Lunchbox packing

Get your child to pack their lunch with you and use this as an opportunity to explore mass.

Things you need

Food and drink items for the day.

The challenge

Step 1

Show your child what they would normally have for lunch.

Step 2

Ask your child to hold a food item in each hand to compare their mass to work out which is the lightest. While they're comparing, help them talk about the mass using words like:

light, lighter, lightest
heavy, heavier, heaviest.

Step 3

Get them to repeat step 2 until they have all the items ordered from lightest to heaviest.

The conversation

Ask your child these questions to support their understanding of mass:

"So the mandarin is lighter than the muesli bar? Is it lighter than the sultanas?"
"Let's do this activity with your toys/books/balls?"
"Are you surprised that the sandwich is lighter than the yoghurt cup, even though the sandwich is bigger?"