Mechanical child
keeliereader
Hello,
My son (3yrs) has alwsys been into cars and trains and how things work. Today he asked me what makes cars go. So I told him there's an engine under the bonnet at the front of the car. So then he asked what makes the engine go. That's a good question I said.
How do I faqcilitate this interest? I can show him the engine in our car but that's my limit. I'm not mechanically minded. I'm at a loss as to how I can help him understand what makes cars go - how to introduce it in a way that's meaningful for him.
I thought about asking a mechanic DS could watch for a little bit. Health and Safety might not permit that but it's a start...
I'd welcome any ideas.
Thanks,
Keelie
My son (3yrs) has alwsys been into cars and trains and how things work. Today he asked me what makes cars go. So I told him there's an engine under the bonnet at the front of the car. So then he asked what makes the engine go. That's a good question I said.
How do I faqcilitate this interest? I can show him the engine in our car but that's my limit. I'm not mechanically minded. I'm at a loss as to how I can help him understand what makes cars go - how to introduce it in a way that's meaningful for him.
I thought about asking a mechanic DS could watch for a little bit. Health and Safety might not permit that but it's a start...
I'd welcome any ideas.
Thanks,
Keelie
Schuyler
Depending on where you are, there are museums with engines in lots of places.
Youtube probably has a ton of videos. Here's a set of older engines on-line:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/energyhall/theme_See%20the%20engines%20at%20work.asp,
but it isn't loud enough. Engines should be louder.
You could build simple engines, like rocket launchers with vinegar and baking
soda as the propellant. I was going to say that wasn't really an engine, but
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine talks about siege engines, converting force
into motion machines, so it may just work.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2371437/home_experiment_film_canister_rockets/ has
some a very basic set up. Ooh, a pop pop boat.
http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/boat/index.htm is how to make one, but you can
usually find already made, metal ones around. That's a really simple engine.
David suggested that there are steam engines you can build from kits available.
http://www.forest-classics.co.uk/Basic%20Boiler%20Kit.htm is an example,
although as I don't know where you live it may not be a relevant one.
Asking a mechanic is a good idea. I asked David, he said the internal combustion
engine is just controlled explosions. And if I wanted he could show me how that
worked ;o).
Schuyler
________________________________
From: keeliereader <keeliebean@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, 28 September, 2011 4:04:31
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Mechanical child
Hello,
My son (3yrs) has alwsys been into cars and trains and how things work. Today he
asked me what makes cars go. So I told him there's an engine under the bonnet at
the front of the car. So then he asked what makes the engine go. That's a good
question I said.
How do I faqcilitate this interest? I can show him the engine in our car but
that's my limit. I'm not mechanically minded. I'm at a loss as to how I can help
him understand what makes cars go - how to introduce it in a way that's
meaningful for him.
I thought about asking a mechanic DS could watch for a little bit. Health and
Safety might not permit that but it's a start...
I'd welcome any ideas.
Thanks,
Keelie
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Youtube probably has a ton of videos. Here's a set of older engines on-line:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/energyhall/theme_See%20the%20engines%20at%20work.asp,
but it isn't loud enough. Engines should be louder.
You could build simple engines, like rocket launchers with vinegar and baking
soda as the propellant. I was going to say that wasn't really an engine, but
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine talks about siege engines, converting force
into motion machines, so it may just work.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2371437/home_experiment_film_canister_rockets/ has
some a very basic set up. Ooh, a pop pop boat.
http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/boat/index.htm is how to make one, but you can
usually find already made, metal ones around. That's a really simple engine.
David suggested that there are steam engines you can build from kits available.
http://www.forest-classics.co.uk/Basic%20Boiler%20Kit.htm is an example,
although as I don't know where you live it may not be a relevant one.
Asking a mechanic is a good idea. I asked David, he said the internal combustion
engine is just controlled explosions. And if I wanted he could show me how that
worked ;o).
Schuyler
________________________________
From: keeliereader <keeliebean@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, 28 September, 2011 4:04:31
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Mechanical child
Hello,
My son (3yrs) has alwsys been into cars and trains and how things work. Today he
asked me what makes cars go. So I told him there's an engine under the bonnet at
the front of the car. So then he asked what makes the engine go. That's a good
question I said.
