Materials for kids is about a question children ask without knowing it: "What is this made of?" A spoon feels cold and shiny, a T-shirt feels soft, a glass is smooth and see-through, and a pencil is light and made from a tree. On this page your child first taps six material swatches, wood (लकड़ी), metal (धातु), plastic (प्लास्टिक), glass (काँच), paper (कागज़) and fabric (कपड़ा), and hears one simple fact about each in Hindi and English. Then they play What is it made of?: a picture appears, like a chair, a key, a bucket, a mirror, an envelope or socks, and they tap the right material.
What are materials?
A material is the stuff an object is made from. The object is the thing (a chair); the material is what it is made of (wood). Many different objects can be made of the same material, and the same object can be made of different materials: a chair can be wooden, metal or plastic. Five- and six-year-olds find this idea exciting once they start noticing it everywhere.
The six materials in the game
| Material | What it is like | Things made of it |
|---|---|---|
| Wood (लकड़ी) | Hard, strong, comes from trees | Chair, pencil, door, rolling pin (बेलन) |
| Metal (धातु) | Hard, shiny, often feels cold | Spoon, key, coin, steel थाली, bell |
| Plastic (प्लास्टिक) | Light, comes in many colours, does not let water through | Bucket, toothbrush, pichkari, lunch box |
| Glass (काँच) | Smooth, see-through, can break | Tumbler, window, mirror, bangles |
| Paper (कागज़) | Thin, light, easy to fold and tear; made from wood | Books, envelope, kite, newspaper |
| Fabric (कपड़ा) | Soft, bends and folds | T-shirt, socks, dupatta, bedsheet |
How to use this page
- Materials: tap each of the six swatches (the wood-grain square, the shiny metal square, the glossy plastic square and so on) to hear its name and a fact. When all six are heard, tap Next to finish.
- What is it made of? An object appears with two, three or four material buttons, depending on the age you set in Settings. Tap the one it is made of. A wrong tap never buzzes. Golu repeats the question, then the right button glows, and after a third try a hand points to it.
Each game ends with a marble in the Goli Jar and a hunt to try at home. Use 🔊 to hear any line again and the अ+A button to change the language order. The household items name page is a good companion for learning the names of things before sorting them by material.
Materials at home: a 10-minute material hunt
This is the best way to learn materials, and every home already has everything you need.
- Give your child a basket and ask them to find one thing made of each material: wood, metal, plastic, glass (you carry any glass items), paper and fabric.
- Lay the finds on the floor and sort them into groups, like the game.
- Touch and describe: "The steel spoon feels cold. The towel feels soft. The book is light."
- Ask a sorting question: "Which ones are shiny? Which ones bend? Which ones can you see through?"
In the kitchen, compare a steel कटोरी, a plastic bowl, a glass bowl and a wooden spoon. Tap each gently with a spoon and listen: metal rings, glass clinks, wood thuds and plastic taps. Your child uses their five senses to tell materials apart.
Properties: why we choose each material
Once your child knows the names, ask "Why?" questions. They build real science thinking:
- Why is a window made of glass? Because glass is see-through, so light comes in. (The light and shadow page explores see-through things.)
- Why is a bucket made of plastic? Because plastic is light and does not let water through.
- Why is a pan made of metal? Because metal is strong and does not burn on the stove.
- Why is a T-shirt made of fabric? Because fabric is soft and bends when we move.
- Why would a paper umbrella be a bad idea? Because paper gets soggy and tears in the rain.
Silly "wrong material" questions are a great game for five-year-olds: a chocolate teapot, a glass pillow, a paper raincoat. They laugh and they learn why the right material matters.
Reuse and recycle: caring for materials
Materials also connect to caring for the planet. Paper comes from trees, so we use both sides of a page. Plastic lasts a very long time, so we reuse bottles and carry cloth bags to the market. Glass jars can hold spices or crayons. In many Indian homes, old sarees become quilts and old newspapers go to the रद्दीवाला, which is recycling your child can see. The environment for kids page has more on reduce, reuse and recycle.
Materials by age
At 2-3, focus on touch words: soft, hard, cold, smooth. At 3-4, name wood, metal, plastic and paper using things your child uses daily. At 4-5, add glass and fabric and sort objects by material. At 5-6, talk about properties (shiny, see-through, waterproof, bendy) and why each material is chosen, which matches many kindergarten and class 1 science books.
Gentle tips for every child
Some objects are made of more than one material (scissors have metal blades and plastic handles), so if your child says "both", praise the careful looking. Keep glass and sharp metal with grown-ups. For children with a speech delay, pointing or touching is a full answer. Children with sensory sensitivities may dislike some textures; let them explore with a glove or just by looking. In bilingual homes, say लकड़ी and wood together. Keep screen time brief and shared, then do the real material hunt. Children under two learn materials best by holding safe, real objects with a grown-up, not from a screen.
