Some children love math and science, while others find these topics unenjoyable or uninteresting. My grandson, Ben, was interested in both. He spent time on the computer looking up science questions rather than playing outdoors. As a child, I wanted to understand both math and science. I was intrigued by them, but my learning style made both very challenging. I had children who weren’t interested at all!

Math and science are important subjects that our kids will encounter in school, regardless of their educational setting, whether public, private, or homeschool. What can we do to respond to our children who are sparked by these topics, while creating interest in children who aren’t? One thing we can consider is turning them into fun, exciting, interesting, and at times, messy family activities. Kids love making a mess. : )

When my grands were young, I introduced them to levers. At the time, I didn’t know much about levers. I had never taken physics. If I didn’t know much about levers, what got me interested enough to think I could interest my grands? One day, I saw a game on television that utilized leverage and made me want to know more. It sparked me. : ) As I’ve aged, I’ve called upon my leverage learning to continue to do some things I wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. Leverage is a valuable concept to understand. I give directions for the game and the materials needed to make it at the end of this article.

I decided to see what else I could find that might be fun for the grands and me to work on together. I found all kinds of Lego builds and similar things. My grands had done some of these on their own without even knowing they were creating levers. I found playground equipment that used the principles of leverage. My grands had always loved seesaws. : ) But I was looking for something we hadn’t seen or thought of before. I was also interested in possible breakaway topics we could spend time on.

It didn’t take a ton of time to find fun things to share with them, and now, you. We have tools today that make it simple to find great activities that introduce science and math to children as young as four and five, even if the topic is new to you. It was fun finding simple ways to introduce fairly complicated concepts in ways that my grands and I could understand.

There’s a big payback when you have interesting stuff on hand in your home. I introduced the Spark Station to my homeschool audience years ago. However, I have used it extensively as a grandma, and it’s great in any home to respond to your kids Sparks, introduce something new and exciting, for something to do on a boring day, when there’s a need to defuse a contentious situation, or when you want to engage the entire family in an activity.

What is the Spark Station (formerly The Closet)? It’s simply a cupboard, individual shelf, or closet, where parents and grandparents put things they feel their kids or grands would enjoy engaging with. Kinda like a toy box, only more orderly and more interesting. : ) This is where I put some of the great information I found about levers. Then, when the grands came over, they looked in my cupboard (it was one shelf), and we were off.

Lever Activities

Getting into the habit of watching for your children’s sparks is useful because it gives you ideas, as the television show did for me, then follow through and find a few activities that your family or your children can engage in.

• In physics, a lever is a rigid object that’s used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to multiply the mechanical force (effort) that can be applied to another object (load). It’s also called mechanical advantage. The seesaw I mentioned earlier is an example. When you go to the park, and your child rides the seesaw, mention that it’s a lever.
• Did you know that many common tools utilize the concept of leverage (crowbars, pliers, scissors)? Some modern examples of levers are using a hammer to pull out a nail, using a bottle-opener to open a pop bottle, using a screwdriver to pry the lid off a can of paint, using a pair of scissors, using a balance scale to weigh things, rowing a boat, and using pliers to open a bottle. They’re all based upon levers and fulcrums.
• Find an old tree stump (a walk in the woods for that purpose or a drive in the country can help you find one), a box of nails, and a hammer. Put the stump in the backyard and let the kids hammer in and remove nails. This is another opportunity to have a mini-conversation about this wonderful science concept. I can tell you that it’s a super fun activity! My grands LOVED it!! OK, what kid doesn’t like to whack something with a hammer, and while they’re busy at it, you can engage in some mini-conversations about Egypt and Archimedes. You can find information about them in the Breakaway Topics section, below.
• Find a community pond that rents boats and go rowing. Maybe you can fish while you are at it. Have several mini-conversations about leverage and its importance in helping you get back on land.
• Some animals have figured out how to use artificial levers to get work done. Sea otters, for example, use rocks to pry open seashells to eat sea urchins or abalones. Orangutans use sticks to pry open spiny fruit to eat the seeds inside. What else do these animals do? Where do they live? You can find pictures of animals using tools and levers online or in the library.
• People have probably used levers as long as there have been people on Earth. At first, people used levers the way otters and orangutans do, to break into shells and fruits to eat the food inside. Research online to see pictures of early levers in human life.
• Look for books that show how heavy machinery, such as cranes, uses length and leverage to move heavy objects into place. Buy a toy crane for your child and talk about how it works. This is an example of a mini-conversation that can occur naturally as a child plays. It’s always amazing to me what children take in when you think they’re just playing. Play is a great learning tool for kids. There are many videos to watch. I also found good books. Check these out: Mighty Machines in Action: Cranes by Chris Bowman, Peep Inside How a Crane Works by Lara Bryan
• Look at pictures of the joints in your body. Your body contains many, many levers—wherever there’s a movable joint, there’s a lever below. Whenever you pick up anything heavy, your elbow acts as the fulcrum of the lever, and your arm bone acts as the lever itself. You can do experiments with the levers in your body. You can have a leg wrestling contest. You can play the game of stick pulling.
• Find other levers in your home. Perhaps you don’t think much about how you use mechanical advantage, but there’s no way you can go through a day without utilizing it in some way. Levers are everywhere; the light switch on the wall, for example, and the stapler on your desk. You use levers when you shift gears on a bike and when you hit the brakes. A doorknob is a type of lever.
• By the time people were living in cities, levers were used for many things. Take a look at a shaduf. It’s a very important tool for lifting water in many countries.
• Make the lever game I saw on television, then play it. Instructions below.

