We made a catapult

Aunt Nancy and Uncle Chris chose an awesome birthday present for Grace.

They bought her a subscription to "Kiwi Crate" a craft/science box that comes to your house each month with some cool projects inside. The company boasts that their boxes are filled with "all the materials and inspiration" for fun, educational projects that center around a new theme each month.  I'd have to agree that, based on this first one, they have fulfilled their mission....they even provided us with kid-sized scissors and glue!

Grace's crate arrived on her birthday - May 23rd - but today was the first opportunity we had to open it and explore the contents.  When she saw the box Grace asked what was inside and as soon as she got her hands on it all the contents were spilled on the table and floor!  

But the directions included clear illustrations so it was easy for Grace to quickly sort the items for our one project.  This crate had a medieval theme with a catapult and a dress-up costume.  We chose to start with the catapult.  After lining up the materials she needed, Grace followed the illustrations to make the catapult.  Then, she experimented with flinging different items across the room!  We talked about how people used catapults to knock things down like houses, castles, and walls.  And, we looked at a YouTube video so she could see the damage a giant catapult could do.

Grace had a fantastic time making the project and sending pom-poms and a ping pong ball across the room.  I could see her thinking and experimenting with different angles and more than one object to see what would go higher or further.  What a great gift and a fantastic learning experience!