What Dissolves
Salt disappears, sand stays at the bottom: three glasses of water and one real question.
What Dissolves is a Montessori activity for a child aged 3 to 4 years. Area: Science and Nature. Time: 15-20 min.
What the activity builds
Observe that a material can disappear into water without ceasing to exist, and compare three different behaviors.
The materials
- Three identical clear glasses, filled halfway with warm water
- Three small dishes holding fine salt, granulated sugar, and clean sand
- Three small spoons, one per glass
- A light-colored tray, so you can see clearly through the glasses
How to do it, step by step
- Line up the three glasses, each with its dish and spoon in front.
- Take the first spoon, pour the salt into its glass, and stir slowly, without talking.
- Stop stirring and look at the glass with your child, for a good while.
- Do the second glass the same way, then let them do the third.
- Line all three glasses up in front of you and look at them side by side.
- Point out the sand glass, where everything has settled at the bottom, then the other two, which stayed clear.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. Don't explain dissolving, show it. The word comes later, sometimes years later. The control of error is in the clear glass itself: the sand shows at the bottom, the salt is nowhere to be seen, and no adult needs to say a word about it.
Safety
Never let them taste what's in the glasses, that rule applies to every experiment, even with sugar: you don't drink what you made to observe. Use warm water, not hot. Sand doesn't belong in the mouth or the eyes, and everything gets put away at the end.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: two glasses only, salt and sand.
- Harder: add a fourth glass with oil, which doesn't mix at all.
- Extension: let the saltwater glass evaporate for a week near a window, the salt reappears.
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