Changing Weight of the Pulley

Week of October 13

 

We brought back the pulley set up, this time with buckets tied to each end. The length was set so that when one side was pulled all the way down the other would be up over the height of the children and out of their reach. The children initially began by pulling the buckets to move each side. They were then given the challenge of moving the buckets without using their hands. Ms. Kilpatrick brought both buckets to the same level, then placed a bean bag in one bucket. She then let the bucket go and the children watched it fall to the ground as the other side went up. Their instinct was to grab the floor, but Ms. Kilpatrick asked how they could use the bean bags to bring the bucket down.  The children wanted to access the empty bucket. They would ask to be lifted so they could lace bean bags inside.

The children were then offered the challenge of balancing the pulleys without being lifted. Ms. Kilpatrick modeled taking bean bags out of the lower bucket. The children would then try the same. After trying this enough times a child would fill one bucket with bean bags and another child would attempt to grab the higher bucket.  Some children like Nicholas and Brady would immediately come to the full bucket and pull out all of the bean bags to get the higher bucket back down, while other children still wanted to pull on the strings to get the bucket down.  

I noticed how the children would hold onto both buckets once they were both within reach. They wanted to use both buckets, but recognized this was not possible once weight was added to either bucket. I wonder what the children would do if the ends of the pulley were separated more and the children could not reach both at one time. I a interested to see if this will help us to further our exploration of weight ‘s effect on the pulley since the children will only be able to manipulate one side of the pulley at a time

Exploring Weight with Balances

Week of October 6

After recognizing the effects of weight on the pulley set up I wanted to offer the children the opportunity to explore the concept of weight. I would eventually like the children to be able to change the weight of the pulley. At this point I took away the factor of the pulley so we can focus first on the up and down effects of weight in a moving system. I figured the balances will allow us to see this movement without the distraction of the pulley.

The children used bean bags to add weight to the buckets. Sara loaded one side of the bucket with bean bags. Reem watched and responded with “Oh no!” as she watched that bucket go down. Ms. Kilpatrick then pointed out how the other side of the balance was empty and added a bean bag. The children then helped to add more bean bags until this side was full and the balance was once again balanced.

Ms. Kilpatrick added a bean bag to one side of the balance. Zachary covered his mouth with his hands and exclaimed “Uh oh!” as he watched that side of the balance go down. He then placed a bean bag in the other side and balanced the balance once again. They repeated this process several times.

During this exploration the children were looking to once again create a sense of balance as they had with the pulley last week. During group time we worked together as a class to use our bean bags to balance the balance. Each child was given a bean bag and came up one at a time to choose a bucket to place their bean bag inside of. The children pointed out the up and down motion of the buckets and suggested which bucket the next bean bag should go into in order to balance out the buckets.

The children show an understanding of the up and down effects weight has on motion. Next week I want to bring back the pulley and allow the children the opportunity to explore this up and down motion and concept of balance on the large pulley.

Unbalanced Pulley

Week of September 29

I set up the same pulley in the same area of the classroom as last week. The only difference was that now one side of the pulley was heavier than the other. The children were curious upon seeing this pulley as to why the one side was not touching the floor. They explored ways of bringing the side down.

Reem pulled on the lighter side and walked backward until she found a spot where she could sit and hold the pulley. She recognized there was something different about this pulley which would not allow one side to touch the ground on its own, so she realized the only way to get it to stay down would be to anchor it.

   

When exploring the unbalanced pulley the children seemed to be focused on finding ways to fix the lighter side of the pulley. They wanted to figure out why it would not touch the ground and find ways to keep it down. The children are recognizing the impact of weight on the pulley. I would like to provide the opportunity for them to explore weight’s effect on the pulley by adding and taking away weight from the pulley.

Initial Pulley Investigation

Week of September 22

When beginning the semester we recognized an interest in movement among the children. Specifically the children seemed to find an interest in manipulating objects with capabilities to move. We brought out simple machines for the children to explore and one of the machines which created the most fascination was the pulley. The children were interested in watching the up and down motion of the pulley and  recognizing how their hands moved along with the pulley.

I wanted to recreate this pulley on a larger scale so the children could better see the movements. This larger pulley created more of a gross motor effort. The children would pull the one end of the pulley with their hands and once their hands were as low as they could go, the children would resort to squatting in order to bring the string lower to the ground. They quickly noticed this cause and effect of pulling one side and the other side going up.

The children tested different theories about the pulley. Some would pull the one side down and watch as the other side lifted above another child’s head. They would then release the pulley until the other side was just above that child’s head. Instead of letting the other child reach the pulley, they would then turn back and bring the pulley back up to the ceiling. They recognized how pulling and releasing the string had differing effects.

