We stumbled upon the PBS show Sid the Science Kid
The show encouraged us to be scientists too and try sliding a hockey puck on 3 different surfaces: a rug, a rubber mat and a tile floor. We don’t have any hockey pucks, but we do have feet – with and without shoes and socks! We decided to do our own experiment and tried sliding in our socks on the carpet, then on the linoleum and wood floors. We then tried sliding in our sneakers on the same floors. We discovered just what Sid did (which was also explained much more clearly and kid-friendly on the show) – you can slide much easier in socks on a hard surface like the linoleum or wood floors. According to the show this is due to friction. Our sneaker bottoms are made out of rubber, and are bumpy, which means more surface to touch other stuff. The carpet is also bumpy and has more ‘stuff’ for our sneakers to touch as they try to move across it. The linoleum and wood floors are very smooth, which allows our socks to slide easier.
Cutie Pie absolutely loved seeing an idea brought up as a question by a character his own age. He loved that this character went to ‘school’ and could ask his friends and teacher the question. He loved that the character and his friends took steps to discover the answer for themselves with the help of their teacher. He loved that it was explained in a way he understood and could see. He also loved that he could take steps to discover and confirm the answer to the question on his own as well! As always, I’m not reviewing this show for any compensation, but only because my child likes it and is learning from it.
I can tell this show has encouraged Cutie Pie to learn. He’s asking more questions of me, trying to discover his own answers and brings him to me to replicate experiments he’s seen on the show to confirm the results in his own mind! I can’t wait for him to find more questions on his own for us to discover answers to!
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