the pendulum, AKA the wrecking ball

My dad built this pendulum for me over the summer using instructions by Bev Bos.  As you can see it is quite large so I had it in storage until I could find space for it. I dug this platform out of storage and placed it in our atrium (it was built by a former coworker and donated to the center when she left).

I showed the children how to build towers and use the 'wrecking balls' to knock them down. This is a nice outlet for children with a need to see things tumble! There is just something so inherently attractive about the creative and destructive processes. The foam blocks are light enough to be knocked over and can be built quickly for my friends with shorter attention spans.

For the older children who needed a greater challenge, I showed them how to make pyramids:

The end!

:: table top pendulum ::

I gave these Bev Bos plans for a table-top pendulum to my dad to help me build one for the classroom. And here it is.....

I am super-excited to introduce the concept to class and  I can't wait to post photos of it in use. Sqeeeeeeeeeeee!