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Fun With Balance


Core Learning Experience + Supplies and Equipment

  • ​Have the children pretend they are flamingoes, and try to balance on one foot as long as possible. Now the other one. Try balancing on different body parts. Which ones are easier? Impossible? Try balancing with your eyes closed. Easy or hard?
  • Find an open space and twirl around and around. What happens when you stop? How do you feel? Are you able to stand up/still easily?
  • Let’s walk along on a low wall; a balance beam; on stepping stones; on far-apart stepping stones. Do it with your arms at your sides. Now try it with your arms stretched out on either side of you. Which is easier?

Possible/Expected Discoveries

  • People are able to use and develop their sense of balance by combining 3 things: some tiny tubes inside their inner ears that are filled with fluid (vestibular system); seeing with their eyes and focusing on a target; and the information that our brain receives from tension in our muscles. The last two can be developed with practice. Aren’t we amazing?
  • Some people that have a very well developed sense of balance are gymnasts, acrobats, ballet dancers, ice skaters, construction worker on high building, and high platform divers. Why do you think these people need a strong sense of balance? Let’s try to do some of the things they do.
  • Astronauts have to practice in spinning simulators to develop their sense of balance before they go into space, because in space, away from the earth’s gravity, all the senses necessary for maintaining a sense of balance are disrupted.

Extended Learning and Other Curriculum Areas

  • ​​Walk around with a book resting on your head, and try to not have it fall.
  • Walk from one side of the room to the other, holding a spoon with an egg (hard cooked or play egg) on it. Try it first while looking at the egg while you walk. Now try it while looking continuously at the spot where you are walking to. Which way was it easier to balance the egg?
  • Have a discussion about motion sickness.
  • Pretend you are a person who needs a strong sense of balance in their job or sport. Tell us a story about yourself.
  • Some people can stand or walk on their hands. Can you? Let’s try it.
Preschool science activities - people can balance
Picture

Activity Packs and Printables

Websites

​http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/22nov_balance.htm

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This site is sponsored and supported by the preschool themes site www.KidSparkz.com
Activities written by (c) Susan Portman
Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Homeschooler - TeachersPayTeachers.com
Copyright © 2005-2021 Teach Preschool Science - Permission granted to reproduce for personal educational use only. Commercial copying or selling is prohibited. No part of this resource may be uploaded to, or published on, any other site for any reason.
  • Home
  • Lesson Plans Index
    • Life Science Plants and Animals >
      • Comparing Leaves
      • Exploring Pumpkins
      • Shucking Corn
      • Earthworm Observation
      • Parent and Baby Animals
      • Collecting Ants
      • Spider Season
      • Visit to a Pet Store
      • Living and Non Living Things
      • Animals Come in Many Shapes, Sizes and Colors
      • Ways Animals Move
      • Animals Need to Eat
      • Difference Between Wild and Tame Animals
      • People Can Use Products Provided by Animals and Plants
      • Animal Coverings - Hair, Fur, Feathers, Scales and Skin
      • Animals Live in Different Places
      • Metamorphosis and Change in Biology
      • Nocturnal Animals
      • Egg Science
      • Exploring Fish
      • Tree Skin Bark
      • Roots Growing Potatoes in Water
      • Stems - Making Daisy and Clover Chains
      • Flowers
      • Digging in the Dirt
    • Life Science People Index >
      • Parts of Our Body and How We Use Them
      • Our Heart
      • Our Hands
      • Our Feet
      • Fun With Balance
      • Sound Search
      • Sense of Touch
      • Exploring the Sense of Sight
      • Follow That Scent
      • Stop That Germ!
      • Interesting Tools That Doctors Use
      • We Need Healthy Teeth
      • Keep Those Muscles Moving!
    • Physical Science Index >
      • Blowing Bubbles
      • Magnify!
      • Ways to Measure Time
      • Magnetic Attraction
      • Ramps in Motion
      • Ice Melting
      • Sink or Float a Boat
      • Sponges and water
      • Dropping Things Through the Air
      • Static Electricity
      • Battery Electricity
      • Properties of Soap and Water
      • Weights and Balances
      • How Can Heat Change Things?
      • Tools Can Help Us Do Things
      • Lifting with Levers
      • Wheels
      • Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work
      • Computers and Other Devices
      • Discoveries With Straws
      • Different Ways of Making Light
    • Earth and Sky Science Index >
      • Shadow Chasing
      • Sun Effects
      • The Night Sky
      • Kinds of Clouds
      • Dressing for the Season
      • Classifying Rocks
      • Colors of the Rainbow
      • Who Has Seen the Wind?
      • Rain
      • Snow
      • Litter Hunt
      • We Can Take Care of the Earth
  • Teaching Notes
  • Links
  • Contact