A Must-Have Tool for Autumn

Always on the Lookout for Claws

We are always on the lookout for mechanically interesting toys. The search includes everything from cool trucks to clever uses for simple machines and includes toy stores, kitchen stores, and hardware store.

Using Rakes as Shovels

I have a distinct memory of using a rake as a shovel every autumn. I would rake leaves into a giant pile, maybe play in it or let me little sister play in it, and then begin the laborious work of scooping leaves into a bag or wheelbarrow to transport to compost. I would flip the rake upsidedown and use my hand to fill it with leaves.

Leaf Scoops Solve Two Preschool Engineering Problems at Once

Enter "Leaf Scoops."

They are claws.

They are a simple solution to the precarious balancing act of scooping and hauling leaves at the end of a rake.

They are an invitation for preschool engineers to help with the work of life during autumn.

Find a Set for Your Family
You can order a set for yourself at Amazon but I have also seen them at local megastores. Now that you know they exist, I'm sure you can find a pair (or two)for your family.

Happy Autumn!

Terrifying Tools: A Preschool Engineer's Halloween

Squash season brings with it a unique opportunity to let our children wield tools. I have to admit that my blood pressure goes up any time hammers and nails are around but that doesn't mean I don't find times and places for my kids to try them out. Finding the right combination of materials is key...

Wood is "Too Hard"
Both of my children have had plenty of opportunities to hammer nails into wood. But oftentimes I find myself starting all the nails and then letting them pound them in. And the removing nails from wood is pretty hard to do, too.

(Not to say that it isn't worth trying.)

Play-doh is "Too Soft"
Play-doh is so soft that the children don't need a hammer to push pegs, nails, or golf tees into it. They can just push them in.

(Not to say that is isn't worth trying.)

Pumpkins are Just Right
Pumpkin flesh is a unique material for taking nails.  It is not as hard as wood; it isn't as soft as Play-doh.

Here are a few ideas to get you started...

JUST POUND AWAY

You can start by just letting your child pound nails or golf tees into a pumpkin. A pumpkin riddled with nails is an oddly satisfying thing to see.

Just Pounding Nails at I Can Teach My Child

MAKE HAIR

If you offer a face already drawn on the pumpkin, then the nails or golf tees might become hair.

Hair at Choices for Children

STRING & RUBBERBAND BLING

Add string or rubberbands to kick it up a notch.

Nails and String at the Magic Onions

Nails and Geobands and Little Bins for Little Hands

PLIER PATROL

Hand your child a pair of pliers and let them try pulling the nails or golf tees out of the pumpkin. Then hollow it out to create a starry-night pumpkin.

Remove Golf Tees with Pliers at Time for Play

And more.... 20+ Pumpkin Hammering Activities at Living Montessori

Unexpected Lessons

The Haba Block and Tackle provides awesome pre-STEM learning, as expected. The children have been learning about size, weight, tippiness (balance), and the power of a pulley. What I wasn't expecting was the lessons in cooperation and communication that it provides.

A huge goal for Autistic children is to learn the back-and-forth of communication. Parents, therapists and other caregivers engineer games to encourage taking turns. And I remember celebrating with another parent when our Autistic children played their first game of catch together...rolling a ball up and down a slide to each other. This type of play comes naturally to my typical child but it is no less important for her.

So when I heard my children talking to each other - one up stairs and one down stairs - joy filled my heart. "Is it ready?" called Mikey. "No, not quite yet!" said Anna. He waited (a small miracle). She finished attaching a toy snake then shouted, "Ok Mikey! It is ready!" He hoisted.

We have a two story house with a cathedral ceiling. A landing at the top of the stairs looks into the play room and was a perfect place for a block and tackle toy. A generous grand parent gave it to us at Christmas time. When we brought the toy home, we drilled into a stud in the ceiling and mounted a heavy-duty eye bolt. The block and tackle was then safe and ready for play.

The pulley system is a huge hit with everyone who comes to play - adults and children alike. It is a novel and powerful machine. But, mounted between two level of house (or treehouse) it also affords practice in communication and cooperation, and that makes the toy priceless for Preschool Engineering.

Paint Rollers

Image from myrobotispregnant.com

When I was a kid I really enjoyed rocks. I sometimes amazed myself at the amount of time I could spend in the rock museum at the Cranbrook Institute of Science (Michigan). I liked the variety of colors and shapes I saw. It seemed to be a magical thing that all those beautiful things could be rocks. Now I share that fascination with my preschool engineers.

It seems that as soon as they can throw, children are fascinated by throwing rocks into water. I have spent countless hours standing riverside and watching my kids pick up rocks to toss into the slowly moving water. The splash of the water, the ripple and splunk sound occupy them for hours.

But we can't always be riverside or lakeside to enjoy playing with rocks and water. We have discovered other ways to play with Water, Sand, Rocks, and Clay (which is the title and topic of a fun little song by Brady Rymer). At the children's museum, there is a big slab of rock and some paint brushes and cups of water. Until the stone is soaked, toddlers paint and paint and paint and inspired me for some water painting at home.

Living in the desert means that there is a lot of stone in the neighborhood. There are gravel yards instead of grass, cinder block privacy fences, and rock-filled ditches for water run-off during monsoon season. My favorite resource for rock and water play are the cinder block fences and the sidewalks. Arm a child with a condiment squeeze bottles that has been filled with water and watch them paint! Or you can opt for my preschool engineer's favorite painting tool - the roller. You choose a big one or a little one and change the size of the nap on the sponge and let your child get crazy painting the fence. My kid loves to paint the wall as well as the patio floor and the sidewalks.

The hidden bonus of the roller as a toy for a preschool engineer is when you remove the paint sponge and let them inspect the rotational translational motion. Pushed through the grass, the paint roller looks like a push mower. Those old-school push mowers are everywhere in Richard Scarrey's books and there is also one in "Just for You" by Mercer Mayer.

Again, I am amazed by rocks. As a parent with children of my own I remember and delight in these simple materials. And again I have been surprised by how a seemingly benign thing like a paint roller can be repurposed for a child's play.

[Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I receive a small referral fee at no cost to you. To see how I spend the money see my "Philanthropy" page. ]

Nut Wizard

Photo from www.hobbyfarms.com

Summer is right around the corner and with it comes yard work. I used to think that yard work was rather dull. Now that I have a preschooler and a toddler I think it is a fabulous way to occupy young people.

In the right place there is all sorts of dirt digging, rock hauling, and weed picking that little tykes can do. And if they're lucky they might even score a ride in a wheel barrow or atop a tractor mower. For a preschool engineer the tools associated with yard work will probably be the best part of the job. And the coolest tool we have found so far is the Nut Wizard.

The Nut Wizard
The Nut Wizard occupied Mikey for hours and hours. He rolled over grass and sand, using it to pick up nuts, rocks, small toys, and anything else that he deemed suitable for backyard-nut-wizard-fun. The appeal seemed multifaceted. It was novel - he had never seen a "whisk" do that kind of work. It was maneuverable - it was light enough for a 2.5 year old to push and pull over all sorts of terrain. It was useful, mechanical, and simple - he could understand and appreciate the appeal of this tool.

For more, visit http://www.nutwizard.com/ or watch the video embedded below.



The Nut Wizard is available through their website. If you're an Amazon junkie then you might be able to find it there, too, but you might be more likely to find the "Garden Weasel," which appears to be the same tool.

Hose Reel

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...