How do I faqcilitate this interest? I can show him the engine in our car but
that's my limit. I'm not mechanically minded. I'm at a loss as to how I can help
him understand what makes cars go - how to introduce it in a way that's
meaningful for him.
I thought about asking a mechanic DS could watch for a little bit. Health and
Safety might not permit that but it's a start...
I'd welcome any ideas.
Thanks,
Keelie
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
I know our nephew has enjoyed watching YouTube videos about things like this. It's amazing what so many people have taken the time to put online!
We've watched oil being changed, tires being changed, many, many car washes -- actual and how to build one, Lego versions of garages and car washes, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers/vacuums (called the company on that one and they sent us a free DVD), etc., etc.
Nothing beats watching his Uncle change a tire but videos are great.
And this weekend, Dear Nephew and Uncle are going to one of those Home Depot build-a-birdhouse workshops. Fun for everyone! :)
And the guys at the garage near us didn't mind when we stood off to the side watching them put cars up on the lift and do their work. They seemed pretty happy about it.
And we have visited all the local car washes. Nobody has objected yet. :)
Nance
We've watched oil being changed, tires being changed, many, many car washes -- actual and how to build one, Lego versions of garages and car washes, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers/vacuums (called the company on that one and they sent us a free DVD), etc., etc.
Nothing beats watching his Uncle change a tire but videos are great.
And this weekend, Dear Nephew and Uncle are going to one of those Home Depot build-a-birdhouse workshops. Fun for everyone! :)
And the guys at the garage near us didn't mind when we stood off to the side watching them put cars up on the lift and do their work. They seemed pretty happy about it.
And we have visited all the local car washes. Nobody has objected yet. :)
Nance
--- In [email protected], "keeliereader" <keeliebean@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> My son (3yrs) has alwsys been into cars and trains and how things work. Today he asked me what makes cars go. So I told him there's an engine under the bonnet at the front of the car. So then he asked what makes the engine go. That's a good question I said.
>
> How do I faqcilitate this interest? I can show him the engine in our car but that's my limit. I'm not mechanically minded. I'm at a loss as to how I can help him understand what makes cars go - how to introduce it in a way that's meaningful for him.
>
> I thought about asking a mechanic DS could watch for a little bit. Health and Safety might not permit that but it's a start...
>
> I'd welcome any ideas.
> Thanks,
> Keelie
>
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
Amazing Contraptions is a great online game !!!!!! You will be amazed!
Alex Polikowsky
________________________________
From: "marbleface@..." <marbleface@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 11:52 AM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Mechanical child
I know our nephew has enjoyed watching YouTube videos about things like this. It's amazing what so many people have taken the time to put online!
We've watched oil being changed, tires being changed, many, many car washes -- actual and how to build one, Lego versions of garages and car washes, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers/vacuums (called the company on that one and they sent us a free DVD), etc., etc.
Nothing beats watching his Uncle change a tire but videos are great.
And this weekend, Dear Nephew and Uncle are going to one of those Home Depot build-a-birdhouse workshops. Fun for everyone! :)
And the guys at the garage near us didn't mind when we stood off to the side watching them put cars up on the lift and do their work. They seemed pretty happy about it.
And we have visited all the local car washes. Nobody has objected yet. :)
Nance
Alex Polikowsky
________________________________
From: "marbleface@..." <marbleface@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 11:52 AM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Mechanical child
I know our nephew has enjoyed watching YouTube videos about things like this. It's amazing what so many people have taken the time to put online!
We've watched oil being changed, tires being changed, many, many car washes -- actual and how to build one, Lego versions of garages and car washes, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers/vacuums (called the company on that one and they sent us a free DVD), etc., etc.
Nothing beats watching his Uncle change a tire but videos are great.
And this weekend, Dear Nephew and Uncle are going to one of those Home Depot build-a-birdhouse workshops. Fun for everyone! :)
And the guys at the garage near us didn't mind when we stood off to the side watching them put cars up on the lift and do their work. They seemed pretty happy about it.
And we have visited all the local car washes. Nobody has objected yet. :)
Nance
--- In [email protected], "keeliereader" <keeliebean@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> My son (3yrs) has alwsys been into cars and trains and how things work. Today he asked me what makes cars go. So I told him there's an engine under the bonnet at the front of the car. So then he asked what makes the engine go. That's a good question I said.
