This month, a simple pulley experiment was a great addition to our many playful outdoor activities at Woodland Waddlers! Pulley play inspires open-ended play exploration for all ages, supporting development in many different ways. For example, children build motor skills as they have to use their arms to lift and pull ~ waddlers noticed that the whole body moves when lifting and pulling. In addition, children learn math skills that include exploring mass and weight as the pulley lifts and moves items. Finally, pulleys offer an opportunity to develop collaboration and problem-solving skills as children must work together to experiment and share the pulley. Woodland Waddlers enjoyed the pulling sensation when moving items such as rocks, water, stuffed bunnies, toys, and sticks! Through this experiment, the waddlers investigated and learned about the comparative mass of different loads.

This simple machine offers children a chance to experiment and play in an age-appropriate way. Pulleys are also marvelous opportunities for children to build S.T.E.M. skills (science, technology, engineering, and math).

There are endless ways to experiment with pulleys! Here is a guide on how to set up pulley explorations:

Safety Note: pulleys should be used under adult supervision as children play with a rope or cord.

*Set up a simple vertical pulley at a height that enables your child to pull a load up and down.

You can use a rope line and attach a pulley or a strong branch of a tree to wrap the rope around. Be sure to check that whatever the pulley is attached to will be strong enough to support the loads being lifted. Tie one end of a rope to the handle of a basket or bucket and tie the other end of the rope to a heavy object. Toss the end tied to the heavy object over a tree branch, and ta-da, you have a pulley!

* Agree on some rules on playing with the pulleys and keeping others safe. For example, counting down from 3 before letting go.

Use the pulley to lift different loads and compare ease of movement.

Add different objects of different weights. For example: for each round, the waddlers added a bit more weight, wondering, “can we lift this?!”
You can add “passengers” such as stuffed animals, or a favourite toy, giving the passengers different ride speeds.

Children love pulleys and can spend hours engaged in simple tasks like lifting toys and sending them down again. So give this D.I.Y. pulley project a try and revisit pulley play as children benefit from repetition and the opportunity to build on prior experience!

Written by Lorena Arauz, OCT, RECE, CIMI, Parent Support Coach

Source: Robertson, J. (2017). Messy Maths: a playful, outdoor approach for early years. Crown House Publishing Ltd.

Pulley Play at Woodland Waddlers