From Amphibiens to Simple Machines

When talking to Ethan about his interests he told me how he likes to take care of and observe the tadpoles in his terrarium. Tadpoles, frogs and insects are high on things that Ethan is passionate about (right behind his birding interest) and are all a part of his terrarium. For all these reasons I chose to further explore the terrarium in this third documentation.. 

Documentation #3: Ethan's Terrific Terrarium

 

Ethan  and I got dressed for the outdoors (putting on sweaters) and walked out of his house and onto the deck where his terrarium is kept. Although Ethan was keen to show me his tadpole, it was hard to keep his attention on the "task" at hand as he had difficulty taking his eyes away from a project that his brother was working on.  With some guidance from his mom Ethan hesitantly yet happily showed me the little legs that the tadpole was growing.  I asked what happened to the tadpole's tail as he transformed into a frog.  Without a pause Ethan replied;   "it evaporates". When I asked what it means for something to evaporate he quickly responded "to disappear". Before I had a chance to delve further into this idea,  Ethan also told me that "frogs are amphibians". Ethan's confident knowledge in this subject reminded me of the previous day's birding exploration and thus I looked forward to  further exploration of the terrarium. I decided to ask Ethan what he already knew about  it, including what the basic needs of a tadpole are.This small video helped me to gain understanding of  Ethan's current knowledge of  terrarium happenings, but it also made something else clear to me...

There was something else which was capturing Ethan's attention! In the above video you can see Ethan's eyes darting behind the terrarium as he politely answers my questions. Behind the terrarium is where Ethan's mom, Darryn and brother, Seth were busy in a project. The two of them are working together to make a compound machine; a catapult. At first I tried to redirect Ethan to the forest where he had released one of his frogs, thinking that I could encourage him into my agenda. Then I had a realization; Ethan was not engaged in our exploration of the terrarium as he was curious to see what Darryn and Seth were up to. I also realized that it was me who was stuck on the exploration of the terrarium and I needed to let go in order for this different yet equally or more valuable learning to take place.

Documentation #3: Crazy Catapult Construction 

 

 Seth and Darryn were using scrap wood a friend had donated to make the catapult. The idea for the project came from one of Seth's favourite books about Ancient Civilaizations.The construction had already begun by the time Ethan and I came over to see what was happening. Seth was completely engrossed in the construction as was Darryn. Ethan walked right over to Darryn and Seth and sat down on a near by chair.Nobody told Ethan he had to sit down or was not allowed to be directly involved in the construction, he sat down on his own accord.
The above two pictures show Seth and Darryn working together to piece together the catapult. They are using levers and hinges in their construction and are problem solving out loud as they work. I am standing taking the pictures right beside where Ethan is sitting, thus demonstrating how close he is to the construction.
Ethan is intensely involved with the project, however at this point it is not a hands on involvement.  While the initial construction was taking place Ethan was quiet, however his body language gives evidence to how focused he is. Ethan is sitting on the edge of his seat as he observes Seth and Darryn nail together the different pieces of wood. (See picture directly below)

He is also observing that Seth is learning through trial and error (see  picture below). Seth had nailed the hinge (pivot point) to the lever in a spot that did not allow the catapult to work. Darryn was right there when Seth was nailing the "wrong" spot but allowed Seth to try it out to see if it worked. When it did not work, Seth simply took out the nails and figured out a better spot for the pivot to go. 

The first attempt to catapult an item (a stuffie) did not work because the item fell off the wood lever. Darryn and Seth discussed a solution while I observed Ethan. He was still on the edge of his seat and was now scanning the yard and porch. Seth found a cardboard berry basket to nail on the end and Ethan had a big smile on his face. At this point Ethan jumped off the chair to have a closer look as the basket was nailed down on one end. The second attempt worked better, the stuffie staying put until it shot into the air. However on attempt two the whole catapult flipped over in the launching process. Seth said "we need something heavy to put right hear", pointing at the base of the catapult. Quickly and without a word Ethan ran to the door where there were several rocks and moved one over to the project area. My interpretation of Ethan's quick problem solving is because he had just spent the past ten minutes on the chair, actively observing what was happening around him, including knowing the surrounding materials available to him.

The above two items were Ethan's main contributions to the catapult. It was this rock used at the bottom of the base. The wooden stick on the left was not actually used in the catapult itself but Ethan thought it "could be important".

 

In this final video of the catapult you can see how Ethan is now physically involved in the catapult process. Ethan was engaged in this activity for several reasons.1. His mom and brother were the participants in this activity. 2. The catapult started as some pieces of wood and ended in a compound machine which could really throw objects. 3. This was Ethan's choice of activity.