Investigating Rolling (18-36 months)
Text on screen: Investigating Rolling (18-36 months).
Logo: Count, play, explore—for early education.
On screen: Lily Vang, Toddler Educator. As she speaks, a photo shows a variety of rubber and plastic balls in her classroom.
Lily Vang, Toddler Educator: While we were exploring our investigation about balls, some balls that I did provide for the children to explore are bumpy balls, soft balls, smooth balls, and even some balls that had flat sides as well.
On screen: Lily is shown interacting with two children named Hunter and Rory at a low table in her classroom. She places a basket of balls on the table. There is a long tube leaning against the table at roughly a 45-degree angle. The boys put balls into the tube and watch them roll them down to the floor.
Lily: We have more balls here. There's more balls.
Child 1: Hold your big one. Hold your big one. I'll hold the big one, okay?
On screen: Hunter and Rory try to fit a large ball into the tube.
Lily: Does it fit?
Hunter: No.
Lily: No? Is it too big or too small?
On screen: As Lily asks Rory and Hunter about the ball, she illustrates the concept of big and small by opening her hand for big and closing it into a fist for small.
Rory: Big, big.
Lily: Too big. Yeah, big.
On screen: Hunter rolls another ball down the tube. Rory shows Lily a small ball.
Rory: Small, small.
Lily: That one’s small?
Rory: Yeah.
On screen: Hunter holds up an egg-shaped shaker.
Hunter: Egg.
Lily: And an egg? An oval?
On screen: Hunter rolls the egg shaker down the tube.
Lily: Was it rolling or was it bumpy? It was bumpy.
On screen: Lily gestures with her hands to illustrate the concepts of rolling and bumpy.
Rory: It was bumpy. And bumpy.
Lily: This one’s bumpy?
Rory: Yeah.
Lily: Some ramps that we brought out were wooden ramps, as well as the long black tube for the children to explore different types of balls, as in rolling the ball into the tube.
On screen: Photos show other children rolling balls down wooden ramps and long plastic tubes. Moments later, Rory is shown playing with the long tube by himself. He places one ball after another into the tube and then holds it up to make each ball roll down to the floor. Lily watches nearby.
Lily: Good job, Rory.
Rory: Oh my gosh, right there. Far away.
On screen: He points to the ball and goes to get it.
Lily: Did it go far away?
Rory: Yeah.
Lily: Far away, yes.
On screen: Moments later, Rory puts another ball in the tube and again holds it up to make it roll down to the floor. The ball rolls quickly to the floor, and Lily catches the ball as it rolls away.
Lily: I got it.
On screen: Rory rolls a second ball down the tube. It moves slowly down the tube.
Rory: All slow. All slow now. All slow.
On screen: Lily holds the ball up, showing that it’s a bumpy rubber ball.
Lily: This one was slow?
Rory: Yeah.
Lily: Yeah, it was slow.
On screen: Rory points to the first ball he rolled down the tube.
Rory: And fast.
On screen: Lily holds up the first ball in her other hand, showing that it’s a harder ball with a smooth surface.
Lily: And this one’s fast.
Rory: Yeah.
Lily: Yeah? Okay, you want to do the fast one or the slow one?
On screen: As she asks the question, Lily holds up each ball. Rory points to the ball with the smooth surface.
Rory: Fast.
Lily: You want to do the fast one? Okay.
On screen: Lily lifts the tube and puts the ball in, so it quickly rolls to Rory.
Rory: Whoa.
Lily: Now this one?
On screen: Lily lifts the tube and sends the second ball down. Again, it moves slower than the first.
Rory: Yeah. I caught it, right there.
Lily: You caught it?
On screen: Rory lifts the other end of the tube and rolls the balls back to Lily. He points at the smooth ball after Lily catches it.
Rory: More. That’s fast.
Lily: So fast.
On screen: Rory and Hunter lift the tube off the floor from each end and place it on a small ramp structure. Rory puts a ball in his end of the tube and lifts it up. He looks down the inside of the tube to watch the ball roll and stops it when gets to the middle of the tube by laying the tube flat.
Rory: Whoa, where’s that?
On screen: Rory lifts the tube up to allow the ball to continue rolling out.
Rory: Whee. I got it.
On screen: Hunter picks up the ball and waves it around.
Rory: Roll me. Roll me.
Lily: Hunter, put it inside. Roll it to Rory.
On screen: With the tube flat, Rory twists his end so it rolls back and forth to get Hunter’s attention. He puts both balls in his end of the tube. At first, he tries to push the balls through the flat tube. Then he lifts his end of the tube up to roll the balls back to Rory. Rory covers his end of the tube with his hand to catch the balls.
Lily: Yay.
Rory: Got it.
Text on screen: A special thanks to the children, families, and staff of the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools’ Lighthouse for Children Child Development Center, without whose help these videos would not have been possible.
Logo: Count, play, explore—for early education.