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Friday, December 9, 2011

Great Project for Boys (and Girls)


I occasionally find it hard to think of projects to keep my son busy. My daughters will frequently do craft projects when bored but he is not always interested. So we came up with playing inventor. My son and daughter have been working on fixing a toy truck. The truck was broken so they decided to take it apart and try and fix it. They did get pretty far and almost fixed it. The one part of the truck had a broken piece of plastic so they could not fix the gears. They did have loads of fun trying though and were super proud that they even got the truck apart. Checking out the inner workings of the toy was fascinating to me as an adult as well. There was a mini circuit board, basic switches and gears (I know I am a science nerd).

Anyway, when they could not fix it they decided to re-purpose it. Now they are trying to fit it inside this "robot" they made so it will make noises and hopefully make its arms move. We shall see. They took a break after an hour of working on it. I will post a picture of the finished robot if they complete it. Regardless, they were entertained by themselves for an hour - already a winning situation.

This was a great activity that encourages fine motor skills, science skills and exploration. I am sure you have some battery operated toys lying around that no one plays with anymore. Let the kids have at it by themselves and see what they can do with it.

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