Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’–cause it’s round, the hockey puck that is.
Hockey pucks only come in a thick circle shape. That makes them great for sliding, rolling and for an easy science activity. Using a short board or even a long cookie sheet, place one end down on the floor and the other up on a few books or the lower rung on a chair to make a ramp. Find some different items for your child to send down the ramp, such as: a little Soft ball, a small block, a few plastic containers that are different shapes, a toy car, small stuffies, etc. Kids notice very soon that some things roll and go down faster than others. Littler ones will be content to just try things. Older ones can be challenged by putting the items into groups. Some groups might be things that roll, things that slide, or things that stick.
This play activity can be very exciting as the child tries over and over to check out what objects will do. It’s not just play time, it’s learning time. These kinds of play/learning activities lead right to readiness for kindergarten.
Kids are practicing observing and testing. They are surprised when some things roll that they didn’t expect; that’s predicting using their own level of knowledge. When something rolls that they think should roll, they are confirming what they know. That can give quite a feeling of excitement at being able to figure things out. You may hear some squeals and cheers, mixed in with some groans and sighs, much like adults watching the score. Kindergarten readiness with a hockey puck. Does this hockey science activity score for your child?