I hope I am not the only parent with children who love sweets and love to play with their food. I’m pretty sure I’m not!
My oldest is in kindergarten and is starting to learn addition and subtraction. I am always on the look out for new ways to engage him in his homework. And the best thing for my four-year-old daughter is that she gets to learn with her brother.
What you need:
- 1 or more boxes of gelatin (variety of color is fun)
- Small pot
- Dishes/pan for setting gelatin
- Plastic wrap
- Food coloring (optional)
Directions:
Prepare gelatin. Using multiple colors makes it more fun, but not necessary. We used 1 box of red and 1 box of green, and we used blue food coloring to turn half of the green into a teal. If you line the pans with plastic wrap prior to pouring the gelatin in, it will make removing the gelatin easier later. Let it set in the fridge according to directions on the box.
Once the gelatin is completely firm, cut it into squares and start having some fun! You can keep it as simple or as advanced as needed. With my four-year-old we did basic counting, and with my Kindergartner we practiced his addition and problem solving.
We added little cards with a “+,” “-,” and “=” sign to demonstrate math principles.
But the best part for everyone was the clean up!
“If Sissy ate one square and Brother ate three squares, how many squares did we eat?” Yum!
This is definitely an activity we are going to have to do again.
Extra Ideas: Making the gelatin one inch makes it easier to move around. OR making the “Jiggler” method gelatin will help make the play last a little longer.
