RAMP-bunctious

 We have had old tires and wood stumps on our playground for many years now. Two years ago we began adding wood cookies. The play and imagination they created, has been endless. This year I added a rock garden and rain gutters. It has been fascinating to watch the exploration take place as these items are discovered and incorporated into the daily activities of the children.

At first it was all about cars. Running cars down the ramps, zooming them off the ramps as they flew through the air and of course racing cars against each other to see which cars were faster. Then came the hypotheses of why one car was faster than another car. Sometimes it was based on size or weight,

wheels were compared and checked for efficiency and sometimes it just came down to the color. The consensus was red was always faster.

Then one child took the rain gutters and propped them on a bucket. He connected two together, and then added a third to help stabilize the base.  Others converged around him to observe what he was doing. He spent over forty minutes getting the balance just right. He walked away from his creation and returned with a few balls.

The first was a football. It wobbled, then stopped.  It was given a tap but did not progress any further and then the rain gutter collapsed off the pail it was balanced on, due to the weight of the football. It was set aside. Next he placed a soft, plastic ball about twelve inches in diameter on the track. It rolled down she ramp with some success and encouraged by a cheering crowd of on lookers, and then toppled off to a chorus of groans.

It was picked up and compared to other balls in the pile. A small, lightweight, plastic, basketball was chosen next. It was compared to the track. It was placed on the track and released. It slowly gathered speed as it descended down the ramp. The excitement in

the crowd of onlookers intensified. It completed its run down the ramp, shot up in the air off the end of the rain gutter and landed in a tire near the end of the ramp course. Everyone, including me, irrupted in cheers and clapping!

Since that moment, about three weeks ago ramps are all the rage. It is fun to watch the problem solving, language development and social skills being learned while working with others. Their joy and curiosity is contagious, always drawing new friends and adults into the learning. Be sure to visit From Fingerprints To Masterpieces Facebook page to watch videos and see more pictures.