Burn a paper using magnifying lens.. STEM activity for kids

To me, STEM activities should be introduced to kids as early as from kindergarten to expose them to the amazing world of science. Whether they understand the science concept or not, I'm sure they would enjoy the outcome of the experiments.

The science behind this burning of paper without  fire is....When a magnifying glass is held over a piece of paper at a distance equal to its focal length, the sun's rays falling on the lens converge at a point that lies somewhere on the paper. Thus, solar energy spread over the lens surfacearea gets concentrated at one point....That's when the paper starts burning. Science apart!!! Let's go to the fun part....

This idea of making "Sindhus Cocoon" on paper is from my niece. You need a lot of patience to do this experiment. Once you find out the focal length of the lens it's an easy peasy activity. But again you need lot of patience 😉Click the following link to experience the amazing output of science!! Burn the paper without 🔥 🔥 🔥!!

You just need a magnifying lens, paper and ofcourse a hot Sunny day....

Hope you liked watching the video... Please share your comments and inputs. 

Amazing DIY maze activity

Want to setup a quick customizable maze for your kids that improves concentration and boost brain !!! Here comes the playdough to give us a helping hand.. We just need playdough, a small marble and a writing pad or any flat object for the setup (You can either use a cardboard or a tray). Kids helped me in rolling the playdough and it turned out to be a dual fun activity. To make the activity more challenging have two marbles to run along the maze... We also tried playing the maze with blind folded. It was super fun and kids enjoyed by playing it again and again!! 

Click on the link for the circular maze.. 

And the blind folded try here!!! Though we didn't accomplish on blind folding, her try is commendable... 

Keep checking this space for more amazing activities...

Happy Parenting..

Frozen Dinosaur Eggs – A Surprise STEM and Sensory Play Activity for Kids!

I hope the Dino Land - Sensory play table activity is sure to enthrall kids of all ages!!

Hot summer days call for cool, creative fun! If your little one loves dinosaurs, this frozen dinosaur eggs activity will make their eyes sparkle with excitement. It’s a simple STEM and sensory play idea that combines science, curiosity, and play — all in one icy adventure.

Click the video, to experience the surprise factor!! 

What You’ll Need

• Mini dinosaur figurines

• Balloons (one per dinosaur)

• Water

• Optional: Glitter for a sparkly twist

Step 1: Make the Dino Eggs

Gently push each tiny dinosaur into a balloon. Fill the balloon with water (and glitter if you like) and tie it securely.
Place the balloons in the freezer, making sure they rest in a rounded shape so they freeze like real eggs.

Step 2: Hatch the Eggs

Once frozen, remove the balloons and carefully cut them open to reveal shiny frozen dino eggs!
Place the eggs in a tray or shallow bowl of water — perfect for a sunny playtime setup.

Step 3: Rescue the Dinosaurs!

Give kids some safe tools — droppers, syringes, forks, or spoons — and let them figure out how to melt the ice and free their dinosaurs.
You’ll be amazed to see their curiosity take over as they test, observe, and explore what melts the ice fastest.

And finally the tiny dinosaurs are out of the frozen eggs and ready to munch on some food!!!

The Science Behind the Fun

As kids play, they’re also learning basic STEM concepts:

• How temperature affects ice

• How heat and pressure cause melting

• Using tools like droppers and syringes builds motor skills and coordination

Each step — from preparing the eggs to rescuing the dinos — encourages questions, predictions, and problem-solving.

Play. Learn. Repeat.

The joy of feeling icy textures, guessing which dino will appear next, and finally freeing them brings hours of fun and learning.

Whether indoors or outdoors, this activity keeps kids cool, curious, and engaged!

Wrap-Up

So the next time the heat rises, turn your freezer into a mini science lab! This frozen dinosaur eggs activity is perfect for summer playdates or weekend family fun.

Happy Parenting! 😊🦖

Lets go into Space! - Solar System Activity for kids

Solar System - Always throws abundance opportunity to learn, explore, imagine and ast(r)onish too!! The darkness of space have constantly kindled man kind to explore, discover and achieve.

Kids at this generation are very eager to learn new things. Even before we think to introduce a new topic/concept they gain some insight about it through books, media, etc. My kids aren't any exception. Well before I plan for an idea, they would suggest on some new concept, to my surprise!! This activity is one of the kind. The sheer size and novelty of the Solar System may make it hard for the young minds to comprehend!! So I planned for an activity - "Learn through play"🌞.

Kids gave me few suggestions - Having the "lives" concept incorporated, which they borrowed from Jumanji movie and using the colorful balls to denote the planets. They were so co-operative with me during the setup! Helped me with the chalk work, collected all the balls and other necessary stuffs. 

The Setup:

Draw the model of solar system using the sidewalk chalk. I named all the planets with different colors and drew the planets to scale, approximately! Later we used different colored balls of different sizes to model the planets. By then we discussed which is the Biggest planet, Blue planet, Red Planet, Coldest Planet, Dwarf Planet, Planet which has rings, Brightest planet etc. 

It was completely an edutainment for us!! (To stop the balls from rolling during play, we placed the balls on small rings or any object and ensured they are still!) I also included ISS, which is a new term for them. I took the help of "Tik Tik Tik"(2018) tamil movie, to explain about the "Space walk" and "ISS" (International Space Station) concepts!!

Day 1:

This is the dice we used for the game... I planned for a giant sized dice made out of cardboard, but my niece was so kind, that she said no need to waste a cardboard, and instead lets play with normal dice!!!

 As the Astronauts were getting ready for the play.......

It started to drizzle!!!

We dropped the play, and enjoyed the rain....!

