I've been trying to figure out how to make weighted cylinders for a while, and I finally made a few. I recently started buying yogurt smoothies for O, and I realized the containers would be perfect for this. I hate buying individually packaged snacks, so this made me feel better about it :)
To make the weighted cylinders, I filled them with plaster of paris. The first pair have 1 tablespoon of plaster of paris (mixed with 2 tablespoons of water), and the 2nd pair of cylinders has 2 tablespoons of plaster of paris (mixed with 4 tablespoons of water). I glued red and blue cardstock circles to the top of the bottles.
To match the cylinders, you pick up one bottle and feel the weight of it. Then pick up a second to see if they match. (You match a blue topped bottle with a red topped bottle). I was surprised by how difficult this work is. There are stickers on the bottoms of the cylinders for self-checking.
I plan to make a few more pairs when I have more bottles. I'm not sure if the plaster of paris is the best material to use for making these cylinders, but it works for now. This activity was simple to put together and fun to do!
I had better luck with corn meal.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Moveable Alphabet used sand...
ReplyDeletehttp://athousandjoys.blogspot.com/2010/04/weight-cylinders.html
What a cool idea!
ReplyDeleteAs for the yogert delema - I've found that mixing some milk with a scoop of yogurt gives it the smoothie consistancy. I had kept some of the containers so I fill it up with yogurt and milk and my daughter has a blast shaking it up (almost 3yo). Then we stick a straw in it and she goes to town. Or you can just make them up ahead of time if you think the kids would object to homemade smoothies.
Can I just say these are BRILLIANT!!! I love how you come up with ideas that help make Montessori more accessible to everyone!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea. We buy the adult actimel drinks so I will be making some of these with the containers. I may try sand though as the filler.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the plaster of paris--it's nice and solid, so it can't get mixed up with a aural sorting activity or a shaking activity. How many pairs do you plan to make? Especially if you eventually plan to make several pairs, it can work well to make the weight difference between the first few pairs more obvious, and then gradually fill in the ranges in between as you add more pairs.
ReplyDeleteYou could even throw a few heavy washers in with the plaster of paris to make some really heavy ones!
ReplyDeletegreat! I'll be linking,
ReplyDeleteJo