Making - Learning by doing - Model Toy car

Maker education  fosters curiosity, tinkering and iterative learning, which in turn leads to better thinking through better questioning. - Laura Fleming

We have already discussed about Tinkering and creativity. But, have you heard of "Tinquiry"?  Tinquiry = Tinkering + Inquiry.
Tinkering is a marriage of play and inquiry. Children learn by tinkering/making.

Here is one of instances where our twins learnt to observe everyday world around us more closely by making.

One day Nidhi brought out a styrofoam block and asked "Mom, May I use this?". "For what?". "This looks like a bus, I ll build a bus with this."
"How?" "I ll just add four wheels and draw some windows."
"How will you add the wheels?"
She found some cylindrical foam blocks and taped them to the bottom of the styrofoam block.
She tested it out. "Oh no! the wheels don't move!" "How can we fix that?"  She brought out a toy car and observed its wheels closely. "I know! We need a stick between the wheels." "Yes, that is called an axle".
She picked two long skewer, inserted it into the styrofoam block and capped them with foam cylinders for wheels.
She tested it out again. "Mom, it still doesn't move." Back to observing the model toy car. She figured out that the axle spins easily inside the chassis. How can we make this? she was puzzled. I suggested that she use straws below the chassis.
We found another soap box to try our newer model. Here is a pic journal of the car model making.

Adding straws to make axles rotate freely

Adding axles

Inserting wheels using foam cylinder blocks

Model soap box car with freely rotating wheels ready!

Sid and Nidhi both made multiple cars and we raced them on a cookie sheet ramp.
We learnt about wheel axle assembly of a car by making a model. A lot of problem solving happened along the way such as , if the axles are too close to each other, the wheels cannot move.  A lot of inquiry happened.Why didn't front wheels rotate as smoothly as the rear ones? Why the car steered to left? Does the length of axle affect the stability of the car? A great deal of learning and inquiry happened by letting them make on their own!

I would like to share another everyday object that they observed closely in next post.

 Till then, Happy Holidays! :)

How to make snow? - A preschooler's science experiment

First off, this post is not a 'how to' on making homemade snow. This post is about a preschooler's self directed science experiment in a quest to make snow.

"Mom, I have an idea! If I add water and glitter glue to ice cube and chop it, I can make snow.", explained Nidhi in an excited voice while on our vacation.

"This is my recipe to make snow. I would like to write it down before I forget it.", she said.

Here is her written down recipe.

Half cup of water
1 Ice cube
Half glitter
Chop
In the road
In the house

Snow recipe

As soon as we returned back home, she set to work on her recipe.

"You say you need Ice cube, how can we get one?"
"Can we get one from the cold pack?"
I suggested she think of another way.
"We can freeze snow to make ice cube, but we need the ice cube to make snow!", she pondered.
Then we both agreed to freeze some water to make ice cube.

She learned how to read half (1/2) on measuring cup and followed her recipe.

Learning to measure

Chop! Chop!

"When I add water to ice cube and chop, it melts.", she observed. I suggested she record her observation on a paper and she did.

Though she learnt that her recipe failed to make snow,  she persevered. She tweaked her recipe a bit.
"I will just add the glitter glue to the water, mix it and freeze it. I think it will make snow."

Trying out the tweaked recipe

She did the experiment and was happy looking at the end product. "This does look like snow flakes. I think I made snow.", she declared.

Looks like snowflake!

Here is her recording of the experiment. This is the lengthiest write up she has done till date.

Here is her write-up.

When I put water on ice cube it melt. If I put the water, glitter it become snow. When I put in the freezer it become cold. We put our Jacket and our Gloves and we put our hat and put our muffler and then we would be ready.

Here are her key takeaways from this whole experiment.
1. When you get an idea, try it out.
2. When your ideas fail, persevere.
3. Practicing literacy
4.  Recording observations.

That's a good experience for a four year old!

“The future belongs to the curious.The ones who are not afraid to try it, explore it, poke at it, question it, and turn it inside out.” – Anonymous 

Learning self care through Human Body Inquiry

We have been encouraging healthy eating habits to the twins by pointing out the natural outcomes such as  muscles growing stronger.
 "What are muscles?", they asked.  "Muscles are part of body that help us move.", I was brief.Then followed a long list of questions.
"Does a chair have muscles?" queried Nidhi. "Why do you think chair has muscles?" I asked. "I think chair has muscles because it moves."
Now I knew I wasn't clear with my definition of muscles. As I tried to explain, more questions followed. This led to an inquiry of human body. Below is a record of how we approached this inquiry.

