Simple Machines and Play

Don’t ya just love when kids use their imaginations and create really cool things?  This afternoon, the older kids made great use of their free time (and I was able to get in a little discussion about simple and complex machines!)

Caleb loves ladders, ropes, tools and other bits and pieces of boy stuff.  Living on a farm leaves lots of room for boy stuff to be sitting around.  After a failed attempt to use the ladder to climb this really tall tree, he went to work putting together a pulley with an old ax head for the purpose of smashing things.  We just happen to have a stash of really old bricks that are easily smashed, so what could be more fun, right?

Along comes big sis.  Seeing the ladder leaning against the tree reminds her of the tree house that Dad has promised to build soon.  Together they start scheming how to use the new pulley system along with the treehouse.  This is the second invention of the afternoon – a dumbwaiter.  When they want something in their treehouse, they plan to ring a bell for the servant (me) to do their bidding and send up whatever they need using the board and rope!

Do you think these ideas are worth leaving a tip in the tip basket Caleb recently put in his room?