Math & Science Activities for Kids

47 math & science activities for toddlers and preschoolers.

• Backyard Bugs

  Go outside and look for ants, butterflies, and other tiny creatures up close.

  ~10 min

• Big and Small

  Find three things in the room and line them up from smallest to biggest

  ~5 min

• Big Questions

  Pick a big 'why' question and explore the answer together with simple experiments.

  ~10 min

• Breathing Power

  Practice taking deep breaths and learn how our lungs work.

  ~5 min

• Bug Safari

  Go outside and find three different bugs — look closely but don't touch.

  ~10 min

• Corners and Edges

  Find things around the house with corners and things with smooth round edges.

  ~7 min

• Dissolve Test

  Stir different things into water and see what disappears and what doesn't.

  ~10 min

• Electricity Intro

  Find things in your house that use electricity and talk about how it works.

  ~5 min

• Eye Check

  Look at your eyes in a mirror — find the colored part, the black dot, and the white part.

  ~5 min

• Face Feelings Map

  Touch each part of your face, name it, and make a feeling with it.

  ~5 min

• Face Map

  Point to each part of your face in the mirror — eyebrows, nostrils, chin, cheeks — and name them.

  ~5 min

• Garden Blooms

  Look closely at flowers and learn the names of their parts: petals, stem, leaves.

  ~10 min

• Germ Busters

  Learn why we wash our hands by seeing how glitter 'germs' spread everywhere.

  ~10 min

• Germ Fighters

  Cover your hands in glitter, shake someone's hand, and see how 'germs' spread — then wash it off.

  ~7 min

• Glasses and Eyes

  Learn about how our eyes work and why some people wear glasses.

  ~5 min

• Heartbeat Hunt

  Find your heartbeat and listen to how it speeds up when you move.

  ~5 min

• Heartbeat Listen

  Put your ear on someone's chest and count the heartbeats — then jump and listen again.

  ~5 min

• Ice and Snow

  Explore what happens when water gets really cold by playing with ice cubes.

  ~10 min

• Kitchen Science

  Mix baking soda and vinegar in a cup and watch the fizzy explosion together.

  ~7 min

• Light Switch Lab

  Flip switches around the house and figure out which switch controls what.

  ~5 min

• Magnet Magic

  Explore your house to discover what sticks to a magnet and what doesn't

  ~5 min

• Magnet Magic

  Test what sticks to a magnet and what doesn't around the house.

  ~10 min

• My Amazing Body

  Point to and name body parts from head to toe in a silly song or game.

  ~5 min

• Ouch and Heal

  Talk about what happens when we get a cut or bruise and how our body fixes itself.

  ~5 min

• Our Amazing Head

  Feel the bones in your head and learn about the brain hiding inside.

  ~5 min

• Pet Pals

  Spend five minutes gently petting or watching a pet and talking about what it needs to be happy.

  ~5 min

• Picking Time

  Visit a fruit tree, berry bush, or garden and pick something ripe to eat together.

  ~10 min

• Rain Catcher

  Put a cup outside before it rains and check how much water it caught afterward.

  ~5 min

• Rainbow Hunt

  After rain (or with a garden hose in sun), find a rainbow and name all the colors.

  ~5 min

• Recycle Sort

  Sort today's trash into three piles — recycle, compost, and garbage — and learn which is which.

  ~7 min

• Recycle Sorter

  Sort household items into recycling, compost, and trash piles.

  ~10 min

• Reduce and Reuse

  Find things you were going to throw away and think of a second use for them.

  ~10 min

• Season Shuffle

  Name the four seasons and draw one thing you see in each — snowflake, flower, sun, leaf.

  ~7 min

• Seed Starter

  Plant a seed in a cup of dirt together and put it by the window.

  ~10 min

• Seed Starters

  Plant a seed in a cup and watch it sprout over the next few days.

  ~10 min

• Sky Questions

  Ask 'Why is the sky blue?' and explore the answer together with a flashlight and a glass of water.

  ~7 min

• Sort It Out

  Grab a handful of mixed objects and sort them into groups by color, size, or type.

  ~7 min

• Splash Lab

  Play with water in a bin and see what splashing, pouring, and stirring do.

  ~10 min

• Step by Step

  Count your steps from the bedroom to the kitchen — how many does it take?

  ~5 min

• Storm Talk

  Talk about thunder and lightning so they feel less scary and more amazing.

  ~5 min

• Sun and Moon

  Go outside and find the moon (even during the day!) — talk about how it changes shape each night.

  ~5 min

• Sunrise, Sunset

  Watch the sky change colors in the morning or evening and talk about why.

  ~10 min

• Tiny Crawlers

  Hunt for snails, slugs, and roly-polies hiding in damp spots around the yard.

  ~10 min

• Weather Watch

  Step outside and figure out today's weather together using your senses.

  ~5 min

• Why Plants Green

  Find green things in nature and learn why plants are that special color.

  ~10 min

• Wild Animals

  Learn about animals that live in the wild and how to stay safe if you see one.

  ~10 min

• Zap and Flow

  Turn a light switch on and off and talk about what electricity does — it powers everything!

  ~5 min