A toddler's brain absorbs new information like a sponge absorbs water. This learning process is even better if the educational method involves simple, fun experiments that a toddler can get involved with. It's likely you won't need to buy any equipment to do many experiments for your toddler, as all the items necessary are probably around your home.
Floating and Sinking
Fill a clear plastic glass or cup about 3/4 full of fizzy water. Give the toddler about six or so raisins and then get the toddler to drop the raisins into the water. Watch the raisin sink to the bottom of the glass. As they drop down bubbles start to collect around the raisins, making them lighter. Once there are enough bubbles the raisins magically start to float to the surface of the water. When they reach the top, the bubbles disappear and the raisins sink back to the bottom and the process starts over again.
Light Refraction
Give your toddler a pencil. Get the toddler to try to make the pencil bend. The pencil won't bend, but tell the toddler that you can make it bend by putting it in water. Fill a plastic cup 3/4 full of tap water. Put the pencil into the water and then get the toddler to look through the side of the glass. The toddler will see that the pencil looks bent where it enters the water. This is due to the difference in light refraction between air and water.
Static Electricity
Turn on a water tap so you get a steady, slow flow of water. Get the toddler to put a plastic comb next to the stream of water, but don't touch the water. Nothing happens. Run the comb through your hair for about 10 seconds then give the comb back to the toddler. Get the toddler to put the comb near the stream of water again. See how the static electricity that built up in your comb makes the stream of water bend toward the comb.
Cold and Warm Water
Put cold water in a plastic cup and warm water in another cup. Get your toddler to drop a sugar cube into the cold water and then stir it until the sugar disappears. Drop in another sugar cube and stir until it dissolves, making sure you get your toddler to count how many sugar cubes drop into the cup. After a few cubes are dropped in, they stop dissolving and the sugar sits on the bottom of the cup. Stop when this happens. Next, have the toddler drop sugar cubes into the warm water. Count the cubes; it takes many more cubes before you see the sugar at the bottom of the cup. This is because warm and hot water has a higher saturation point than cold water.
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