This is another instance of looking around your home to find interesting things for your Preschool Engineer to discover. The Hose Reel in the back yard is no longer just a modern day convenience. It is now a toy for learning about cranks and gears and circumference!
There are lots of hose reels out there but the one Mikey enjoyed at Uncle Joe's house was one with a "Hose Guide." The crank is big but the right size for a Preschool Engineer to turn for a little gross motor exercise. As the crank goes around, the hose winds up inside the box. If it is a hose reel with a guide, like Uncle Joe's, there is a worm gear across which a guide traverses so the hose doesn't bundle up in one big clump. The hose is distributed across the entire interior of the cavity.
As a former math teacher I like the potential geometry lesson that the hose reel invites. Simplifying the action of a hose reel to simply winding a string around a cylinder can illustrate circumference. Winding a rectangular piece of paper around a cylinder can help anyone see surface area in a new way...
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