Class 3 Activities

You need

• ✓Table salt (¾ cup)
• ✓Hot water (1 cup)
• ✓A glass jar
• ✓A pencil
• ✓A piece of rough string or wool
• ✓Food colour (optional)

How to do it

1. 1Dissolve as much salt as possible in the hot water — keep adding until no more dissolves (saturated solution).
2. 2Add food colour if desired.
3. 3Tie the string to the pencil. Rest the pencil across the jar so the string hangs in the solution without touching the bottom.
4. 4Place in a warm, undisturbed spot.
5. 5Check daily for 3–5 days. Crystals will begin forming on the string within 24 hours.
6. 6Ask: 'Where did the solid come from? The water looked clear — so the salt was in there all along, just invisible.'

You need

• ✓A plastic bucket or container with a lid (drill a few small holes)
• ✓Kitchen scraps: vegetable peels, fruit scraps, tea leaves, coffee grounds
• ✓Dry leaves or newspaper strips
• ✓Soil
• ✓Water spray bottle

How to do it

1. 1Alternate layers: kitchen scraps, then dry leaves/paper, then soil. Repeat.
2. 2Spray with water — it should be moist but not wet.
3. 3Close the lid and leave for a week.
4. 4Day 7: open and observe. It may have shrunk and smell earthy. Stir with a stick.
5. 5Over 4 weeks: observe the transformation from recognisable scraps to dark, crumbly compost.
6. 6Test the compost on a plant vs. a plant with no compost. Compare growth over 2 weeks.

You need

• ✓A grocery list of 10 items with their prices (from a recent receipt)
• ✓₹200 in play money or real small notes
• ✓Calculator (to verify, not to do the work)
• ✓Notepad to track running total

How to do it

1. 1Show the grocery list and prices. 'We have ₹200. We need all these things — can we afford them?'
2. 2Let them add up the total. Is it over or under ₹200?
3. 3If over: 'Which items are less important? What can we skip?'
4. 4Let them make the decisions and recalculate until it fits within ₹200.
5. 5Discuss: 'Why is rice more important than biscuits?'
6. 6If under: 'We have ₹23 left. What else could we buy? Is there a saving option?'

You need

• ✓40 index cards or pieces of card
• ✓A pen or marker
• ✓A physical map of India for reference

How to do it

1. 1Write one state name on one card, its capital on a matching card. Make 20 pairs to start.
2. 2Shuffle all cards and lay face down in a grid.
3. 3Take turns flipping two cards — if a state matches its capital, keep the pair.
4. 4Most pairs wins.
5. 5After the game: look at the map together. Find each state you played.
6. 6Build up slowly — add 5 new pairs each week rather than doing all 28 at once.

You need

• ✓A paper plate
• ✓A pencil or marker
• ✓Two strips of card (one shorter, one longer — for hands)
• ✓A brass fastener (or a thumb pin)
• ✓A ruler

How to do it

1. 1Write numbers 1–12 on the paper plate clock face at equal intervals.
2. 2Mark the minute intervals between numbers (5 marks between each).
3. 3Attach the two card hands with a brass fastener at the centre — they should move freely.
4. 4Parent sets a time. Child reads it: 'The short hand is near 3, the long hand is at 6 — it is 3:30.'
5. 5Child sets a time. Parent reads it.
6. 6Practice times from their daily routine: 'Set the clock to when you wake up. When school starts. When you eat lunch.'

You need

• ✓Lined paper
• ✓An envelope and a stamp (₹5 postage)
• ✓A pen
• ✓The recipient's full mailing address

How to do it

1. 1Discuss the difference between a formal letter (to a teacher, bank) and an informal letter (to a grandparent).
2. 2For the informal letter: write the date top-right, greeting ('Dear Thatha,'), body (3 paragraphs: what I am doing, what I want to tell you, what I want to ask you), closing ('With love,'), signature.
3. 3Write a rough draft. Revise for complete sentences and correct punctuation.
4. 4Write the final version neatly on fresh paper.
5. 5Address the envelope correctly. Stick the stamp.
6. 6Post it at the nearest post box or post office together — a rare, memorable experience.