Magnet Sorting

 For this activity I had Q fold a piece of paper in half and then she wrote "yes" on one side and "no" on the other.  I spelled and she wrote. 

I offered her a wooden box filled with various objects--some that would be attracted to a magnet and some that would not.  I tried to use all different types of objects--paper, wood, fabric, different types of metal, etc.  I also offered a bar magnet and a horseshoe magnet (that I happened to have, though any magnet would work). 

Then she used a magnet to try and attract each item.  Once she figured out if it were attracted to the magnet or not, she placed it in the appropriate side of her chart. 

This task introduces the concept of magnetism and properties of solids.

It introduces simple charting/graphing methods.

Q LOVED this!  She has started making yes/no charts on her own for random stuff.

Also, Little Man (22 months) loves playing with this too--sliding the magnet around in the box and seeing what's attracted.

After the child has explored with the box several times, you could show them a new object and ask them to predict whether it will be attracted by the magnet.