Hold a contest:
To throw a “regulation”
paper ball a distance. Set up a measuring tape or multiple yard/meter sticks
and have line judges watch when the ball hits the ground. A whole host of
scientific data analysis can crop up out of this part of the activity. You can
perform several trials and even have a discussion on the purpose of trials and
what constitutes enough trials. Students can do some statistics to see the
reliability of each machine (mean, median, mode).
A regulation ball can be decided upon and made. This reduces
the number of variables the machines have to deal with if they are all throwing
the same type ball.
There really are a lot of learning opportunities in just
letting a unit or investigation grow out of something your kids get excited
about. Don’t be afraid to just drop what you are doing and get on the floor to
figure things out with your kids. Our kids had a great time watching the
building and performance of these huge machines over Thanksgiving. It was
really amazing to watch all the work that goes into winning this contest! The
kids asked a lot of good questions and got me thinking.
One of the best things
about this is being willing to say yes when the kids ask if they can do it
themselves. Plenty of information is a few clicks away and it doesn’t cost
anything to begin a process and learn with your kids.
Thanks for joining in for the catapult fun! May your homeschool days be filled with adventures and exploration!
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