Parker PreK : Gravity and Planet Study!

With the help of additional science materials that were loaned from the lower school science classroom, we continued to study the effects of gravity on materials. When PreK children "study" they play and explore....

When children are given the opportunity to explore materials freely, they will experiment naturally and learn intrinsically what is happening. The car ramps have been put in various configurations and speed rates exclaimed upon. There were many races of cars, and different configurations of ramps, and deep exploration! We had a balance scale, and piles of blocks were put into each basket and the children watched closely as the arrow moved back and forth, trying to distribute the weight so that the baskets would "balance". We had many experiences working with gravity.

We tried a marble and pool noodle ramp activity which involved some tricky tape work BUT also highlighted this group's ability to work together for a common goal.

We worked with this scenario both as a teacher-helped project and independently. It was interesting to see the children lining up the edges and making the tunnel longer or shorter. They had to work together, as one child needed to "hold the tunnel" while the other child taped it. It was very satisfying to watch the marbles roll !

AND SNOW! inside the classroom and outside the classroom. We put baking soda in the sensory bin and it has a satisfying sprinkling ability and the powder brushes off within minutes....

and outside the children ran around in powdery snow and found ice crystals under the path in the forest. Gathering ice crystals is heavy but satisfying work!

And, finally, we had some art work happening including the last installment of our gravity painting activity-throwing and bouncing a tennis ball dipped in paint. We also used markers and water to create coffee filter "earth" circles, and salt dough clay to make the moon.