Childcare Practice Using Rocking Wooden Toys with a Glass Ball Going Down a Slope

Abstract

In this study, we developed a rocking wooden toy as a teaching material for early childhood education. The rocking toy, which has a glass ball in the body, goes down the slope using the potential energy. We implemented childcare practice using the toy and clarified the educational effects. The toy was developed as a teaching material to make use of familiar materials, such as glass balls, wood, and cork sheets, including the contents of the five areas presented in the aim and contents of the kindergarten education guidelines. Using the toy, we implemented childcare practice for older children in kindergarten. They chamfered the wooden parts with sandpaper, put together the rocking toy with tools, decorated it with color papers and spangles, and then played with the toy. They took the toy home and played with it with their families. We asked the children's parents or guardians to complete a questionnaire survey. We clarified the educational effects of the teaching material by observing the children's behaviors in practice, analyzing pictures drawn by the children, and using the questionnaire survey of their parents or guardians.