Comparison is an important early childhood math concept, and in everyday life, children like to compare quantity (more or less), size (bigger or smaller), height (taller or shorter), and length (longer or shorter). In this activity, we compare the speed of objects falling and express our understanding with our hands and then the whole body.
Materials:
- 1 or 2 objects that fall slowly, floating and drifting in the air: such as feather, scarf, or balloon
- 1 or 2 objects that fall quickly and drop straight down: bean bag, eraser, small block, or pebble
Instructions:
- Start with providing opportunities for children to experience different kinds of objects in a space they can move freely, so that they can toss a scarf and try to catch it as it drifts, or drop a bean bag and watch it fall.
- In a small group or whole group, introduce the activity: “We’re going to watch carefully at how things fall and land on the floor, and trace it with our hands. I’m going to drop this feather from up high, and we’re going to trace it by pretending one hand is the feather. First, watch me do it, and then we’ll do it together.” Drop the feather with one hand, and traces the movement with the other hand. If there is a second adult in the room, ask her/him to drop the feather while you trace.
- “Now let’s do it together.”
- Next, repeat the procedure with a bean bag.
- Discuss: “How do the objects fall differently?” Talk about key comparison words: faster/slower, longer/shorter, more/less time.
- Once the children are familiar with tracing the object with one hand, incorporate the whole body. “What if your whole body moves like this feather falling? What would that look like?” “And what if your whole body moves like this bean bag dropping?” “How did your body feel moving in these different ways?”
Kindergarteners exploring how balloons move.
Modifications:
- You can decide which objects work best for your class, and try as many as you deem appropriate. The key concept is to make comparisons.
- It is likely that everyone will have a slightly different idea of when an object reaches the floor, especially slow moving objects such as a scarf or a feather. If so, talk about it: “When I looked around the room, everyone moved their hands slightly differently. It’s amazing that we all see and move differently. What do you see?”
- After the children are familiar with the procedure, this activity can be a movement break as well as a mindfulness activity. You can start with the sharp energy of tracing objects that fall quickly, and then end with tracing the slow, calming drift of a feather or a scarf.