How Toys Work (continued)

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• Make a couple of parachutes to take outside. Take a piece of lightweight cloth or a piece of plastic bag about 12 inches square. Punch a small hole in the center of the cloth and in each corner. Tie a string to each corner of the cloth. Tie all four strings together near their free ends. Fasten a small weight—a metal washer—to the free ends of the string.
• Once outside, show the children how to fold the parachute by holding the center and rolling it toward the strings. Then wrap the strings around the cloth. Have the children toss the parachutes into the air as high as they can.
• After children find out what they can do with the parachutes, try these experiments.

• Who can toss the parachute the highest?
• How far do parachutes fly?
• How many times can they jump on both feet before a parachute hits the ground?

• Ask children to look at the parachutes and describe how one looks when it is first tossed in the air, when it fills with air, and when it falls to the ground. Back in the classroom, ask children to draw themselves tossing parachutes in the air (Seefeldt & Galper, 2000).

• Make or obtain pinwheels. For directions on making a pinwheels, and a pinwheel pattern, go to janbrett.com. Young children haven’t the muscle coordination to do this, but will enjoy playing with the pinwheels outside in the wind.

• Obtain a few kites and take turns flying these on a windy day. As you do so, talk about how the wind feels as it tugs the kite high in the sky.
• Read M. Rey’s Curious George Flies a Kite.

Vibrations

• A group of children’s toys make sounds. The sounds are usually caused by vibrating, which in turn causes the air to vibrate. Observe toys that make sounds and try to discover the source of the sounds.
• Make rattles. Give each child two clear plastic glasses. Have them place a couple of sound makers (beads, seeds, pebbles) in the bottom of one glass. Help children tape the two glasses together to form a rattle. As children watch the objects move and make sounds as they move in the rattle, ask children to speculate on what makes the sounds.
• Beat a drum. While doing so, ask children to lightly place their hands on the drum top so they can feel the vibrations. Sprinkle some seeds on the top of the drum. As children beat the drum, the seeds will dance from the vibrations of the drumhead. Have them speculate on why the seeds move. You do not need to lecture or tell children what is happening; all you want is for them to observe and question.
• Invite an older student to play a string instrument for the children. Perhaps a student who plays a guitar or violin would volunteer. Ask the musician to show children how to vibrate the strings of the instrument to make sounds and to let children feel the instrument, and hence the vibrations, as they listen to the sounds produced.
• Read Zin! Zin! Zin!: A Violin by L. Moss. This book presents 10 musical instruments in a playful way.
• Read Max Found Two Sticks by J. B. Pinkney, the story of a boy who makes music by tapping two sticks on his thighs, the bottom of a bucket, and other things to make music. Have children model Max by making music with rhythm sticks. Remind them that sounds are made through vibrations and ask them to feel the vibrations of the sticks.