Day 2:

Next day with the same enthusiasm we started again... Initial setup of placing the planets, I mean the balls were done by "Astronauts"...!!

My niece's idea of  having "lives"... used cello tape to mark them... Imitating "Jumanji"..!!!

And the setup is complete!!

Before starting the game, lets see about the "Gaming Rules"....

• 2  - Mercury. The number on dice decides the game and the score board. When the dice shows 2, the player rockets to Mercury and also gains 2 points. Since it is very close to the Sun, the player gets back to his previous planet; and no points gets added to his score board.
• 3 - Venus. If the number on the dice shows 3, the player moves to Venus and gains 3 points.(Likewise for rest of the planets...) Since Venus is the Brightest planet, the player enjoys more light, and rest of the players lose one point!
• 4 - Earth. Home Planet! When the player reaches Earth, he gets to fill his rocket with fuel for free!!! Gains 2 points.
• 5 - Sun. Getting to the hottest place, the player loses a life!!!
• 6 - Mars. The player gets a chance to work with "Mangalyan Mission". Gains a point and also the Mangalyan band!
• 7 - Jupiter. Being on the biggest planet of the system, the player gets an extra turn to throw the dice.
• 8 - Saturn. Enjoy playing on the rings of Saturn and gain a point.
• 9 - Uranus. As you went far away from the Sun, the player loses a point and also gets to shiver in the cold
• 10 - Neptune. The player loses a point. 
• 11 - Pluto.The player misses a chance. 
• 12 - ISS. The player enjoys to attend a workshop at ISS and gains 5 points.
• The game continues until all the player loses their lives (the three strips of cello tape!!!).

 Noting the points scored by the Astronauts...

And the space travel begins...!

This is "Mission Mangalyan" band..!! Those who land on Mars would get to wear this, until the next Astronaut reaches Mars...

Lost a life after landing on the Sun...

The coincidence was all three of them lost a life at the same time..! They all got to land at the Sun one after the other!! And you know what they did...

They played, "Ring a Ring o' Roses"!!!! Without bothering about the very hot temperature on the Sun...

And this is the score board...

The Astronaut with the highest points get to travel to the nearest galaxy the "Andromeda"... !!!

Hope you enjoyed the space travel. Please drop your comments and let us know what do you feel about this game.

Happy Parenting😊😊😊

DIY Kids STEM activity - Measurement Scavenger Hunt - Part 2

The last two posts on Scavenger Hunt, the Shapes Hunt and Measurement Part 1 turned out to be very interesting with my kids, so the next one in the STEM activity series is here, for my lovely Niece. She is in her grade 4 so planned for a comparatively effortful measurement activity. In this for few tasks, I gave her the measurement in prior and she needs to find the object which fits to that measurement. It turned out to be little laborious for her, as she measured more than five to six objects before finding an apt answer for the queries. This activity gives an opportunity for the kids to explore real time objects by measuring them. Encourage the kids to make a guess before measuring the object for its length, to shoot up their curiosity level!!

Don't forget to check on the earlier posts on Shapes Scavenger Hunt and Measurement Scavenger Part 1.
Happy Parenting😊😊😊

DIY Kids Activity - Scavenger Hunt - Shapes

Kids find the term "Scavenger Hunt" very catchy!!! 😁😁On hearing the term they got so excited and kept nagging me what's the activity. To start with I did a simple one, Shapes Scavenger Hunt. Following this we did one more, the Measurement Scavenger hunt. I prepared two lists for my two boys. And I helped them with the writing work. They both raced to find the objects!!😀 And when they found the same object for a particular shape, I insisted them to find a different one. It was very fun and interesting.

Happy Parenting😊😊😊

Next post

Measurement Scavenger hunt - STEM activity for kids

Scavenger hunt is in our latest hit list😀. Walking around with a clipboard and pencil is so much fun. Scavenger hunt hones children working as a team, reading skills and analyzing skills.We started with a simpler one, the shapes scavenger hunt for my little ones. Recently LO got much interested in using measuring tape so I planned for this measurement scavenger hunt. We did two versions, one for my LO who is right now in his first grade and another one for my niece who is a 4th grader(which I will be posting sooner). Here the kids get introduced with the concepts of centimetre and inches.We used both flexible and retractable measuring tapes. Obviously the kids loved the retractable one.

For LO I prepared a list of items to be measured. It turned out to be a team work, LO did all the measuring work and his sister helped him with the writing part😍. It was a complete fun and kept the kids busy for quite sometime. 

This is the list I prepared...

Door's breadth..

Fire truck...

His own height...

Writing board..

Mobile..

Cycle's seat...

TV's height...

Sofa's height...

Car's mirror...

This is the list I prepared for your reference. Measure the length of 

1. Pencil

2. Door - Breadth

3. Fire truck

4. My height

5. Writing board

6. Mobile

7. Car seat

8. TV height

9. Sofa height

10. Car mirror

Hope you loved this idea to keep kids busy during this vacation. Please share your comments in the comment box below.

Happy Parenting😊😊😊

Learn through Play - Rhyming words for Preschoolers

This would be a fun way to teach rhyming words for Preschoolers😊This is my mama's idea. Basically she is a Botany teacher, but she also handles English for Tamil medium students here in my native. Student's friendly teaching is advised in most schools, so teachers prepare teaching aids, captive charts etc to get the student's attention. So she would have many ideas in hand,  and this is one among them. LO loved it much and sliding the card up and down the strip to see new words made him so excited!!😍😍 I too loved making the cards with different shapes and pictures on it😍

Happy learning and Parenting!!😊😊😊