Creative Family Fun

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Learning Activities for Kids

Grow the Grinch’s Heart Science Experiment

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One of the best parts of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is this scene: the Grinch is straining as he holds the sleigh balancing precariously on a mountaintop. He hears singing and then pop, pop, pop, his heart fills with joy.

I love watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year and I was dying to do an activity based on this favorite movie. So, we took a classic science experiment, gave it a Christmas-sy twist to get this fun Grow the Grinch’s Heart Science Experiment.

Try some Christmas science with this fun Grow the Grinch's heart science experiment. It's a STEM activity with a Christmas twist.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed:

Green balloon
Red Sharpie
Empty water bottle
White vinegar
Funnel
Baking Soda

Before you begin your project, you’ll want to make the Grinch’s small heart.

Take a green balloon and use your red Sharpie to draw a simple heart on the balloon.

Give it a minute to dry before you begin your grow the Grinch’s heart science experiment.

Grow the Grinch’s Heart Science Experiment.

For the first step in your experiment, add some vinegar to your empty water bottle. I filled it up to about the second groove from the bottom. Eyeball it. You don’t need to be exact.

Attach your balloon to the bottom of your funnel (like the picture above). Fill the balloon with about two to three spoonfuls of baking soda. You may need to shake it a bit to get all the baking soda into the balloon.

Remove your balloon from the funnel.

Carefully, without dumping any baking soda into your bottle, attach the balloon to the top of the water bottle, like you see illustrated in the photo above.

You’re all set up! Get ready to grow the Grinch’s heart.

Grow the Grinch's heart with this fun Christmas science activity based on this favorite book. It's a STEM activity with a Christmas twist.

Lift the balloon up and shake the baking soda into the bottle. Your balloon will start inflating immediately.

You can let go once the balloon starts filling up and watch the Grinch’s heart grow three sizes (or more).

Why did the Grinch’s heart grow?

The combination of baking soda and vinegar formed a gas called carbon dioxide, which filled your balloon.

This is the same gas that forms the bubbles in your favorite carbonated drink.

Have you watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas yet this year?

When you do, add a little extra fun when you do this grow the Grinch’s heart science experiment.

You may also enjoy one of these winter science activities:

Hot Chocolate Science : How does temperature affect the rate that hot chocolate dissolves?

Snow Science Prediction and Observation: Make some predictions about how quickly snow melts in different conditions.

Hockey Science: Experiment with friction when you do this fun science project inspired by the game of ice hockey.

Christmas Magic Milk Science at Little Bins for Little Hands: Try another classic experiment with a Christmas twist.

Find lots of fun ideas for Christmas Science Experiments for Kids.

My must-have resources for STEM fun:

If you love to have STEM projects on hand, but don’t always have time to prep, why not give a subscription box a chance. I love Green Kid Crafts for this reason. The boxes are packed full of projects that are fun and inviting. You can choose to get a subscription or a one-off box based off of a specific theme.

Here are some of our favorites (you can purchase and  find out more at each link):

Get a monthly subscription.

Kitchen Science Box

Physics Box

Find all their fun STEM boxes here.

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Fun Christmas Math Activities for Kids

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I don’t know about you, but I love to get a little festive this time of year with everyday things – like math practice.

So let’s practice counting, counting, patterns, symmetry, addition and more while getting in the Christmas spirit. We’ll use candy canes, reindeer, and make Christmas trees.

You’ll love all of these Christmas Math Activities. They’re so much fun and perfect for learning during the holiday season.

Make math fun this holiday season with one of these Christmas math activities for kids. You'll find activities for both preschoolers and elementary kids.

Whether you’re looking for ideas for your preschoolers or your elementary kids, you’ll find something fun here. I found great counting games, fun geometry games, addition practice and more.

Keep reading for all the fun Christmas math activities.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Preschool Christmas Math Activities

Get a little fine motor practice while using a hole punch to do this simple Christmas Tree counting activity from Sugar Aunts.

Practice counting with this Gingerbread Cookies Counting Tray from Teach Me Mommy.

Explore patterns with this simple Candy Cane Pattern activity from This Reading Mama (comes with a free printable).

Have some sweet counting fun with this simple M&M Christmas tree counting activity from Umbrella Tree Cafe.

Practice counting and ordering with this Evergreen Tree Math Game from Mom Inspired Life.

Count and have fun with this two-player Jingle Bell Math Game from Fun-A-Day.

Do some simple adding and counting while you build a snowman with this fun activity from And Next Comes L.

Use Christmas bows to practice sorting by size with this simple measurement activity from Learning 4 Kids.

Practice number matching and counting with this Christmas Tree counting activity (that would make a great busy bag) from Mom Inspired Life.

Play with a fun Christmas tree geoboard. Fun-A-Day shows you how to make and use this simple foam tree geoboard.

Elementary Christmas Math Activities

Use candy canes to practice symmetry with this fun activity from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Have you heard of Pascal’s Triangle? Explore this pattern activity with this fun Christmas tree activity from Teach Beside Me.

