water activities

I am so thankful that homeschooling projects do not have to be planned or fancy to have their full impact on my kids learning. Aren’t you glad too?

The boys were reading a chapter in Story of the World: Ancient Times and simply could not describe to me how a shaduf would work after reading the selection. They each read it. I reread it. I read it again. Somehow their brains could not picture this ancient irrigation tool.

Solution:
Impromptu Science, Physics, History Hands-on Learning Experience

Materials:

2 sticks at least 4 feet long
A Bucket of water
A ziplock bag
some kind of weight (they chose a shopping bag with pool balls)
some string

Directions:
“Boys, here are the basic elements for making a shaduf. Figure out how to put them together in a way that allows you to fill the baggie with water from the bucket and then swing the arm around to water your make-believe garden.”

Results:

Dipping bag into the water

Swinging the water around to reach the “garden”.

“Crops” being watered.

Here’s a (windy) explanation of what they learned, narrated by the youngest.

Sometimes less is more in homeschooling.

I had a whole afternoon of schooly looking activities planned for the boys. Instead, they were able to use critical thinking to solve a problem, build with their hands, and play in the water for over an hour. They learned more in this activity than I had planned for them to accomplish, even though we have nothing on paper to show for it.

Aint Homeskoolin” Grate? (Yes, I misspelled on purpose. Sometimes you just have to jump out of the box!)

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