and drink items for the day.
Lunchbox packing
Get your child to pack their lunch with you and use this as an opportunity to explore mass.
The challenge
Step 1
Show your child what they would normally have for lunch.
Step 2
Ask your child to hold a food item in each hand to compare their mass to work out which is the lightest. While they're comparing, help them talk about the mass using words like:
- light, lighter, lightest
- heavy, heavier, heaviest.
Step 3
Get them to repeat step 2 until they have all the items ordered from lightest to heaviest.
The conversation
Ask your child these questions to support their understanding of mass:
- "So the mandarin is lighter than the muesli bar? Is it lighter than the sultanas?"
- "Let's do this activity with your toys/books/balls?"
- "Are you surprised that the sandwich is lighter than the yoghurt cup, even though the sandwich is bigger?"
