Measuring cups as loose parts can spark a variety of domestic (“It’s the baby’s first birthday. We need to make her a cake!”), fantasy (“Let’s mix up a potion that’ll turn us into unicorns!”), and science (“Let’s mix up a formula that’ll turn is invisible!”) themed dramatic play. They also come in handy during water, mud, and other sensory play.

You should have no problem sourcing measuring cups if they’re not already part of your loose parts collection–they’re available all over the place in a variety of styles and materials. I always favored metal cups from junk shops and thrift stores. Although we’d keep some glass ones around too, since using breakable stuff helps kids practice being careful

Bumping In To STEM With Measuring Cups

No matter how they choose to use them, play with measuring cups allow kids to bump up against STEM concepts like volume, measurement, numbers, and precision. Beyond that, using the cups for something like making cookies, allows them to bump into opportunities to practice following directions, observe how cookie dough reacts to heat, sense how heating something changes the way it smells, and more. Plus, Cookies!

So, to sum up, measuring cups are great loose parts–mostly because you can use them to learn while baking yummy goodies.

Contribute content to Playvolution HQ
Brought to you by Explorations Early Learning

Browse Trainings