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Learning Activities for Kids

Melting Snow Science Experiment

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We’ve had plenty of snow this year, but the sub-zero temps have been keeping us inside most days.

Luckily, with the exception of a quick trip outside to gather snow, this simple melting snow science experiment is done indoors.

We used the snow to practice both prediction and observation.

Practice making predictions and observations with this simple melting snow science experiment. It's perfect to do on a cold, snowy day!

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 for your snow science experiment:

Snow (if you don’t have snow, you can use crushed ice)
4 clear jars or drinking glasses
Ruler
Notebook

Let’s start our snow science project!

Step 1:

Measure an equal amount of snow into 4 jars. We added about 2 inches of snow to each. Use the ruler to measure.

Place each jar in 4 different locations. We chose a window (on a grey, cloudy day), a dark room, the refrigerator, and outside (temp was -4 F).

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Practice making predictions and observations with this simple melting snow science experiment. It's perfect to do on a cold, snowy day!

Step 2:

Record your predictions.

We asked the question, which jar of snow will melt first?

We then ranked them from the fastest melting to the slowest.

Each girl had a chance to make individual guesses.

Step 3:

Make your first observations.

When the timer went off, the girls ran around and checked all of the jars. I was their recorder and the person elected to check the frigid outside jar.

After five minutes, we discovered that the jar in the window and the one in the dark room had already started melting. The refrigerator jar had no melting, nor did the one outside (obviously).

After making your first observations, set the timer for an additional 5 or 10 minutes. We chose five.

Step 4:

Make your second observation.

After an additional five minutes had passed, we discovered that our window jar was melting the fastest, and the dark room was second. The refrigerator jar and outside jar still showed no melting.

Practice making predictions and observations with this simple melting snow science experiment. It's perfect to do on a cold, snowy day!

Step 5:

Make your final observations.

After our second observation we left to run a few errands. When we came back, we discovered that despite our initial observations, the jar in the dark room melted faster than the one in the window.

The refrigerator jar had started melting and the one outside was still as frozen as it started out.

What did we learn with our snow science experiment?

This led to a quick examination. Why did the jar in the window stop melting so quickly? The girls discovered a very cold window and a cloudy day.

My 1st grader also observed that the heater had come on and suspected that it helped speed up the melting in the dark room. I love it when their scientific minds start working!

This snow science experiment is perfect for both preschoolers and elementary students. It’s a simple way to introduce making predictions. Your older kids can practice their writing by recording all the observations in the notebook. Plus, it’s simple and safe so that your older kids can do the entire experiment on their own.

Note: This post was originally published on January 6, 2014. Updated and republished on December 29, 2018.

You may also like one of these science experiments:

Hockey Science

Hot Chocolate Science

Christmas Science: Grow the Grinch’s Heart

Fizzy Snow: A Sensory Science Exploration at Inspiration Laboratories

My Must-Have Resources for Science Fun

I don’t know about you, but I don’t always have time to prep a fun science project. That’s why I love Green Kid Crafts Discovery boxes. 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. Any one you choose would be a lot of fun!

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 and science boxes here.

STEAM Family Activities

Wouldn’t it be so much fun to get STEAM family activities delivered to your inbox? I think so! That’s why I’ve created this fun series, STEAM Family Fun, to be delivered to your inbox. After going through all the letters in STEAM each week with a fun activity devoted to each, you’ll start receiving a fun STEAM activity once a month. (And I’ll also pop up in your inbox occasionally if I’ve got other fun things to share.)

Fill out the form below to start receiving STEAM Family Fun in your inbox.



STEAM Family Fun Email List Sign Up

Fun Valentine Math Activities

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Adding with hearts. Measuring with hearts. Graphing with hearts.

There are so many fun ways to incorporate Valentine’s Day into your math activities.

I’ve gathered up some fun Valentine math activities for kids in grades kindergarten through sixth grade. You’ll definitely find something fun to do with your kids.

You'll love these fun Valentine math activities that are perfect for school and home. You'll find ideas for grades kindergarten through sixth.

No matter what your child is working on, from counting to addition to division, there’s a way to add a Valentine’s Day twist.

