Building a Carnival

I decided to purchase a small set of K'nex for the girls. I had been reading about using them to help understand some math and science (the K'nex web site actually has lesson plans on it!) and I figured the girls could have some fun and passively learn a bit about math and science stuff too. I do not intend to do any real lessons with them, but I might read some of the monthly lessons and see if I can slip in an idea or two - he he.

I really wanted to purchase a set of Kid K'nex too, figuring Annika would enjoy the friendly fun faces (ohh, good alliteration there!) but the two stores I looked in did not carry the Kids version. So, I ended up purchasing a set that came with a small wind-up motor. Turns out it is just a bit too complex for Annika (the set did list it as for ages 8+) but Lauren had a ball with it. Right away she wanted to make this Ferris Wheel, listed as a medium skill set to build. I explained the codes that denote the difficulty levels to her, thinking since this is her first time ever using K'nex and basically any building materials, that she might want to build something a little simpler first. But she said she could do this medium skill just fine. She had one or two problems that required my assistance to solve, and really all that was required was a brief description of symmetry and geometry and then telling her to snap the pieces in tight - and some of them were TIGHT! - and her problems were solved. She worked all afternoon yesterday on it, and finished it this morning. It is really kinda neat! I hope we continue to have fun with these!