During the first few weeks of school, the teachers noticed the children’s interest in combining materials to move objects. In the Atelier, they used rope to drag logs and in the Building Space, they threaded cables through plastic spools to roll them. Wondering how they would move clay, the teachers introduced rope to the Exploration Room and asked, “How could we use the rope to move the clay?” We reviewed the experience with the children: “I put a big hole and then I put the rope in. Then I put a lot of clay on top and then it rolled.” -Jillian
Luke: She was winding the rope around the clay and then it spinned.
Austen: She holded both ropes and then she lifted it.
Clarke: Two clays on top of the rope won’t make the rope fall off.
As the children experimented, they tested many theories, such as sandwiching the rope between blocks of clay, poking the rope in the clay and covering the hole, and wrapping the rope around the clay. Through this process, they explored the physical properties of the materials, tried to figure out how the rope and clay could work together, and created their own simple machines. They also played with weight, balance, friction, and force. As we continue this exploration, I wonder how the children will share their discoveries to build a collective body of knowledge. -Teacher Susan
