science Archives - Page 2 of 2

Love was truly in the air when JDaniel and I made this homemade catapult and heart shaped toss objects. It was such fun to try to pull the wooden spoon lever back and watch the hearts fly. JDaniel discovered a catapult activity on the Pepperidge Farm Goldfish site that he really liked. It was after watching him play that game that I started researching catapults we could make a home.

I found a number of types of catapults using a wide range of materials. Some were really easy and others were really complicated. I decided on one that was easy and used materials that we already had at home I found on a site called Spaghetti Box Kids. (They actually have several easy and cool catapults on that site.)

Next JDaniel and I gathered the materials.

Building a Paper Roll Catapult

They were:

Newspaper
Wooden Spoon (They recommended a tablespoon.)
Rubber band
Heavy Tape (They recommended masking tape.)
Foam Sheets with Sticky Backs
Small Beans

How did we put the catapult together?

We rolled the newspaper into a cylinder long ways.

building_a_catapult_taping_down_paper_roll

We placed tape at both ends and the center to insure that it would stay rolled up.
We placed the rubber band beneath the rolled newspaper at its center and pulled it to the top of the newspaper roll.
I held the rubber bands in place and JDaniel slipped the spoon through both of the loops.
Then we taped the roll to the floor to hold it in place. The Spaghetti Kids directions mentioned taping it to a place mat so you could move it around.

How did we put the flying hearts together?

building_a_catapult_making_objects_to_throw

Small hearts were cut out of sticky backed foams sheets
A heart was placed on the table sticky side up and the paper cover they sticky side was removed.
A couple of small beans were placed in the center of it.
A second heart with its sticky paper removed was placed neatly on top of it.
We rubbed our fingers around the edges secure the edge and enclose the beans.

Then we were ready to explore the homemade catapult and let love (hearts) fills the air. The spoon’s handle (a lever) can be moved up and down in the rubber band to work on distance. We had a wonderful time doing just that.

building_a_catapult_slamming_the_lever_down

We tried the catapult on the floor and off the edge of a table. The handle of the spoon wasn’t able to be pushed down very far on the floor. The open space off the edge of the table allowed the handle a wide area to swing down into. We are able to really explore the handle (lever) and fulcrum (the roll of newspaper ads) from the table top. We also took time to explore the various names of the parts of the catapult we had built.

One the things we like best about building a catapult is the ability to cause objects (hearts) to fly through the air. We even got one to land all the way across the room in the sink. What fun!

Other Valentine’s Day exploration posts:

Science Activity for Kids- Magnet Heart Jar

Valentine’s Day Sensory Bin and Six Learning Activities

Deirdre Smith writes/owns JDaniel4’s Mom. After twenty years as a elementary school and technology resource teacher in Northern Virginia, she became a stay at home mom in upstate South Carolina. Her blog features ways she and her 5 year old are exploring learning, crafting, creating healthy meals and living life to its fullest. Deirdre can also be found on her blog’s FB page. You can also check her out on Google+.

JDaniel and I were browsing at the library last week when I noticed the book Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine sitting on top of the shelves. I have been wanting to start some spring planting projects with JDaniel so, I took it down and added it to our library pile. It is a wonderful book. The librarian that set it up on the shelf deserves my thanks!

In the story Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine Rosie isn’t the star of her class at school. Violet is the star and everyone else in the class agreed that she was. Well, everyone except Rosie. She was tired of hearing everyone praise Violet including Violet. Yes, she did everything well, but enough was enough.When everyone is asked to decorate a flower pot, Violet’s is the best decorated and Rosie contained a simple heart. Rosie and Violet are the first to have a sprout, but Violet shouts it out first. When Violets starts to be taller than Rosie’s, she can’t take it. Rosie has to push soil over top of it.

Rosie regrets her mistake when she finds out that Violet has the chicken pox and won’t be able to tend to her plant. That is when Rosie really shines. She is the best she can be and she is the best friend she can be. Rosie sings and tends to both her plant and Violet’s.

You will have to read Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine to see what happens when Violet gets back from being sick. Just know that this really is Rosie’s time to shine.

What did we do to explore Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine?

Number Recognition

JDaniel and I worked with homemade pea pods. Some of the peas had number represented by numbers. Some peas had numbers represented by dots. Some of the peas had numbers represented by triangles.

The goal was to put the three peas that belonged together in the same pod.

Letter and Sound Match

This pea pod letter and sound matching activity is just like the math pea pod activity. The goals was to find the three peas that belonged in the same pod together.

When pod had its three pods, it should have an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, and an object that began with that letter. I was really pleased to see that JDaniel could match each of the letters quickly and find the right picture for each pod. He did change the game a little, but I will share that story with you next Wednesday. It deserves its on post.

Decorating a Flower Pot

JDaniel was asked to paint whatever he wanted to on this flower pot. Rosie was told to decorate her post anyway that she wanted to and I told JDaniel the same thing.

He really wasn’t into painting the afternoon I set out the paint and flower pot. He painted the jellyfishes bell shape and didn’t want to paint the tentacles. I talked him in to doing some if I did some too.

I wasn’t surprised that this pot as a jellyfish them. We read books about them everyday. You may remember I even made him a jellyfish mobile for his room.

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