Curious Kids: Triangular Vacuums
The neat part about having kids is that they notice the small things, the stuff we take for granted as adults. A few months ago one of my girls wanted to know “Why does the vacuum leave triangles on the carpet?” It perplexed them when they were watching me because the vacuum itself is a rectangle yet somehow it manages to spit out triangles onto the carpet when I vacuum the floor. Although the triangles are not necessary I let them know that seeing the triangles indicates to Mommy that the carpet has recently been cleaned and makes the room look nice.They had been learning about patterns at school and this strange occurrence at home captivated their attention one day. The triangles are created in a pattern by the way I steer the vacuum cleaner over the carpet. It helps me know that I have cleaned the entire floor and adds an extra reward at the end. It is the little things that you do that the kids pick up on and want to learn more about. I don’t know for sure if they will do the same things once they are grown but at least they know why Mommy creates triangles on the floor and how to do it with a rectangle shaped vacuum. I am thankful for kids who have the desire to learn, explore, and try to figure out how things work. Their curiosity keeps me on my toes and allows me to continue finding ways to teach them about life. As a Mom love this day to day education opportunity with my girls.
Curious Kids: Swing Experiment!
Notice anything odd about the jungle gym? The girls are always asking questions and trying new things. As parents we get the privilege to answer these questions and teach them more about how things work. Occasionally, they come up with some interesting ideas on their own. I love how they use their creativity and are able to pull together some fun experiments. Not every creative moment ends up perfect but glad to see them thinking outside the box.
We were outside playing one sunny winter afternoon when I looked over at the girls playing on the swing set and noticed something a little odd. They had taken their cherry red lawn chairs from the front porch and put them on top of the swings on the jungle gym. It was hilarious watching them swing on the lawn chairs. A piece of me was thrilled that they figured out how to “invent” something silly yet not dangerous. They had a blast swinging on their “redneck” swings. It was great hearing their bursts of giggles as they watched each other swing.
They came up with this creative Redneck "swing" all on their own! 
They did pretty well swinging on their little red lawn chairs! 
Karlie and Brina Swinging on their silly swings! 
So proud of their little experiment! It was pretty funny watching them swing on those little red lawn chairs. They were so excited their experiment worked out so well. As Jake and I moved around in the yard the girls would just rotate their chair swings to face us. They make me laugh with some of the things they come up with but I am glad to see their imaginations running full throttle!
What started out as mere curiosity ended up being a fun new way to enjoy time swinging on the jungle gym. Encourage your kids to be creative and curious, you never know what you’ll see when you come around the corner!
Curious Kids is a series of posts on various questions kids ask as well as creative things they come up with on their own. If you have ever been around a toddler you know they will have a season when they start asking all the “Why” questions. Then as your toddler gets older you begin to see them start experimenting with objects, becoming even more creative, and trying to figure out new ways to make things work. As a parent of Twins my girls hit those stages at the same time! I was (and am) determined to not answer….”Because I said so” to their questions and allow them the freedom to be creative (as long as it isn’t dangerous) but there there are days when it is difficult coming up with all the answers to their questions and the mess behind their “creative” experiments sometimes gets a little too crazy for even Mom. Most days I love having the opportunity to teach my girls and encourage them to use their curiosity to be creative when they play!
