What to do? Wednesday
Posted By Melissa on August 19, 2009
I was surprised a couple weeks ago when I asked PJ if a car would go faster or slower down a steeper ramp and he answered “slower.” And so was born the next What to do? Wednesday post.
In the spirit of matching literature with learning activities, we read Choo Choo by Virginia Lee Burton.
Then we set up our own little experiment.
We built a ramp using some blocks and a long box.
We measured how tall the highest part of the ramp was with a ruler. (Our first ramp was 2″ tall).
Then we used a stop watch to time how long it took our “car” (Loft in our case) to travel to the end.
We repeated that 4 more times (5 times total). This was also a good time to talk about human error and averages.
Then we repeated the process with a 4″ ramp.
Now, PJ can tell you the correct answer to the opening question 
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Since, we’re approaching the start of the school year, I will have less reason to come up with such creative activities for my children. But if enough of you guys are actually using the ideas and would like me to continue posting them, I will continue. So, show of hands comments if you value What to do? Wednesday. Otherwise, it will take a school-year hiatus.
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