Carton Funnel Pour: illustration of a toddler doing the activity

Carton Funnel Pour

from 20 months · 10-15 min · Sensory

What you need

  • rinsed milk carton
  • water
  • washing-up bowl

How to do it

  1. Cut the top off a rinsed milk carton and cut a small pouring spout in one corner.
  2. Set the carton and a washing-up bowl of water on a towel on the floor.
  3. Show your toddler scooping water into the carton and pouring it out through the spout into the bowl.
  4. Let them fill and pour as many times as they like, topping the bowl up when it runs low.

Why it matters

Tipping the carton until water finds the spout and comes out in a stream is early pouring control, the same skill behind filling a cup without a flood. The carton held milk this week and gets one more pour before the recycling.

What they're learning

Hand-eye coordination
Aiming the spout at the bowl ties what they see to how they tilt the carton.
Cause and effect
Tipping further sends more water out, a clear and repeatable result.
Focus & persistence
Filling and pouring again and again keeps them on the same small task.

What to look for

Watch for them tilting the carton slowly and adjusting the angle to keep the stream going, rather than tipping it all at once.

A tip

Keep this one on a towel on a hard floor and stay within reach the whole time water is out.

Make it easier or harder

Easier: cut a wider spout so water comes out easily

Harder: pour from the carton into a narrow-necked bottle instead of the bowl

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Sensory activities · Activities for 18 month olds · Activities for 2 year olds · Toddler activities with a bowl · Toddler water activities

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