Overview
Kids love magnets, and this project allows you to create a designated magnet play space that will hum with social interaction, problem solving, discovery, and child-led learning.
Ingredients
a wooden fence
oil drip pan
1½-inch wood screws
1¼-inch pan head screws
drill, screwdriver bit, and ⅛-inch bit
two 24-inch-long 1-by-4-inch boards
level
magnets
Process
1. Mount the two pieces of wood to the fence using the wood screws. Make sure the two pieces are mounted horizontally, spaced about 36 inches apart, level, and parallel to each other.
2. Use the ⅛-inch drill bit to make pilot holes in the drip pan, and then mount the drip pan vertically to the two boards using the pan head screws. Make sure the drip pan’s lip faces inward, toward the fence, and that it’s level.
3. Add magnets, and let the children play.
Let Them Learn around You, Not Because of You
Be aware of the learning that is occurring all around you, even when it is not occurring because of you. Open your eyes to child-led learning. Better yet, document it with pictures, videos, and notes. Recognize that children are competent enough to lead their own learning and that learning does not occur only when you, the adult, are “teaching.” In fact, far more authentic and meaningful learning takes place when children make their own discoveries, solve their own problems, and seek answers to their own questions.
More Play Adventures
• Go horizontal. The instructions at the beginning of this chapter explain how to mount the oil pan vertically. To mount it horizontally, use 36-inch-long boards, and mount them vertically, 24 inches apart, level, and parallel to each other.
• Go big. Use the instructions earlier in this chapter to mount a series of oil drip pans and create a large magnet wall.
• Go mobile. On their own, oil drip pans are pretty flimsy and bend easily. To firm one up and create a mobile magnet wall, simply mount the pan to a piece of ¾-inch plywood slightly larger than the pan. Secure with ½-inch pan head screws. Then you can lean the mobile unit against a wall, place it on a tabletop, or even drill a few holes and hang it from the Suspended Branch of Play described in chapter 14.
• Go inside. For inside magnet-wall play, you can mount the drip pan directly to a wall. Make sure you screw into wall studs or use appropriate mounting anchors so that the pan is properly secured.
• Recycle. If you have access to old metal cookie sheets, muffin tins, or cake pans, you can mount them for use as mini magnet walls.
Don’t be a fuddy or a duddy, go to the next chapter and get muddy . . .
