Lets Go Fly A Kite

Today, Benjamin wanted to fly his kite. It has been sitting in his closet, then the outside toy bin, for what I’m sure seems like ages to Ben. Since it is finally Spring and the weather is cooperating, Nathan and I have been spending as much time outside with the kids as possible. Letting them run around, play in the sprinkler, etc. This morning the boys were riding the bikes when Ben brought out his kite. After some quick assembling by Nathan, he was ready to fly in no time.

Benjamin in the culdesac flying his Iron Man kite. 

Ben was a quick learner, and soon figured out that he had to make the kite pull against the wind, and learned how and when to run around to keep the kite flying! (I must say, I was a bit impressed). When the morning wind began to slow down, it was time to turn fun into Science. Now I normally would have used Kite Flying as a lesson on Gravity and Lift…simple things, and I am sure I would have used Pinterest or Google to find some terms and ideas for discussion and education. However Nathan was already on it and again, I was impressed today. Instead of coming up with some basic (and perhaps even obvious) educational topics, Nate taught Benjamin about mass, resistance and force (wind force to be specific). Because Benjamin had already flown the kite and felt the force, pull and resistance, it was easy for him to relate those terms to what he had just experienced.

We turned on our old outdoor fan, put a cheap Frisbee ( I think it is a Frisbee…it was just something else we found among our outdoor toys) in front of the fan and had Ben put his hand on the other side of the Frisbee holding it in place. A sheet of paper would work just as well, or any other light flat object. With Benjamin’s hand in place, he was able to feel the force of the wind against the Frisbee, and we were able to talk about how his hand was causing the resistance against the Frisbee and wind. When he moved his hand, and the resistance was removed, the Frisbee blew back. We were able to include mass and surface area into the fun as well by turning the Frisbee on its side, making it a thin sliver instead of a plate. When the surface area is smaller, he felt that it was easier to hold up in front of the fan. Nate went more into detail about mass, but you get the gist. All in all, we had a great time, and got to experience my favorite type of homeschooling AND parenting moments; family fun in the sun with an educational twist. By the time the lesson was over, Benjamin was able to confidently tell us that resistance is two forces or objects pushing against each other. Not shabby for a 7 year old.