Pin A Week, Week 2: Bathtub Fun!

My 18 month old, Hailey, LOVES the water, but she HATES getting her hair washed.  My husband and I do what we can to distract her, but the little wind up toy that swims around the tub wasn't cutting it.  My first purchase was tub crayons by Crayola.  She really enjoys those and it worked, she barely noticed us washing her hair.  She gets bored easy though, so I needed a backup ready to make the tub double fun!  I found this idea on Pinterest.  The pin explained how to do the project, but I added a little twist by writing some learning opportunities as well. I hope you can use it to entertain your little ones and provide an unexpected learning experience as well. :)

Noodles in the Tub

What you Need:

- 2-3 Pool Noodles (the cheapest I found was at WalMart.  I only used one and she liked it, but it didn't really fill the tub like it recommends)
- Sharp Knife (no serrated, this makes a mess! lol)




What you Do:

1. Lay the Pool Noodle on a cutting board, peice of cardboard or something to protect your cutting surface.
2. Cut into sections that are 1-3 inches in length.  I did two sizes so I could talk about big and small
3. Throw into bathtub and your children will have a blast!

Learning Opportunities:

1. Color Naming and ID- Choose 2-3 different colored noodles so that you can have your child identify and name colors in the tub.
2. Counting- Take groups of anywhere from 1-10 out and put them on the side of the tub to have your child count them out. If they can do more than 10, great! If you have an older child, have them count how many of each color then add them together for an extra challenge!
3. Sorting- Have your child sort by color or size by having a few large Tupperware bins available (they will float in the tub)
4. Size- Talk about big and small. Have your child name big and small and also identify big and small by holding two up and saying "which one is smaller/bigger"?
5. Cause and Effect- Some examples: When I hold the noodle up and pour water on it, it goes through the hole and into the tub.  When you put it under water what happens? (It pops back up.  This can lead into the science activity listed below)
6. Science- Does it Float or Sink?  Although this activity is geared toward older children, it certaintly doesn't hurt for your younger ones to see and listen to the experiment.  They will pick up on the vocabulary as well as the cause and effect of each.  Start by talking about the noodle and that it popped back up from under the water because it floats.  Then choose an object that sinks and talk about how it stays under the water because it sinks.  Have several objects that float and sink available and have your child identify each.

Fun can be learning, so go and have some fun! :)