6 Ways to Make Bath Time Educational and Fun

written by: Sarah Holzer

For children, the bath is an overwhelmingly sensory place filled with different scents, colors, temperatures, and more. These sensory elements create an unmatched developmental environment. You can throw in some educational toys (like Glo Pals) for a hands-on learning experience. After all, Archimedes had his great “Eureka” moment in the tub as he discovered the principle of buoyancy—you never know what kind of breakthroughs your child might find in the water.

Learning About Color

The Glo Pals are the perfect educational toys for learning about color during bath time. In the earliest stages, infants can use sensory toys to begin learning colors by simply enjoying the experience of viewing them. Each Glo Pal comes in a different colored light. Lumi is purple, Sammy is red, Alex is yellow, Blair is blue, and Pippa is green. Your child can see their favorite tones magnified as these water-activated Pals and light-up bath cubes fall beneath the water’s surface.

Toddlers can use these toys to begin understanding, identifying, and communicating their colors. Once they master their colors, they might start learning more about the properties of light.

Light Reflection

As they grow older, children can use this bath experience to begin learning about light refraction. In the air, light travels in a straight path (called a light ray). However, when that light ray passes through a translucent material (such as bathwater, glass, or even the lining of the clouds), these rays bend in a process called refraction. Refraction can change the appearance of light. Light can also refract to change the appearance of the translucent material—in this case, your bathwater.

To foster bath time learning experiences about color and light, simply put your Glo Pals in the water and let your child’s imagination wander. You can also discuss light refraction with older children and encourage them to explore how these lights refract through different lenses.

Cause and Effect

Childhood is a constant learning process of cause and effect. It is perhaps how children learn best. Kids of all ages can make new discoveries of cause and effect in the tub. What happens when water mixes with soap? As they hit the surface of the water in different ways, how does the resulting splash change?

You can also help them discover new outcomes produced by different toys. For example, your child can watch as their Glo Pals light up when placed underwater. This kind of discovery can pique their curiosity and excitement about learning—inviting you and your child to research and discuss STEM topics together.

Density and Mass

When a child takes a bath toy (like their Glo Pal) into the water, does it sink or float? Your child might begin to notice that heavier toys drop faster, while lighter toys offer more buoyancy.  

You can explain the concept of density to your child. To help them learn, find several toys of different weights to bring into the tub. You might try this with similarly sized toys to help them understand the impacts of material, shape, and more. Have them drop the toys in the tub and observe how quickly they sink to the bottom. Your child might also notice that the water levels rise as larger toys displace their mass.

Water Temperatures

Whether they realize it or not, your child is learning about temperature, heat transfer, and thermal equilibrium in the tub.

For toddlers and even infants, they learn the sensation of different temperatures in the bath. What does warm water feel like when they get into the tub? How do they react to the cold as you drain the water?

The bath provides a perfect environment for these valuable sensory experiences. You can help your child learn by talking through them at each stage. This process will help them develop an understanding and vocabulary around their senses.

Heat Transfer and Thermal Equilibrium

You can also help older children observe the temperature of the water change over time. When two objects of different temperatures are in thermal contact, the warmer object (your tub water) will transfer heat to the cooler object (the air). This heat transfer process continues until they are both at the same temperature—which is called thermal equilibrium.

Here is an easy way to help your child learn about these concepts in the bath. Grab their favorite Glo Pal and a thermometer. Show your child the temperature of the water when they first enter the bath. At the end of the bath, take the temperature of the water again. While your HVAC system will be regulating the temperature of the air, the water will show a noticeable change in temperature.

Glo Pals: Educational Sensory Toys For Bath

The Glo Pals are water-activated light-up sensory toys for the bath. They are the perfect educational toys for toddlers, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and up! Each of our Pals has a one-of-a-kind personality to help your child celebrate the things that make each of us unique! For any questions you may have, we invite you to visit our FAQ page or contact our experts for further insight. You can grab a Pal or light-up bath cubes and begin unlocking new bathtime learning experiences today.

LET'S PLAY!