Create a Christmas tree out of Sierpinski fractal triangles with this STEAM activity at What Do We Do All Day.

Explore tally marks with this fun Candy Cane math game from JDaniel4’s Mom.

Practice your estimation skills with this simple LEGO math activity from Little Bins for Little Hands.

Explore tangrams with this fun (and yummy) Christmas Cookie Tangram activity from Left Brain Craft Brain.

Learn about fractions with this Snowman Fractions game from Teach Beside Me.

Explore a hundred chart and practice simple addition while playing Jingle All the Way to 100 from Simply Kinder.

Practice circular measurement, pattern making, and more with this beautiful STEAM Math Stars activity at Nurture Store.

Race your reindeer along a number line with this fun and simple Racing Reindeer game from Mom Inspired Life.

Hope you have a festive and fun time with all these Christmas math activities!

You may also like one of these fun Christmas Activities:

Christmas Science: Grow the Grinch’s Heart

Printable Family Activities Advent Calendar

Paper Plate Christmas Tree Kids Craft

The Best Salt Dough Ornaments for Kids

Christmas Science Experiments for Kids

Free Hundred Chart Printable

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There are so many fun hundred chart activities you can do. But, before you can go have fun, you need a hundred chart.

This free hundred chart printable is perfect for the job. It’s a great basic chart that will work for any activity.

All you need to do is download, print, and get ready to learn.

Get this simple free printable hundred chart to use for many math activities. This basic chart prints in black and white.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Hundred Chart Printable

So, what can you use a hundred chart for? 

You can use it to add and subtract up to 100, just like you would a number line.

Or use it to practice counting by ones or skip counting by any number.

You can even use it to practice counting money!

You can use it as a game board with 100 spaces like our Hundred Chart Hidden Number Game.

Or, you cut it up into a puzzle like our Wacky Mixed Up Hundred Chart Puzzle.

This free hundred chart is perfect for learning and math activities.

No matter what you want to do, you’ll need a simple hundred chart. Click the link below to download and print.

This hundred chart will print in vertical format on a single piece of paper.

Download your printable hundred chart here.

Note: This free hundred chart is for classroom and home use only. Please do not distribute for pay or as part of a paid product. Thank you!

Get this simple hundred chart printable to use for learning to count and other math activities.

More Math Activities for Kids

There are so many ways to play and have fun with math. Here are a few of our favorites.

Go outside and create a big hundred chart like our fun Driveway Hundred Chart.

Practice addition with a fun card game: Addition War.

Grab your LEGOs for a fun math game when you practice addition with this Add & Fill a LEGO Base Plate Game.

Use playing card to practice making ten with this fun Make Ten Math Card Game at What Do We Do All Day.

My Must-Have Hundred Chart Resources

You can find some great hands-on hundred chart toys to extend the fun.

Try a sturdy and fun hundred chart with removable numbers or put up a large hundred chart with pockets. Or, you can get a hundred chart play mat for the floor.

Check out all the fun resources I found below.

Are you looking for more activities?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share idea for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Pumpkin Counting Activities for Toddlers

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Pumpkins seem to be everywhere this time of year. They make great learning tools.

Try out our pumpkin counting activities for toddlers to practice counting and number recognition.

Try some hands-on learning with these fun and simple pumpkin counting activities for toddlers, which help them practice counting and number recognition.

Pumpkin Counting Activities for Toddlers

I like to use mini pumpkins for this activity. They are easy for toddlers to pick up and handle.

Use real pumpkins if you can. Give them a good washing before allowing your kids to play with them.

I chose to use just 5 pumpkins for this activity. That helps toddlers really focus on the numbers and get good at 1-5 before moving onto other numbers.

If your child has mastered 1-5, feel free to add more pumpkins.

Try some hands-on learning with these fun and simple pumpkin counting activities for toddlers, which help them practice counting and number recognition.

Number your pumpkins 1-5. Number five squares of paper 1-5 as well.

First, I let my son (age 2.5) just explore the pumpkins. He was free to move them around and play with them for a bit.

We practiced counting the pumpkins.

Then, I set out the number squares.

Try some hands-on learning with these fun and simple pumpkin counting activities for toddlers, which help them practice counting and number recognition.

The next step is to have your toddler match the numbers on the pumpkin to the paper number squares.

Try some hands-on learning with these fun and simple pumpkin counting activities for toddlers, which help them practice counting and number recognition.

Talk to him about the numbers he sees. What number is on your pumpkin? Can you find that number on the table (or floor)? Place your pumpkin there.

Try some hands-on learning with these fun and simple pumpkin counting activities for toddlers, which help them practice counting and number recognition.

Ask your child to bring you a pumpkin with a certain number. Say: Can you bring me the pumpkin with the number two?

Since we were using the train table as our play surface, my son grabbed a train nearby and started driving it around the pumpkins. I asked him to drive the trains from one pumpkin to another.

