How Many Scoops? Guesstimation Activity using Marshmallows

This is another great activity I saw in The Mailbox Magazine for teachers (I'm obsessed) and I couldn't resist doing it with my kids. I took the liberty of making my own worksheet so I could re-use it through the year. You can download a copy by clicking on the picture below if you are interested.

After printing off the worksheet, you will need to gather 4 different sized containers. I tried to come up with wintery things but as you can see, I wasn't so successful. haha! I picked out a Gingerbread Man Mug, a penguin craft Luke made in preschool with a cup attached to the front, and two different sized jars.

You will also need a small scoop and a bag of marshmallows for scooping.

To do the activity, first have your child draw a picture of each of the objects in the first column of the worksheet labeled "Draw". Then have your child hold the scoop up to the different containers and make a guess as to how many scoops it will take to fill up the container. They write the number of scoops they think it will take in the second column labeled "Estimate."

Now scoop the marshmallows into the containers. After each scoop make sure to add a tally mark in the third column so you won't lose track of how many scoops. The tally marks were especially helpful since my boys took turns making scoops into the containers.

After the container is full, count your tally marks and write the total number of scoops in the third column labeled "Actual Number". Then have fun comparing the numbers with your kids.

Here are my boys completed worksheets.

This would be fun to change up every season with different things for scooping. I'm thinking those Robin Egg candies for Spring and some kind of nuts for Fall. Anyways, I love doing activities with my kids that fun and educational.

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