If you follow our Facebook page @exemplareducation you’ll see that we share several great maths and science experiments that are bound to get your child interested. Here are some great examples to try at home that won’t cost the earth, but will make learning fun.

Fraction museums

If your child has started working with fractions or even if they’re a seasoned pro, fraction museums are a great way of bringing maths to life.  They’re also super easy. Things you’ll need:
  • A tray
  • Sets of different coloured items (ten red, ten blue, ten purple, ten yellow – Lego bricks are great, but be creative with counters, buttons, or even clothes pegs)
  • Marker pen
  • Paper (you can use scrap paper as long as one side is blank)
What to do: Cover the tray with the paper and write out four different fraction examples.  You can do more if you want to, depending on the room on the tray and the size of the items you’ve picked. Make sure the figures you’re using are no bigger than the number of items you have in that colour, there’s no point writing out of 13/15 if you only have 10 of anything! Once you’ve written the fractions then get your child to show them with the items in relevant colours, so five over ten would be five red items over ten yellow items. It’s such a simple idea, but it means that the child has to source and sort by colour and also by size as well as creating the fraction itself.

Crazy sand experiments

We had to share this video with you; it’s amazing and such a fun thing to do with the kids.  Craft shops will sell coloured sand.  Use a glass bowl or small fish-tank or a clear plastic container.  Scotchguard is available from Amazon or fabric shops, as are condiment bottles. It’s the third video in and it is amazing!

Baking science and maths

This is a fun and very low cost way of helping your child to learn about science, mixing quantities, and looking at reactions. You’ll need:
  • White vinegar
  • Lemon juice
  • Bicarbonate of soda
  • Food colouring
  • Bowl
What to do: When acid reacts with bicarbonate of soda, it fizzes up.  Not just a little fizz, but big fizzing!  Also it’s harmless. It couldn’t be simpler.  Shake out a layer of bicarbonate of soda onto a bowl or plate, then simply drop on drops of the vinegar or lemon juice and watch it fizz. Have fun with this – use a dropper to create small piles of fizz or pour on larger quantities for a large bowl of fantastic fizziness. You can also try adding food dye, will it change the reaction?  To avoid colouring going everywhere also try natural food dyes like beetroot juice or even better swap the lemon juice or vinegar for pickled beetroot juice! Pink fizz! Enjoy!