Packing your suitcase

Help your child to pack for a trip or sleepover, exploring the capacity (internal volume) of different bags. Which is the best bag for this holiday or overnight stay?

Things you need

  • Items to be packed
  • Variety of bags or suitcases.

The challenge

Step 1

Get your child to lay out everything they need for a sleepover or overnight visit to a family member.

Step 2

Get out all the possible bags they could use to carry their things, and ask your child to predict which bag will be the most suitable to take. It will need to fit all of their belongings without having too much space left over.

Step 3

Test out each bag to work out which is the ideal one to take on your trip.

The conversation

  • If there's space left over in a bag that your child is testing, you can ask them what else they could fit in there. For example: "How many more jumpers would fit?"
  • Ask your child to estimate the mass of the packed bag. Use a scale to work out its mass.
  • Another question could be: "If we took out one jacket, how many extra t-shirts could we fit?"

Explore more

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