Exploring balance in preschool

This week, we brought out the levels and have been exploring balance in preschool…

We began our study on balance by reading the book Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh.  Ellen Stoll Walsh is one of our favorite authors and this is another great book by her!  She writes fun and simple stories that explore basic concepts such as counting, color mixing, and in this case balance…

In this book, two little mice and all of their friends play around with balance.  The two mice begin by creating a teeter totter.  When their friends decide to join them, the mice get a lesson in weight and balance…

After reading our story, I brought out a level.  We passed around the level and talked about how a level works.  I showed them how the bubble in the center of the level can show us if  something is balanced or unbalanced, like the mice on the teeter totter in our story.   Then we closely examined the bubble in the middle of our level…

Then the children set off to play with the levels and explore balance on their own.  At one table, the children found two different types of blocks, along with levels.  These blocks were a bit more challenging to stack and balance than traditional blocks.  The wooden cubes were found at a craft store.  These cubes came with a variety of sizes altogether in a large bag.  The other set of blocks are made of bamboo and were actually wind chimes purchased from the Dollar Store.  We simply cut the strings off that held them together.  They became a great addition to our block area!  Along with the blocks, we set out levels that were also found at the Dollar Store…

We also set out long cardboard strips that the children could use as a platform to set their level on, to see if their creations were balanced…

The children had an amazing time exploring these different materials.  They enjoyed stacking their blocks as high as they could to see if they would remain balanced or if they would fall down…

Adding levels to our non-traditional blocks was  a unique way for our children to explore balance!

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Links to grow on:

Exploring weight and size with scales in preschool by Teach Preschool

Preschool at home: marbles and golf tee game by Pink and Green Mama

Homemade balance beam by In Lieu of Preschool