Rocky loves anything that rolls – wheeled toys are his favourites from prams to trucks, balls and walkers. He will often find a wheeled toy and flip it on it’s back just for the pure pleasure of being able to spin those wheels. One day I thought we’d have some fun with all things roly poly asked Pebble the question:
What can we find in the house that rolls?
We found lots of things! Balls, trucks, cars, ride ons, cylinder blocks and rattles. Pebble pulled them all in to a pile and I asked the question:
How can we make these things move?
Pebble, with Rocky joining in, pushed and pulled the toys and showed how they moved, brrrrming and beeping and rolling. They rolled the ball to each other, Rocky is getting quite good at that. They played cars on the car mat.
Then Pebble had an idea! She made a little ramp with one of the couch cushions and sat with Rocky on the couch. Together they took turns (kind of) pushing toys down the hill and chasing them, then doing it all again. There was lots of giggling and only a little bit of fighting. Winning!
What next? We might try these simple science ideas:
- find other objects to use as ramps. Try books, blocks, small tables and slippery dips.
- roll down some hills
- paint with some roly poly eggs or some lovely chestnuts. Marbles work great too.
- learn about shapes by rolling a ball
- do some science experiments with tennis balls and a slippery dip.
- use recycled materials to make something that rolls.
More simple science with kids:
