Why Do the Cars Move?

Week of 2/18/14

Mrs. Stone & Mrs. Hughes’ Room

            The children have been using the plastic cars on the large ramps and observing how they move when the children let go of them. I have noticed that some of the children are curious about the wheels of the cars but have not yet made the connection to how the cars move.

            This week I introduced during a group time small wooden blocks of different shapes and they move on the ramp. The children observed that when the block was placed on the ramp and I let go, it did not move. I showed them a triangle block, a thin rectangle block and a square block. When I demonstrated each one, the children were all curious to see what would happen. Then I showed them the car and demonstrated how the car moved on the ramp and asked, “Why does the car move?” This seemed to have sparked more interest.

            That afternoon I then brought out the large ramp and placed the blocks on the ramp and had the basket of cars next to it. Connor saw the blocks on the ramp and said, “Ramp!” as he picked up a car. He then placed the car on the ramp and watched it move down. Then he picked up the blocks and lined them up next to each other. I asked, “How do the blocks move?” Connor then pushes the blocks down the ramp as far as his can reach and says, “Push!”

            Several of the children did similar things with the blocks. Nadia tested each block on the ramp like she observed in group time. When she saw that they did not move she then picked up a car and placed it on the ramp to watch it move. Laya stacked the blocks on the ramp and knocked them down to make the blocks move. She then began to move the wheel of the car with her finger. This week it seems that the children are beginning to see that the cars are different in how they move than other objects.