Teachable Moments
So, on the schedule today was "teach Peter the basic principles of gravity and momentum by racing cars down a ramp or pumping with legs on a swing."
We didn't make it to the swings yet. Too hot.
We did some ramp racing, but Peter got distracted with the idea of making a "diving board", so we didn't quite get any instruction time in there.
Fortunately, this afternoon we had a teachable moment.
He was Jeep Riding. {Imagine that.} And upon coming down a steeper hill, he asked me why his Jeep makes a higher sound (engine revving). A-hah. So we talked about how the motor turns the wheels and has to work harder on the uphill...but barely has to work at all on the downhill, because of gravity and momentum.
It makes a lower sound while climbing the hills. And a higher sound coming down.
He was all ears. Then he experimented a bit and smiled with recognition. It made sense!
We didn't make it to the swings yet. Too hot.
We did some ramp racing, but Peter got distracted with the idea of making a "diving board", so we didn't quite get any instruction time in there.
Fortunately, this afternoon we had a teachable moment.
He was Jeep Riding. {Imagine that.} And upon coming down a steeper hill, he asked me why his Jeep makes a higher sound (engine revving). A-hah. So we talked about how the motor turns the wheels and has to work harder on the uphill...but barely has to work at all on the downhill, because of gravity and momentum.
It makes a lower sound while climbing the hills. And a higher sound coming down.
He was all ears. Then he experimented a bit and smiled with recognition. It made sense!