With a few household items and a bit of creativity, you can help your child explore the principles of weight and balance -- and have fun together at the same time!

What You Need

• plastic coat hanger
• two plastic (disposable) plates
• ruler
• marker
• hole punch or knife
• yarn
• assorted objects of different weights, such as spoons and forks, socks, and small fruits or vegetables

What You Do

• Talk with your child about weight and balance. Ask her to describe what occurs when two people play on a seesaw.
• Have your child mark a dot in the center of the plate. Help her to use a ruler and pencil to make a plus sign, using the dot as the center. Together, punch four holes just inside the points on the plate where the pencil lines meet the edge.
• Help your child tie a knot at one end of a two-foot piece of yarn. Guide her in threading the yarn through one of the holes in the plate. Help her to extend the string over the bottom rod at one end of the hanger, bring it down through the opposite hole in the plate, and knot the yarn on the underside. Do the same for the other two holes. Together, repeat this procedure for the second plate, using the other end of the hanger.
• Hang your scales from a hook, making sure the plates balance (a kitchen-cabinet knob would be a good place, so that the scales hang over a counter). Then let your child experiment with weight and balance by placing different objects on each plate. Talk together about which are lighter and which are heavier, and practice making the two sides balance!

More Ways to Learn

Balancing Act. Ask your child to stand a pencil, eraser-end up, in a small mound of modeling clay or play dough. Help her draw and cut out a symmetrical shape such as a butterfly from a piece of cardboard. She can tape a coin to each butterfly wing (or each side of another design). Then encourage her to place the cutout on the pencil and find the point where it balances.

Imaginary Tightropes. Tape a long piece of string to the floor, and encourage your child to balance her body while she walks along the "tightrope." To add some elevation, replace the string with long blocks or sturdy boxes. You can join in the balancing act too!

Top of page

Take a look at the Spanish version of this activity.