Early Bird Physics

The children are really enjoying the Early Bird Physics series (thank you to the parent who kindly donated it) and it has been an excellent tie-in to our "Tree Squirrel Playground" Project.

I like that the wording in each book is simple and clear, so it works well for a mixed-age classroom or homeschool environment. Plus, the experiment materials for each Simple Machine are very inexpensive. That makes it easy to set up multiple "kits" so the children can work in pairs or small groups.

I love that the text explains what is happening in each experiment and expects the child to be doing them as the story goes along.

I also appreciate that the books go in a particular order to develop the concepts. Many of the Simple Machines are related and it can be hard to figure out an ideal order of presentation! Here is a list of the books in order, as well as all of the materials needed for the suggested experiments:

Inclined Planes and Wedges

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - Inclined Planes

chap 4 - Gravity and Friction

materials needed: 4 or 5 thick books, weight (such as a 5 lb bag of flour), the board from a family board game, hand towel

optional: spring scale

chap 5 - Wedges

materials needed: 2 thick books, nail, plastic lid from a tub of margarine

optional: 2 rubber door stoppers, shovel, fork, carrot

(we also hammered a nail partly into a block of wood, removed it, broke off the tip of the nail in a bench vise, and tried to hammer it into the wood)

Levers

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - Parts of a Lever

chap 4 - Changing the Amount of Force

materials needed: 12 in wooden ruler, crayon, 15 oz soup can, rubber bands

chap 5 - Kinds of Levers

optional: hammer, wheelbarrow, broom, kickball, tweezers, beads, popsicles

(we also used a board as a lever, and had the lightest child lift the heaviest)

Pulleys

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - Gravity

chap 4 - Friction

materials needed: heavy book, screwdriver, soda can, gravel, big paper clip, 4 ft piece of string, spool (to spin on the screwdriver), rubber band

chap 5 - Kinds of Pulleys

materials needed: straw, bobbin (to spin on the straw), 2 big paper clips, doorknob

optional: spring scale

(we also set up my lovely wooden Haba Terra Block & Tackle Pulley System)

Screws

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - What Is a Screw?

chap 4 - How Screws Help Us

chap 5 - Kinds of Screws

materials needed: sheet of paper, ruler, two unsharpened pencils, crayon, tape, scissors, Styrofoam plate, nail, screw

optional: hammer, nail, screwdriver, screw, block of wood, gallon of milk

Wheels and Axles

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - Friction

chap 4 - Parts of a Wheel and Axle

materials needed: book, round pencil, straw, sheet of paper, spool

chap 5 - Gears

materials needed: book, thick pencil, masking tape, straw, sheet of paper, spool, marker, chalk, screwdriver, kitchen cabinet, can opener

optional: bicycle

(we also love to do a Balloon-Powered Car challenge as the final activity!)

Work is the last book in the series. It describes a day in the life of some children, and all of the simple machines they encounter along the way!

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Simple Machines

chap 3 - In the Park

chap 4 - Safari

chap 5 - Snack Time

chap 6 - Making Work Easier

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