So, let’s get a little festive, indulge in all things hearts, and have some fun doing math.

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.

You'll love these fun Valentine math activities that are perfect for school and home. You'll find ideas for grades kindergarten through sixth.

Pre-K and Kindergarten Valentine Math Activities

Use candy hearts to practice graphing with this fun idea from Adventures in Mommydom. (Includes free printable)

This simple heart counting game from Preschool Toolkit is perfect for kids that are currently working on counting.

You can find another fun counting project at Play and Learn Everyday with this Valentine’s numbers and counting hearts activity.

Work with a ten frame with this fun Portable Valentine’s Ten Frame from Lalymom.

Count to 100 with this fun heart-themed Count to 100 Scavenger Hunt from Creekside Learning.

Practice making geometric shapes for Valentine’s Day with this geoboard activity from Little Bins for Little Hands.

You'll love these fun Valentine math activities that are perfect for school and home. You'll find ideas for grades kindergarten through sixth.

First and Second Grade Valentine’s Day Math

Set up a Valentine’s Day math station to explore counting, addition, subtraction, tally marks, 3-D shapes and more. NurtureStore shows you how to set up a Valentine math station.

Play around with tangrams with this printable heart tangram from JDaniel4’s Mom.

Practice addition using beautiful red roses with this fun (and beautiful) math activity. You can find all the details at 3 Dinosaurs.

Measure using non-standard units with our fun Measuring with Hearts activity.

Little Bins for Little Hands also used non-standard units in this fun Candy Hearts Measuring activity.

Practice graphing with this fun hands-on Valentine’s idea from JDaniel4’s Mom.

Use candy hearts to practice addition with our fun Candy Heart Addition math activity.

Heal broken hearts with this fun Broken Hearts Number Bonds activity at Rainy Day Mum.

Practice addition with this printable heart-themed math mat from The Kindergarten Connection.

Compare numbers and practice greater than and less than with this fun idea from Planning Playtime.

You'll love these fun Valentine math activities that are perfect for school and home. You'll find ideas for grades kindergarten through sixth.

Third Grade and Up

Learn about Möbius strips and use them to create hearts for Valentine’s Day in this project from What Do We Do All Day. This is a great project for older kids combining art and math.

Learn about the pattern of numbers called Pascal’s Triangle and create a Valentine’s Day project based off this concept with this activity from Teach Beside Me.

Practice division with a fun secret code game. Go to Royal Baloo to print out this fun Valentine’s Day Division Code Breakers activity.

Get out your hearts and have some fun doing these Valentine math activities.

You'll love these fun Valentine math activities that are perfect for school and home. You'll find ideas for grades kindergarten through sixth.

You may also like one of these fun Valentine activities:

Valentine’s Day Literacy Activities

Fun Valentine’s Day Word Scramble Printable

Recycled Valentine Crafts for Kids

STEM at Home: Design a Valentine Card Holder

My favorite math resources

We love using games to practice our math. It definitely makes learning fun. Here are some great ones you’ll love playing.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

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.



Playing Card Greater Than Less Than Games

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Have you ever thought about how many things you can do with a deck of playing cards.

There are tons of different games you can play. But, that’s not all.

They’re also a great tool for practicing different math concepts.

So, grab a pack and let’s explore comparing numbers using these fun greater than less than games.

Grab a set off playing cards to practice math with these fun and simple greater than less than games that will make learning fun.

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.

If you don’t already have a deck of playing cards at home, pick up a deck to have on hand for fun math games.

For the following activities, you’ll want to pull out all the kings, queens, jacks, and jokers leaving all the number cards. Give the deck a shuffle or two to mix it up.

Now, it’s time to have some fun and learn too. Here are some ways you can use the cards to practice greater than and less than.

Greater Than Less Than Games for One Person

Divide the deck of cards in half. Turn over the top card of each pile. Decide which number is greater than the other number. Make a pile of the larger numbered cards. Keep turning over cards until you reach the end of the piles.

Alternatively, you can focus on the card that is less than. Make a pile of the smaller numbered cards instead.