Try some hands-on learning with these fun and simple pumpkin counting activities for toddlers, which help them practice counting and number recognition.

Can you drive the train to the number one. Okay, now let’s go to number two. Where is number three? And so on.

Work on Number Words

In addition to writing numbers on the squares of paper, write number words. This will help your child begin to connect the word “one” with number “1.”

Try some hands-on learning with these fun and simple pumpkin counting activities for toddlers, which help them practice counting and number recognition.

I had my daughter (age 4.5) do this activity. We read the number words and she placed the correct number pumpkin down.

For older kids, you could also work on the ordinal number words (first, second, third, fourth, and fifth).

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Read a Story

Read Five Little Pumpkins to go along with this counting activity. Choose your favorite version. The story uses the words first, second, third, fourth, and fifth to talk about what each of the little pumpkins does.

More Pumpkin Counting Activities to Try

Days with Grey shares a Scoop and Count Pumpkin Activity that’s perfect for practicing counting, number recognition, and subitizing. They put the pumpkins in water but you could use anything (or just an empty bin) for this one.

Make your own Pumpkin Patch Numbers Game with this idea from Rainy Day Mum.

My Storytime Corner has a Dabber Pumpkin Count Activity that asks preschoolers how many pumpkins are on the gate.

Use this Five Little Pumpkins Playdough Activity from Clare’s Little Tots to retell the story.

Fantastic Fun and Learning created a jack-o-lantern number line to practice number skills.

Practice counting and fine motor skills using clothespins with this counting pumpkin activity from Lalymom.

Take your pumpkin counting to the light table with this idea from Where Imagination Grows.

Pre-K Pages has several Halloween themed activities for practicing one to one correspondence. Check out the pom pom pumpkin and pumpkin seeds counting activities.

More Pumpkin Themed Activities for Toddlers

Work on pre-writing skills with pumpkins and a chalk marker.

Check out our Fall Bucket List for Toddlers.

After carving your pumpkin, make some pumpkin oobleck with real pumpkin.

Try some hands-on learning with these fun and simple pumpkin counting activities for toddlers, which help them practice counting and number recognition.

Hundred Chart Activities to Make Math Fun

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I love how versatile a hundred chart is.

You can practice so many math concepts – simple counting, addition, subtraction, skip counting, multiplication and more.

It’s such a powerful tool and that’s why you see it used so often in elementary classrooms. But, it’s not only a great tool, it’s also a great base for fun math games and activities.

So let’s get started and make math fun with these hundred chart activities.

Help make learning fun with these hands-on hundred chart activities and games. These math activities are a fun way to practice many math concepts.

The Hundred Chart

Before we get started having fun, we should go over what a hundred chart is and how it’s used.

The simple answer is that it’s a chart with ten columns that list the number in order from 1 through 100. It’s a helpful tool to help kids visualize the order of numbers. This tool can also help kids while they’re learning other math concepts such as addition and subtraction and helps them visualize these concept.

Help make learning fun with these hands-on hundred chart activities and games. These math activities are a fun way to practice many math concepts.

You can find a more detailed explanation at this post: What is a Hundred Chart?

Plus, you can grab your Free Hundred Chart Printable at this link. You’ll need it for these great activities!

Now that you understand the hundred chart, let’s have some fun. Here are some awesome activities to try.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Hundred Chart Activities

All of the activities below are fun and hands-on ways to learn with a hundred chart.

Work a puzzle or get outside and move. No matter what you choose, your kids will have so much fun!

Fun Hundred Chart Activities

The most awesome and fun hundred chart games and activities to help you child have fun and learn.

Driveway Hundred Chart Game

Photo Credit: creativefamilyfun.net

Learn outside and play games with a giant hundred chart on your driveway.

Fill-in-the-Blank Hundred Chart Puzzles

Photo Credit: creativefamilyfun.net

Can you guess the hidden numbers with this fun missing number hundred chart puzzle?

Hundred Chart Hidden Number Game

Guess the hidden number with this simple hundred chart hidden number game.

Play and Learn With Fun Hundred Chart Activities

Photo Credit: creativefamilyfun.net

Lots of fun hundred chart activities!

Fun Hundred Chart Games and Activities - Creative Family Fun

Photo Credit: creativefamilyfun.net

Even more fun hundred chart activities

St. Patrick's Day Hundred Chart Game

Find the pot of gold with this fun printable hundred chart game for St. Patrick's Day.

My Must-Have Hundred Chart Resources

You can find some great hands-on hundred chart toys to extend the fun.

Try a sturdy and fun hundred chart with removable numbers or put up a large hundred chart with pockets. Or, you can get a hundred chart play mat for the floor.

Check out all the fun resources I found below.


More Math Activities for Kids

Fun Addition Fact Games for Kids

Build Numbers with a Fun Place Value Activity

Skip Counting with the Cat in the Hat

Paper Plate Addition Game

Help make learning fun with these hands-on hundred chart activities and games. These math activities are a fun way to practice many math concepts.

Are you looking for more activities?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share idea for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.