Because magnets do so many wonderful things (they attract stuff, you can pull things up with them), kids think of them as having super pwers.  It’s fun to see them go berserk as they explore.

• Give your child  a few magnets and a choice of objects to experiment with - coins, metal cars, plastic toys, her jewelry or pins, spoons, match box, crayons, aluminum foil, staples.  Which of these stick ot the magnet,  and which don’t?  Record the ones that do stick, and the ones that don’t separately on a paper. (Kids also love making lists - very grown up).
• Use the magnets to experiment with things around the house - refrigerator, bed, couch, washing machine, door handles, glass bowls, metal chairs, wooden chairs.
• Let her try to pick up small metal items with her magnets.
• Show her the importance of iron in our body. Take any brand of high iron content breakfast cereal, and empty in a large bowl.  Break into tiny, tiny pieces with your hands, and add water.  Stir and make a thin consistency, adding more water, if necessary.  Take a long plastic spoon or ladle, and tape a magnet to the end.  Now, stir your cereal mix for  a few minutes. Tiny filings of iron will stick to the magnet.   (Take care to explain, however that this doesn’t mean that she can just gobble anything made of iron!)
• Or break up the cereal flakes, put in a  ziploc bag and add water.  Tape  a magnet on the outside of the bag.  The iron filings will collect close to the magnet.

Enjoy!