I plan to extend this learning by changing the weight of one side of the pulley. I am interested to see how the pulley being unbalanced  affects the way in which the children manipulate it.

Building and Movement Week of September 8, 2014

We have noticed the children have a strong interest in the movement of materials, especially while moving downward (like on a ramp).  This week we have been investigating with the ramps in a variety of different ways; including using cars, building ramps at various heights and looking at the path materials take while moving down the ramp (using water colors).  We observed the children trying to make the objects move down the ramp, as well as upward, testing out several theories they hold about motion.  During one investigation, where we set up two ramps of various heights the children began to adjust the ramps on their own.  The teachers sat back and watched as the children moved the lower ramp so it was flat on the ground, while resting on top of a block (in the middle of the ramp).  Connor and Will began to move the board back and forth, like a seesaw.  They placed objects on the board and observed the movement of the objects.  The boys also placed their bodies on top of the board to see what would happen.  

The results?  We decided to investigate their interest in simple machines (ex. The lever) further.  On Friday we built a seesaw out of the same board and invited the children to build on top of it.  We were curious to see how the motion of the board would affect their building.  At first the children built only on one end of the board.  Ms. Megan began to move the board to encourage a reaction.  Once the children noticed this movement they began building on both sides, observing what would happen to the blocks as they began to move.  We would like to revisit this same investigation next week with all of the children who helped to create the first seesaw.  We are also thinking about exploring other types of simple machines over the course of our semester. 

Painting with Light Week of September 8th, 2014

The children have been very interested in the art studio area.  Each day they will investigate the different mediums we have for them to work in.  We have noticed they were immediately drawn to the paint, especially the tempera paint and the many different types of brushes.  We have been developing different techniques for painting and exploring how we set up and clean up our painting area.  We have also tried using water color paints.  The children just cannot seem to get enough time painting!

We decided to incorporate their interest in light with their interest in painting, using the overhead in the space where the children were working.  We set up the clear easel, so the light could shine through and create different shadows on the wall and the easel itself.  Some of the children were more interested in facing the light while painting; others wanted to stand between the overhead and the easel, watching the shadows they produced on the wall.  Again they were noticing the movement of their bodies while the worked.  The children were also very curious in watching their classmates paint on the other side of the easel, sometimes mimicking their movements while painting.  It was neat to see so many different things taking place in one exploration.  The children we exploring concepts relating to art and science, as well as working together as members of the classroom community.  We would like to revisit this investigation again with another group of children.

Shadows and Movement- Beginning our Investigations

Week of September 3^rd, 2014

The children have been very interested in motion and movement.  To build on this interest and extend their thinking we introduced materials such as ramps and tracks.  We also noticed the children were very interested in movement of their bodies.  The children seem to enjoy dancing, spinning and running.  As they become more confident in their gross motor abilities, they also continue to become more interested in the way they can move.  This week we experimented with the way our bodies move as shadows.  We brought out the shadow screen and encouraged the children to move in a variety of ways.  We posed questions to the children, such as, how can you make the shadow move without touching it?  Or what happens to your shadow when you move in a certain way? The children tested out many theories and tried to answer the questions the teachers posed.  They also tried to figure out where the light projected on the shadow screen originated.  They looked over the overhead and experimented with turning it on and off.  They seemed to show a great interest in light, and this may be something to explore as well.  We will be introducing new materials with provoke thinking about light and movement. 

Ramps and Movement- Beginning Investigations

Week of September 3rd, 2014

We have all made it through our first few days of school, and while it has been an adjustment for many of the children, they seem to be settling in nicely!  We are looking forward to working with this group of children and families, as well as discovering their interests and supporting their learning.  We have been introducing many different open ended materials for the children to work with as they explore the classroom. Some of these materials include tubes (for the water table, as well as for turning into tunnels), paints and other art materials, blocks of various sizes and ramps.  We have noticed the children really seem to be interested in motion, specifically the way in which different materials can move. We have explored with different sensory materials (watching sand and water fall) as well as the cars and trains.  We noticed the children showed a strong interest in the ramps we brought out for one of our investigations and will be continuing to use these in our explorations.  

The children were curious to see which types of materials would move down the ramp. We tried cars, blocks, spools, animals and even baby dolls. Many of the children wanted to try and roll down the ramps as well.  They noticed some materials would move farther than others, but could not seem to figure out what caused this difference.  The children also called the ramp a slide, making connections to the slides on our playground.   Next week we would like to continue our explorations with ramps, and focus on the changing height.  We are curious to see how the children engage with the ramps after these changes.