Lay out two cards side by side on a sheet of paper, chalkboard, or small white board. Write the correct greater than or less than symbol between the two cards.

Greater Than Less Than Games for Two or More People

Divide the deck of cards between all the players. Have each player turn over the top card of their pile. The person with the largest number keeps their card and the rest of the players discard their cards. Keep going until the piles are depleted. Whoever has the most cards at the end is the winner.

Alternatively, have the person with the smallest number keep their card.

Have each player take turns flipping over two cards and then say the correct number sentence using greater than and less than. For example in the example above they would say, “five is less than seven.” Keep taking turn until the entire deck has been used.

Can you think of some other fun ways to practice greater than or less than with playing cards?

You may also like one of these math activities:

Hundred Chart Activities to Make Math Fun

Addition War Card Game

Counting On Card Games

20+ Fun and Easy Math Games at Math Geek Mama

My Must-Have Math Resources

In addition to a pack of playing cards, there are some other items you can keep at home to help your kids practice math. Here are some options I would recommend.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

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.

Snowball Toss Alphabet Game for Toddlers

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I’m always looking for ways to get kids moving and learning especially in winter when we’re stuck inside more.

Let’s practice letter recognition and letter sounds with a pretend snowball fight.

Toddlers and preschoolers will love this snowball toss alphabet game. And, once you’re done playing you can move on to more fun activities for toddlers.

Help your kids learn their ABC's with this fun Snowball Throw Alphabet game for toddlers and preschoolers.

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.

Materials You’ll Need for the Snowball Toss Game

Snowballs

Card stock(or paper)

Paper cutter (or scissors)

Tape (I used masking tape.)

Marker

Paper plates (or something similar – use plastic bowls, plates, or even pieces of paper)

I found 10 indoor snowballs for $3 at the Target dollar spot. Walmart is selling 20 indoor snowballs for about $10. You can also get indoor snowballs on Amazon. You could even make your own snowballs from balled up socks or crumpled paper.

The indoor snowballs remind me of giant pom poms, but they are weirdly squishy. You know how real snow feels when you make a snowball – that squishy, crunchy feeling? The indoor snowballs replicate that feeling.

Set Up Your Snowball Throw Alphabet Game

I used a paper cutter to cut a piece of white card stock into 1-inch squares. Then, I wrote a letter on each paper square. I drew a line at the bottom of each lowercase letter and some of the uppercase letters just so it was easy to tell which direction the card went.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

I used uppercase and lowercase letters for our matching game. You could play the matching game with the same case to work more on introducing letters.

Select 10 letters to work with. (This helps focus on just some of the letters instead of the entire alphabet. If you have more snowballs, feel free to use more letters.)

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

Tape one lowercase letter to each snowball.

Now you’ll need a landing zone for the snowballs. I used small paper plates. You could use containers or even pieces of paper.

Tape one uppercase letter to each landing zone.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

Place the uppercase letters on one side of the room. We lined the paper plates up near the wall.

Make a pile of snowballs on the other side of the room.

Practice the alphabet with this fun indoor snowball game for toddlers

Play this snowball toss alphabet game

Have your child pick up a snowball and find the letter on it. Ask him to say the name of the letter. (You can also have him say the letter sound.)

Now have your child throw the snowball across the room (towards the paper plates). I had my kids throw the snowballs at the wall.

Next, have your child pick up the snowball and find it’s matching letter on a paper plate. Say: “You have the little (lowercase) letter e. Can you find the big (uppercase) letter E?” Have her place the snowball on the correct letter.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

Keep throwing snowballs and matching letters until you run out.

Then, you can reset the game and play it all over again. Use the same letters or practice different ones. (We stayed on the same set for a while. We’ll switch out the letters and play again another day.)

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game

My toddler (age 2.5) and my preschooler (age 4.5) equally enjoyed this snowball toss alphabet game. They loved getting to throw the snowballs at the wall and then had fun finding the right letter.

Sometimes my toddler read the letters upside down and just made a match with whatever he thought the letter was. I had to have him slow down a bit and help him double check the letters.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game.