1. I wonder....

Sid and Nidhi started with I see,I think,I wonder approach and asked a lot of questions they wondered about.
Do flowers have muscles?
Do cars have muscles? I think that a car's muscles are its wheels.
Is heart a muscle? If it is, does it move?
Does ear have muscle?
Do all living things have bones, muscles and blood?
Do plants have a body?

2. Reading books

 Sid suggested that we go to library to get books about human body and we did. We borrowed a list of books on human anatomy to get answers for their own questions.
I was surprised to see the amount of information they were able to understand about our body. The cat in the hat book Inside your outside worked as a wonderful introductory book. Here is a list of books we read.

1. Inside your Outside - The cat in the hat book
2.My Bones - Sally Hewitt
3. Usborne Beginners' Your body
4. The Muscular System by Helen Frost
5. How do we move? - How your body works series
6. The ears by Beth Ferguson
7. The Magic School Bus' The human body
8. Want to know nature series - My Body
9. First Science Experiments - The Amazing Human Body

Studying Digestive System in a book

3. Drawing and labeling

I set up a very simple provocation to draw the internal organs of a human body outlined by me.
This activity helped them understand the positions of internal organs. Sid drew a ribcage and filled it with big lungs and then he thought for few minutes and questioned "If lungs are here, where can I draw the heart?". An interesting question leading to our discussion on layers of human anatomy.

Since then they drew multiple human body diagrams and with each depiction their improved understanding was clear.

Nidhi's initial human anatomy diagram depicting Heart, Lungs,  Brain and Blood

Sid' initial Human Anatomy depicting Lungs, heart, skin and muscles

Nidhi's Anatomy diagram depicting Brain, Heart, Bones, Stomach, Muscles and Joints

Sid's Anatomy depicting Brain, Lungs, Skin, Heart, Ribs, Bones, Joint and Red Blood cells

4. Discussing about body

We engaged in lot of discussions about body. They came out with lot of hypothesis.
Me: Why do we have skin?
Nidhi : If we don't have skin our blood will come out.
Sid :Skin is like our jacket. I can't wear a shirt on my skeleton!

Me:Why do we need bones?
Nidhi: For moving
Sid: Without bones we will be floppy.

Me: Can we see with just one eye?
Both Sid and Nidhi immediately tested it out by closing one eye and exclaiming "Yes! we can!".
Nidhi immediately thought of an extension - "Wait! Can we hear with one ear?". "Yes", she declared after trying it out.

5. Playing games

The book 'First Science Experiments' The Amazing Human Body' inspired me address some questions  asked by the kids with couple of simple games. To explore the question "why do we have two ears?" we played a simple blindfold game where one player would sit with eyes closed in middle of the room while another player would go to different corners of the room and make some sound. The listener has to identify the direction of sound source.
This game helped them understand that brain can detect the direction of sound source with help of two ears.

To understand "What is memory?" we played the simple game of looking at a few objects on a tray for couple of minutes and then trying to list the objects that they can remember. The twins had fun playing such games.

6. Exploring and experimenting

They explored their own body and identifying the bones and joints. They were more fascinated with rib cage bones. "Look! Here is my spine on my back and I can bend because it bends!" - Nidhi

They explored if we can use flash light to see inside our body.

Can we see inside the body with flashlight?

To understand how sound waves make ear drums vibrate, I added few rice grains on a box on which they were playing drums. They observed  that the rice grains jumped higher when they played harder and were excited to see the vibrations. Here is a short video of them trying to see the vibrations.

7. Comparing human body to other known systems.

They were excited to share their knowledge with their visiting uncle. "Uncle, Do you know that there is a septic tank inside our body and it makes and sends out waste?" , asked Nidhi.

Sid compared human body to plant structure. "I think plant stems are like bones because stems help the plants stand upright.", he said.

8. Learning about self care through human anatomy

 Wondering what is the purpose of understanding human anatomy at this early age? Though I am sure this exploration helps them reinforce how to inquire about a topic they are curious about, I think they learnt a lot about self care and confidence.