>
> How do I faqcilitate this interest? I can show him the engine in our car but that's my limit. I'm not mechanically minded. I'm at a loss as to how I can help him understand what makes cars go - how to introduce it in a way that's meaningful for him.
>
> I thought about asking a mechanic DS could watch for a little bit. Health and Safety might not permit that but it's a start...
>
> I'd welcome any ideas.
> Thanks,
> Keelie
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sacha Davis
My son is also very mechnically minded. We do youtube as well and try to
find anything that fits into his mechanical interests. One idea is to go
to Goodwill and get some appliances then give your son a screw driver and
let him go to town. It's not a car, but it will be getting into the
mechanics of something.
We recently went to the fair and Finn spent the entire time on one ride
staring at the gears trying to figure out how it works. Yup, that's my
awesome kid!
I just checked out Amazing Contraptions (it looks like it's actually
called Fantastic Contraptions) and can't wait to show my boy! He will go
NUTS. Thanks so much.
S.
find anything that fits into his mechanical interests. One idea is to go
to Goodwill and get some appliances then give your son a screw driver and
let him go to town. It's not a car, but it will be getting into the
mechanics of something.
We recently went to the fair and Finn spent the entire time on one ride
staring at the gears trying to figure out how it works. Yup, that's my
awesome kid!
I just checked out Amazing Contraptions (it looks like it's actually
called Fantastic Contraptions) and can't wait to show my boy! He will go
NUTS. Thanks so much.
S.
> Amazing Contraptions is a great online game !!!!!! You will be amazed!
>
> Â
> Alex Polikowsky
> Â
> Â
> Â
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: "marbleface@..." <marbleface@...>
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 11:52 AM
> Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Mechanical child
>
>
> Â
> I know our nephew has enjoyed watching YouTube videos about things like
> this. It's amazing what so many people have taken the time to put online!
>
> We've watched oil being changed, tires being changed, many, many car
> washes -- actual and how to build one, Lego versions of garages and car
> washes, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers/vacuums (called the company on that
> one and they sent us a free DVD), etc., etc.
>
> Nothing beats watching his Uncle change a tire but videos are great.
>
> And this weekend, Dear Nephew and Uncle are going to one of those Home
> Depot build-a-birdhouse workshops. Fun for everyone! :)
>
> And the guys at the garage near us didn't mind when we stood off to the
> side watching them put cars up on the lift and do their work. They seemed
> pretty happy about it.
>
> And we have visited all the local car washes. Nobody has objected yet. :)
>
> Nance
>
> --- In [email protected], "keeliereader" <keeliebean@...>
> wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> My son (3yrs) has alwsys been into cars and trains and how things work.
>> Today he asked me what makes cars go. So I told him there's an engine
>> under the bonnet at the front of the car. So then he asked what makes
>> the engine go. That's a good question I said.
>>
>> How do I faqcilitate this interest? I can show him the engine in our car
>> but that's my limit. I'm not mechanically minded. I'm at a loss as to
>> how I can help him understand what makes cars go - how to introduce it
>> in a way that's meaningful for him.
>>
>> I thought about asking a mechanic DS could watch for a little bit.
>> Health and Safety might not permit that but it's a start...
>>
>> I'd welcome any ideas.
>> Thanks,
>> Keelie
>>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
Jo
Hi there, my son too, loves anything mechanical. There is a great series of books called Peter's Railway in which a young boy builds a working railway with his Grandpa. All through the books the author explains how the things in the story work: the various parts of the train, building the track, points, a waterwheel etc. My son is nearly five now and he has been enjoying them for the past 18 months. He seriously knows more about steam trains than I do!
Usborne also do some good books on how things work. I don't know if they have engines specifically but they may have machines or something related - there are quite a few on Amazon...
All the best,
Jo
Usborne also do some good books on how things work. I don't know if they have engines specifically but they may have machines or something related - there are quite a few on Amazon...
All the best,
Jo
jmamacat
Have you looked at books that show cross-sections of various machinery, such as David MacAulay's "The New The Way Things Work"?
When my 6 year old son was three, he really loved it.
Here is an Amazon page that shows lots of his books, including many related to building:
http://tinyurl.com/3wp5g2k
We also spent lots of time in the kids' nonfiction section of the library, where there are loads of books dedicated to many different mechanical-related subjects (including things like levers, hydraulics, farm machinery, etc.). Maybe just grab whatever ones appeal to him and enjoy them casually together?
