Moving Cars in the Sandbox
In the classroom we have been working
on the concept of motion and the various aspects of motions. The concept that I
have been focusing on with the children is making motion visible to them. We
have been exploring motion with cars by making the motions of the cars visible
by using paint, crayons, and markers to track the motions. For this exploration
we used cars in the sandbox. I placed the sand box on top of the table so the
children would be able to stand around it as they explored the cars and the sand.
I was curious to see if the children noticed what happened to the sand when the
cars were moved through it.
The children were initially intrigued
that the sand box was on the table and curious as to what they could do with
it. The children first touched the sand with their hands and then began moving
the cars around in the sand. I think the children were curious about the cars
because they picked them up and looked at them before moving them around in the
sand. I think that Max was curious about the tires because he picked up the car
looking at and touching the tires of the car before placing it back in the
sand. The children moved the cars in the sand at various speeds and directions.
Adam moved his car all the way across the sand table and then back again. Ali
moved the car he was using back and forth very quickly, using a small space in
the sand box. I think that Adam was curious about how far he could move the car
and I think Ali was more interested in the speed of his car. Lana and Ayeden
pushed the cars in the sand without taking their hands off of the cars. I
believe that they were interested in how they affect the movement of the car.
Amir was curious about cause and effect because he pushed the car in the sand
letting go.