Breakaway Topics

• Study Egypt. It is theorized that levers were used to build the ancient pyramids in Egypt, so you could talk or read about Egypt. This is a new and interesting topic to share as a family. Do a bit of research and have some amazing dinner conversations. There are also great books you could use in your family reading time. Recreate some art. Google Egyptian art for kids, and lots of options come up. There are also many cool videos on Egypt for children. Why not have an Egyptian meal?
• Study Archimedes. The earliest surviving writings on levers date to the 3rd century BC and were attributed to Archimedes. “Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the earth,” is a remark he made. Here is someone to learn about, read about, or have a conversation at the dinner table. As with Egypt, Google Archimedes for kids and lots of age-appropriate information comes up. Some books to get you going: Archimedes: The Inspiring Story of a Genius by Reza Nazari, ARCHIMEDES: The Complete History for Kids: The Mathematician Who Changed How We See the World by Olivia G. Mitchell, and ARCHIMEDES: The Complete History for Kids: The Mathematician Who Changed How We See the World by Olivia G. Mitchell. Here is one to read as a family: Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick (ideal for ages 10+). Mr. Archimedes’ Bath by Pamela Allen is a fun picture book for younger children.  If you have really interested kids, give this book a try: String, Straightedge, and Shadow: The Story of Geometry by Julia E. Diggins
• Study the pyramids. You could have a couple of books about pyramids in the living room. Look at them at the end of a family council, a family night, or an activity. Create a pyramid. Lots of ideas are online.
• You can expand your study of levers into the other simple machines: wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, and screw. Where can you find them around your home, in your environment? Can you make some of them? Talk about how they make life easier? Can you see how one spark can lead you to dozens of others; how just a bit of thinking time can give you weeks and months of ideas to work with.
• Learn more about shadufs. Show a picture of a shaduf, and share information about countries where they’re used. Find those counties on a map and learn about them. Make food from the country, see how they dress, what school is like, and what their families are like. Make a simple shaduf.

I understand that this may seem a bit overwhelming. Let me remind you that I took very little science and math in school, only what was absolutely required. However, I can look things up. I can think about them and how they relate to what I do every day. I certainly know more than a 4-year-old and most 12-year-olds. A mentor only needs to be a step ahead and moving forward. You are that for your children. You’re the expert in your home. You can sow seeds, build enthusiasm, and inspire.

Be brave. Give it a try. You may not have a shelf or closet where your kids or grands look for interesting stuff to engage with, but you can gather your family at a meal and introduce the topic. Then pick an activity and give it a go.

Families that learn and play together build lasting bonds.

 

Directions For The Leverage Game

The children playing the game were all about nine years old, but I could tell that with help, younger children could also make and play the game.

Take a piece of PVC pipe (about 4-5” diameter) or other material for the fulcrum. Use a flat piece of wood 2 ½ to 3 feet long as the lever. Tape a paper bowl to one end of the lever. Use a tennis ball to launch on the lever.

Use three hula hoops or other circular items on the grass, each marked with a paper sign as to its point value. The point of the game is to launch the tennis ball with the lever so that it lands inside the hula hoop with the most point value. Your children can experiment with moving the lever back and forth on the fulcrum until they find the length that will land the ball in the hoop of their choice.

Needed Materials:

• A piece of PVC pipe or other item for the fulcrum
• A flat board for the lever
• Masking or duct tape to secure the bowl to the lever
• A paper bowl
• A tennis ball
• 3 hula hoops
• Paper
• Markers

The closer the fulcrum is to the object being moved, the easier it will be to move the object – that is, the closer the fulcrum is to the object being moved, the less force is required to move it.

If your children are old enough to read or are at an age where they want to know how something works, add something from the internet explaining how a lever works, or a book from the library.

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