I love how this game gets kids moving and working on gross motor skills (throwing, bending, running, etc.) while practicing the alphabet.

Your toddler or preschooler will have fun moving and learning their abc's with this simple gross motor Snowball Toss Alphabet Game.

More Winter Themed Activities for Toddlers

Practice your numbers with this fun Snow Numbers Activity that uses real snow.

Use snow as a canvas for some Snow Painting.

Make a fizzy snow dough sensory bin.

Try some penguin painting, an easy art project that’s perfect for toddlers.

Learn your ABCs with this fun gross motor Snowball Throw Alphabet Game for Toddlers

Find All Your Supplies Here

You may already have some of the supplies you need at home. I know I always have a roll of tape and some card stock. But, if you’re looking to buy some of the supplies, here are a few that I recommend.

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.

Winter STEM Projects for Kids

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Snow, icicles, frost, and more! There are so many fun things to explore in the winter.

These fun Winter STEM Projects for Kids will help you and your children explore all these fun aspects (and more).

So, let’s gather some supplies and get ready to learn.

Learn and have fun with all of these winter STEM projects for kids. Explore snow, ice, cold temperatures and more winter fun.

You’ll find projects to help you explore snow and ice. Or, explore a favorite winter drink. You’ll create, you’ll explore, and you’ll learn a lot. 

Let’s go have some fun!

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.

Learn and have fun with all of these winter STEM projects for kids. Explore snow, ice, cold temperatures and more winter fun.

Science Winter STEM Projects

Learn about friction with our fun Hockey Science Experiment.

Practice prediction and observation while you experiment with our Melting Snow Science Experiment.

Explore a favorite winter drink with our fun Hot Chocolate Science Experiment.

Make frost and explore winter weather with this Frost Snowman Experiment from Science Sparks.

Learn and have fun with all of these winter STEM projects for kids. Explore snow, ice, cold temperatures and more winter fun.

Art Winter STEM Projects

Explore melting snow to make art with this snow process art project from Mom Explores the Smokies.

Grow salt crystals to decorate your paper snowflakes with this fun Growing Salt Crystals project from Little Bins for Little Hands.

Use science to make beautiful frosty windows with this Epsom Salt Painting idea from Babies to Bookworms.

Create beautiful colorful icicles with this Colorful Icicle Science Project from Housing a Forest.

Learn and have fun with all of these winter STEM projects for kids. Explore snow, ice, cold temperatures and more winter fun.

Winter Engineering STEM Activities

Build a snowman with this fun STEM Snowman Craft from How Wee Learn.

Explore symmetry while you build beautiful snowflakes with this fun Pipe Cleaner Snowflake craft from The Joy of Sharing.

Put together a Winter Tinkering Kit from Little Bins for Little Hands and let your kids build and explore. 

Engineer an ice lantern with this fun project from STEAM Powered Family.

Learn and have fun with all of these winter STEM projects for kids. Explore snow, ice, cold temperatures and more winter fun.

You may also like one of these fun winter activities:

10 Ways to Explore Nature in Winter

Fun Winter Nature Books for Kids

Snow Painting

The Best Winter Art Projects for Kids

Learn and have fun with all of these winter STEM projects for kids. Explore snow, ice, cold temperatures and more winter fun.

My Must-Have STEM Resources

I don’t know about you, but I don’t always have time to prep fun STEM projects. That’s why I love Green Kid Crafts Discovery boxes. 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. Any one you choose would be a lot of fun!

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

Get a monthly subscription.

Intro to Electricity Box

Physics Box

Find all their fun STEM and science boxes here.

STEAM Family Activities

Wouldn’t it be so much fun to get STEAM family activities delivered to your inbox? I think so! That’s why I’ve created this fun series, STEAM Family Fun, to be delivered to your inbox. After going through all the letters in STEAM each week with a fun activity devoted to each, you’ll start receiving a fun STEAM activity once a month. (And I’ll also pop up in your inbox occasionally if I’ve got other fun things to share.)

Fill out the form below to start receiving STEAM Family Fun in your inbox.



STEAM Family Fun Email List Sign Up