Xavier's First Circuit
Hello to all.
The week prior to Rebecca leaving for SOS, I suggested to Xavier a project he and I could do. I suggested building a traffic light. I thought he might learn a little about electricity and electronics.
Needless to say, Xavier grabbed hold of the idea with his usual all-hands-on-deck gusto.
After a couple of days, Xavier asked if we could build the stoplight "tonight". I reminded him we planned to build it "when Momma is gone."
This led to Xavier occasionally asking (or pestering) Rebecca with "Mom, when are you leaving?" He knew no traffic light so long as Mom was home.
True to form, Tuesday the 6th, after Rebecca had left (which she did at 0300 in the morning!), Xavier reminded me of the traffic light and informed me "Mom's not here."
I told him we did not have the parts for the light and needed to buy them. We did that day after I picked him up, but with no success. The first parts store opens only on the weekend, which we learned after driving all the way out to it (next time, I'll call first).
The second one, hard to find, did not sell to the public. Bummer and a waste of time. Again, I should have called first.
The third choice had closed before we left the parking lot of the second choice. I did call them. They did not supply what we needed. So, we had to order the parts on-line.
Still, I had enough parts lying around to give Xavier a primer in basic electricity. I gathered batteries, some jumper cables (not the ones used with cars) and a low-voltage light bulb.
Together, we connected the parts and watched the light turn on. Xavier got excited. I explained the concepts of how electricity flows, how in needs a "circle" called a "circuit" to flow. We watched what happens when the circle is broken.
Later, we added the idea of a switch to our simple circuit, and learned about that.
He still plays with it, trying various ways to connect things up. Sometimes they work, other times they do not. When they do not, he and I discuss why the light does not turn on and Xavier makes a change.