Whether your kids are learning virtually, in a classroom setting or homeschooled, the winter months, coupled with a pandemic, mean more time spent at home. Thanks to our friends at Oklahoma A+ Schools, we’re launching a six-month series of easy, fun and engaging arts-integration activities kids and families can enjoy together.
Bonus: Integrating the arts with students’ everyday academics is proven to increase comprehension and retention!
Lesson 1: Let’s Get Moving!
What do roller coasters and waves have in common? Each teaches something about movement and motion. We experience movement in the push and pull of force, the slope of a line on a graph and the stretch of a muscle. Let’s dive in and experience movement with a creative activity.
Force and Motion Sculptures
Have you heard of Newton’s Laws of Mo9on? If not, Google it with a grown-up, and then let’s check these laws out in action. We’ll create a sculpture from found objects around the house that will demonstrate movement with the help of a familiar simple machine, the wedge. Then we’ll see how our sculpture wedge moves a ball forward.
- Choose objects from around the house to create a ramp. You can use boxes, blocks, LEGOs, books, whatever you can find!
- Mark a start and endpoint with tape or another found object. Your start point is the bottom of your ramp. Choose a spot for your endpoint, which is where you predict your ball will roll to when coming off your ramp.
- Place a ball at the top of your ramp and let it go. Force pulls the ball toward your ending line. Measure how far your ball rolled with a tape measure, ruler or piece of string.
- Then discuss with your grown-up or sibling (or write down your answers or even create a video of your responses!):
- How did the shape or size of the sculpture affect how my ball moved?
- What could I change to make the ball move farther?
- How does my sculpture represent movement?
Share a photo or video of your sculpture with the tag #okcfamilyfun for a chance to be shared in MetroFamily! Go online for more integrated-arts activities provided by Oklahoma A+ Schools plus information about this organization at metrofamilymagazine.com/integrated-arts.
