What props are useful for acting out a function machine for small kids?
We have a playschool group with kiddos 0-5, with moms, and were thinking about acting out function machines with one mom in a box and we hand her input (toys, numbers) and she give us output (altered, increased, decreased). Has anyone done something similar and can you recommend what props are good to have on hand to make this fun?
Boxes with both ends open, or tubes (you can just tape paper into a cylinder) are more fun to use than a flat Function Machine drawn on paper.
Heads up: young kids want a new function machine for every new function they make up, or you make up. For older kids, the same diagram or just the letter F can stand for different functions, and the same prop can represent different machines. Little kids won't like that, at least at the beginning. Later you can introduce a magic wand or a wrench that kids can use to change and modify your old function machine they already explored into something new and exciting. You can use a pencil to pretend-play that tool, or bring a strange-looking shop tool or utensil for your prop.
Food you can slice, such as apples, works great for machines that cut things into halves or other pieces. Raisins are nice if the machine houses something like Purple-Tailed Raisin Eater, who always swallows two of the raisins that enter and no more.
Playdough or soft modeling clay can create interesting machines. You can slice it, stretch it, squish it for a variety of 3D transformations.
Small stickers or cards plus large markers can be props for coloring machines that turn everything that enters green, red, or polka-dotted.
In general, think of machine rules ahead of time, and how you would pretend-play them!
We have several activities in the Moebius Noodles book, which also has some suggestions for prompts.
