How Much Sugar is In My Drink? A beach or sandbox activity In our programs, we ask children to locate the grams of sugar per serving in a sweet beverage, then to calculate how many teaspoons are in the bottle. It's a fun and surprising way to visualize the info on a nutrition label. This low‐key summertime version of our classroom activity is just as simple and striking, and is a great reminder that soda is a treat to be savored on special occasions. It's a fun way to learn through play (and keep math fresh in their minds!) when you're at the beach or playground with your family. Materials  Empty bottle or can of a sugary beverage (soda, sweetened tea, or energy drink)  Teaspoon (a disposable plastic spoon is fine)  The sand you're sitting on! Activity 1) Ask your child if they know what the "nutrition facts label" can help us find out. (It tells us what we're putting into our bodies with each serving of this drink.) 2) Together with your child, find how many grams of sugar are listed per serving. If there is more than one serving per bottle (some large cans have 3!), multiply the "grams per serving" times the "servings per container" to find the total grams of sugar in the whole bottle. (You can do the math in the sand!) 3) Scoop up a spoonful of sand and explain that it's about the same amount as four grams of sugar. How many spoonfuls of "sugar" will it take to reach the total grams per bottle? (Divide the total grams per bottle by 4 to get the number of spoonfuls.) 4) Counting together, measure the correct number of spoonfuls directly into the bottle, if it's clear ‐‐ or into a plastic bag, empty container, or even into someone's palms! When you reach the total grams of "sugar" per bottle, ask what they notice. Is it a little or a lot? Is it surprising? Does the "sugar" take up a lot of the bottle? 5) This is a good chance to talk with your child about sugar and what makes it a special treat, not something to have every day. Sharing a cold soda on a special beach outing can be great! But soda instead of water when you're thirsty, or as an everyday drink, is not a good idea. What sweet fruits might fun to mix with sparkling water for a fizzy, tasty drink instead? What are your favorite summer fruits? Modification for younger children: If your kids haven't learned multiplication or division yet, you can always do the sugar math for them and simply use the spoonfuls of sand to show how much sugar is in a bottle. The visualization might stick with them!