   Now they understand the reason behind good habits we insist upon such as
      1. Being active helps you grow stronger
      2. Drinking water helps the blood to carry nutrients easily.
      3. Chewing food well helps the stomach with digestion
      4. Prefer healthy nutritious foods
    Also, they have learnt that the body can heal itself which is a big relief for them :)
Now, when they cough, they say "My white blood cells are eating away my germs."
They don't worry much if they scrape their knee or fall down at the playground.
Yesterday I heard Sid  consoling his friend who got hurt at the playground saying, "Don't worry! You know what? Our body can heal itself! Our skin will grow back, even broken bones heals."


We still have a few unanswered questions like "why skeleton has no private parts?".  I am not sure if this inquiry will continue or it will come to a natural end but I am sure it has been an awesome learning journey for all of us till now.

"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." - Lloyd Alexander

Encouraging creativity with TinkerBox

"To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." - Thomas Edison

Have you ever noticed what kids do when they are given a pile of junk? Junk, not toys. Just Junk. Surprise!  They start to tinker with the pile in million ways we never would have thought about. This tinkering encourages them to think critically, solve problems, and most importantly stay creative.

What is tinkering?
To quote The Exploratorium,  "tinkering is thinking with your hands and learning through doing. It’s slowing down and getting curious about the mechanics and mysteries of the everyday stuff around you."

What is a Tinker box?
 A tinkerbox (also known as Tinker tray) at our house, is a simple divided box with various loose parts. You can read more about loose parts play and creativity in a post written a few months back.  So, when in mood to play with something new or just tinker with something, tinker box is our go to resource.

The Tinker Box

What is in our tinker box?
1. Rings and Sticks
2. Googly eyes - adds a character to anything it is attached to instantly.
3. Straws
4. Pipe cleaners/chenille sticks or wires
5. buttons and beads
6. Popsicle sticks/ craft sticks
7. Feathers
8. Push Pins
9. Yarn/String
10. Pattern blocks/shapes
11. Bonding materials such as tapes,glue and rubber bands
12. cardboard tubes and recyclables

Basically, a tinker box can comprise of any number of familiar, interesting materials left to be used in unfamiliar ways.

If tinker box contains craft items then what is the difference between tinkering and crafting for preschoolers?

Both tinkering and crafting are about making something. But in tinkering, you do not follow stepwise instructions to achieve a neat end result. When tinkering, the end result may reveal as you go.

How to initiate and maintain interest in tinkering?

If a new material is added to tinkerbox or tinkerbox is just being introduced, I would set up provocations displaying a few ways the materials can be used creatively.

A small provocation setup by me

To sustain kids' interest, I add other open ended materials such as play dough, paper and coloring materials etc.
I also rotate materials according to the kids current interest if the box goes unnoticed for some time.Say, the kids are currently interested in cars, adding materials for wheels (like bottle caps) and axles (sticks or skewers) can help bring their interest back to tinkering.

So what do Sid and Nidhi do with their tinkerbox?

Creative Expression
Sid and Nidhi enjoy using loose parts in the tinker box for expressing their creative thoughts, for story telling and to retell their experiences.

Here is Sid's depiction of a juggler after visiting a juggling show.

A juggler balancing on a ring by Sid

 Here is a story told by Nidhi about two little girls trying to find their way home. She also documented her representation as drawing on paper.

Girls walking on road by Nidhi

For Pretend/Imaginative play:

A simple tinkering of cardstock paper with couple of pipe cleaners can transform them into little prince and princess.

Prince and Cinderella with their self made crowns

Add a pair of googly eyes and you get an instant pretend companion.

Look! My little car is drinking juice(petrol)

Here is a short video of Sid singing with a  Banjo built by him and Nidhi listening to the song with her pretend headphones and mike.

Here is Sid playing a banjo made with cork board, a train track, push pins and rubber bands.

Sid playing a DIY banjo

For Preschool Math and literacy learning:

Though this way of using loose parts may not contribute towards tinkering, it reinforces versatility of tinker box.

Nidhi building alphabets with popsicle sticks

Sorting buttons by colors

Preschool Engineering:

Nidhi trying out a pulley system

Piggy's straw house

Art projects:

Often just having fun results in amazing art products like this mobile made by Nidhi hanging elegantly in our room.