YouTube is also an amazing resource...you can type in nearly anything and someone's posted videos about it. Try "how cars work"!
Hope those are good jumping off places for you.
Enjoy the explorations; there's loads of cool stuff for both of you to learn!
Best,
Jessica
When my 6 year old son was three, he really loved it.
Here is an Amazon page that shows lots of his books, including many related to building:
http://tinyurl.com/3wp5g2k
We also spent lots of time in the kids' nonfiction section of the library, where there are loads of books dedicated to many different mechanical-related subjects (including things like levers, hydraulics, farm machinery, etc.). Maybe just grab whatever ones appeal to him and enjoy them casually together?
YouTube is also an amazing resource...you can type in nearly anything and someone's posted videos about it. Try "how cars work"!
Hope those are good jumping off places for you.
Enjoy the explorations; there's loads of cool stuff for both of you to learn!
Best,
Jessica
t_guyonvarch
Hi,
My son (now 5yo) loves the Massive Engines and Massive Machines series from Discovery Channel (presented by Chriss Barrie, who is so passionate when presenting these that my son actually adores him and want to meet him in person!) since he was about 3.5yo. Some of them are on you tube. For each subject, he explains how everything works, e.g. petrol engine, steam engine, jet engine, submarine, etc. And of course I learnt lots from it too.
He also enjoys the program "How it's made" and the Mythbusters.
Someone has mentioned museum. If you are in UK, the science museum in London has all sorts of engines on display, tiny to huge. There's also an area where children can play with different kinds of engines. So much fun, my son used to love going there every week. Otherwise, many other museums like aviation, motorist etc have them too.
There's also a mini petrol engine for sale on amazon (uk) called Haynes Combustion Engines for less that 25 GBP. I've seen a page on the internet where a teacher used this to explain how this engine works in a classroom.
That's all I can think of at the moment. I'll write more if I remember something else.
Titis
My son (now 5yo) loves the Massive Engines and Massive Machines series from Discovery Channel (presented by Chriss Barrie, who is so passionate when presenting these that my son actually adores him and want to meet him in person!) since he was about 3.5yo. Some of them are on you tube. For each subject, he explains how everything works, e.g. petrol engine, steam engine, jet engine, submarine, etc. And of course I learnt lots from it too.
He also enjoys the program "How it's made" and the Mythbusters.
Someone has mentioned museum. If you are in UK, the science museum in London has all sorts of engines on display, tiny to huge. There's also an area where children can play with different kinds of engines. So much fun, my son used to love going there every week. Otherwise, many other museums like aviation, motorist etc have them too.
There's also a mini petrol engine for sale on amazon (uk) called Haynes Combustion Engines for less that 25 GBP. I've seen a page on the internet where a teacher used this to explain how this engine works in a classroom.
That's all I can think of at the moment. I'll write more if I remember something else.
Titis
--- In [email protected], "keeliereader" <keeliebean@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> My son (3yrs) has alwsys been into cars and trains and how things work. Today he asked me what makes cars go. So I told him there's an engine under the bonnet at the front of the car. So then he asked what makes the engine go. That's a good question I said.
>
> How do I faqcilitate this interest? I can show him the engine in our car but that's my limit. I'm not mechanically minded. I'm at a loss as to how I can help him understand what makes cars go - how to introduce it in a way that's meaningful for him.
>
> I thought about asking a mechanic DS could watch for a little bit. Health and Safety might not permit that but it's a start...
>
> I'd welcome any ideas.
> Thanks,
> Keelie
>
Rinelle
My sister found this book
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gretchen-asks-how-do-cars-work-angel-neuschwander/1015722533
when her DD was asking how cars work. It's quite detailed, but in kid
friendly language.
Tamara
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gretchen-asks-how-do-cars-work-angel-neuschwander/1015722533
when her DD was asking how cars work. It's quite detailed, but in kid
friendly language.
Tamara
keeliereader
A belated thank you to everyone that replied to my request.
The 'Gretchen asks how cars work' book is a hit. We found a lot of the other books in the library and we've been to visit our local garage - the mechanic gave Jack an icey pop so he was very happy!
The 'Gretchen asks how cars work' book is a hit. We found a lot of the other books in the library and we've been to visit our local garage - the mechanic gave Jack an icey pop so he was very happy!