Physics 2.1: Pre-K/K & Lower Elementary

 Hello Coop families! 

I was so excited to teach our first class of the second quarter! I got to meet some new kiddos and overall it went really well. 

Our focus was work and an introduction to simple machines. We started with a discussion of what we consider "work" and then I explained that in physics, there is a slightly different definition of work, which is that work is the amount of force it takes to move an object over a distance. We had someone demonstrate work by moving a book. Then we all pushed on the wall of the church as hard as we could for 30 seconds and discovered that even though we were tired and used a lot of force, we had done no work since the object did not move. We journalled a bit on what work is, both with pictures and words, and did a work relay. 

Then we asked the question - what could make our work easier? That led us into a discussion on simple machines! I introduced the 6 simple machines and talked about how they are essentially tools. We read a book that showed someone grocery shopping and discovered that grocery carts are simple machines that we utilize to make our work easier (the wheel and axle). We discussed the pyramids and how they were built using only simple machines (pretty incredible). 

For homework this week, they can watch a video on work, energy, and forces. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSY4HzWZIlo&ab_channel=It%27sAumSumTime 

There is also a video on the pyramids - I highly recommend the LE group check this out, they were all super curious about the pyramids so I think they would enjoy it! 

https://www.pbs.org/video/how-the-pyramids-were-built-pyramid-science-part-2-jygcrd/ 

The preK/K group has a matching sheet for simple machines and then on the back they can draw pictures of other examples of simple machines (for example, they could draw a wagon or a bike as the wheel and axle). I think they will have a hard time with this since we didn't go into detail before wrapping up. They will probably need a lot of guidance to complete it but if you want to talk to them throughout the week about all the places you see and use simple machines (the kitchen utilizes a lot of simple machines) then that would be great. We are going into detail about each of the simple machines in the next 3 weeks so they will get more exposure then as well. 

The LE have a similar sheet for them to fill in. I think they will have an easier time with this since most of them grasped what these were pretty quickly. If they don't understand it yet that is fine, like I said we will be going into detail in the next few weeks. 

Please talk to your kids throughout the week about where you see simple machines being utilized! Excited to see them all again next week. 

-Betsy