Tag: balance

Balancing Act

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Balancing Act (4).JPG

Instead of tracing numbers today, Travis did a math project that was a little more hands-on, constructing a simple balance scale and testing it in various ways.

Balancing Act (1)

Punch three holes in each of two plastic cups. Add three strands of string or yarn to attach each cup to a hanger. By accident, our lengths of string were cut too short, so I ended up taping them on to the hanger.

Balancing Act (2)

The hanger should start out even. I gave Travis a bag of dried beans and had him start adding them to the cups any way he wanted. First the whole apparatus tilted one way…

Balancing Act (3)…then he quickly began adding beans to the other cup to even things out. After achieving a middle balance, he poured all the beans into the other cup, so things tilted the other way!

Balancing Act (5)

Your child may have fun playing around with different variations on this for quite some time. To mix things up, take out the beans and weigh toys or other objects, and see how many balanced combinations you can come up with!

Which Is Heavier?

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Weighs More (5)

We loved this idea for an easy, at-home balancing scale from the September issue of High Five magazine. To make it, you’ll just need a few items you likely already have lying around the house. Then the weighing fun begins!

To set up the scale, punch holes in the sides of two plastic cups – one brand in our cupboard was actually too tough to punch, but we managed to get holes in a second brand – phew!

Weighs More (1)

Thread pipe cleaners through the holes, then loop the pipe cleaners onto a hanger with hooks. Place on a door so the cups hang evenly.

Weighs More (2)

Now it was time to play scientist and test out a few combinations. For each pair of the following, I asked Travis which he guessed would be heavier before we actually weighted.

1 stuffed animal vs. 3 toy cars

5 markers vs. 5 crayons

1 toilet paper tube vs. 4 quarters

Weighs More (3)

When a small toilet paper tube didn’t balance the quarters, he suggested trying a longer paper towel tube – a much closer balance!

Weighs More (4)

He loved it so much he was soon running around the house to test combinations. A rock from his collection was by far the heaviest thing, and we had fun trying to guess what might balance it out. A big set of old car keys came closest.

Weighs More (6)

In sum, a great way to introduce balancing scales to your child, without any complicated work involved. Thanks High Five!