A mobile made of loose parts from the tinker box

Another hanging mobile in making

And more importantly having fun!

A happy face with pins and rubber band

Do you have a tinker box for your preschooler? What's in it? Share your thoughts.

“The creative process in tinkering, I believe, lets your mind escape from the day-in and day-out of life. And I think it's so important, when we’re building something, to escape.” – Scott Weaver

Math Provocation - Button grouping

I arranged this simple provocation with a bowl of buttons and muffin tin.

  "How many different ways can you group/sort these buttons?"

I was very curious to see what kind of answers Sid and Nidhi could come up with. 

Patterns Inquiry - Exploring AB patterns

When I searched for ideas to explore patterns with preschoolers I found many activities using objects in AB pattern and asking questions such as "what comes next?"
I feel such activities lack the big picture. I like these cute activities and they are useful for reinforcing the concept of patterns but not to introduce patterns. what would children think while doing them? My guess is that they are thinking "why do I have to use only these objects? Why do I have to even line them up? Why do I have to follow this particular pattern?" Do these cute activities have an answer for these queries?

These activities miss the big picture! The exploration should answer questions that will make sense to their little minds.

How can we introduce patterns? Through the world around us. Point out when you encounter patterns in real life. Here are few examples
Up/down motion of swings or teeter totter
Opening and closing a faucet/ door
Tick tock of clock...

This thought process got me the idea of utilizing Sid and Shrini's excitement about Halloween celebration. Everyday this week they have woken up with anticipation of it being Halloween.
So I set up a simple provocation.

Simple Provocation - Day and Night picture cards

I laid out a few photo cards of day and night images. The idea was to let them predict Halloween day. I setup the provocation on Thursday.

First, the kids sorted the day and night pictures.  I asked some questions to assess their prior knowledge such as Why do you think this is day/ night? Why are nights dark? What difference do you notice in the sky?
Soon I figured out that they were confusing time of day with day of week. So I simplified the questions.
What comes after day?
What comes after night?
Quickly they figured that day and night alternate forming an AB pattern.
Now they look out for patterns almost everywhere. This evening Shrini coughed in rhythmic hi/lo fashion and exclaimed "See mom! My cough was like ABAB!" :)
Here is a short video of Shrini working with the picture cards.

Can you share your ideas for real life pattern exploration?

Patterns inquiry

Shrini was stringing pony beads to make necklace for herself. I thought this might be a good opportunity to practice patterns.
Me : Can you make a pattern?
Shrini: This is a pattern.
Me : These colors seem pretty random to me. Let us do Pink, white, green, pink,white, green. OK?
She obliged a couple of times and then resumed with random order.
Me : Don't you want to continue with the pattern?
Shrini: This IS a pattern, mom. See, Stripes!

Do you see her stripes pattern? :)

Simple Provocation : Rings and Sticks

The kids notice patterns around them all the time. It is mostly identification of a particular pattern like stripes, zigzag or spiral. But the concept  that pattern is anything that repeats or follows a definite rule is not understood by them.
I'm curious to see if they will discover it on their own, given the right kind of provocations.
So, I set up a tray with some colorful rings and sticks from a Hape toy and presented them a few images of patterns.
Sid tried to copy and build the art with concentric circles. He missed blue rings that were in the picture and didn't want to proceed further. So I suggested him to try zig zag. Immediately he found that zig zag has triangles in them. But did he notice that the triangles repeated? Alas, no!
The sticks then turned into alphabets, musical instruments etc and the activity came to an end.

Here is a short video of the kids working with the provocation set up.

What does NO look like?

I am sharing this little story to demonstrate the use of higher order questioning to open up and peek into how the little brain of a 3 year old works.

   This morning Sid and Shrini were sluggish to get ready for school. To pep them up I played soft Mandolin music video on IPad. This seemed to do the trick and in no time they were ready to put on their shoes. The below conversation happened just then.

Me : Hey Sid! Did you see the Mandolin?
Sid : Yes!
Me : Well! What does it look like? ( expecting an answer such as Guitar)
Sid : NO!
 (Means that 'I am not going to answer you Mom')
Me : (sarcastically) What does NO look like?
Sid : (after serious thought) No looks like ZERO!

Well, i am bowled. My kid knows Boolean Logic ;P

Now it is your turn. What does NO look like to you?