According to Kid’s Science Lab, science is important for preschoolers for three reasons:
- Science engages curiosity.
- Science provides practical tools for understanding everyday life.
- Science advances critical thinking, problem solving and creativity.
Children are naturally curious and love to experiment. In Science Explorers it is important for the children to have a say in what is happening. As they observe they ask questions and figure out solutions to what we are learning. They talk with each other about their thoughts and they learn through that communication. We take objects they may see every day and take them apart and explore them. It could be as simple as learning about magnets or as complex as blending ingredients to make something totally different.
We love seeing their excited faces as they learn something new and love hearing them question what they are learning.
Below are a few of the things we have done in Science Explorers…
- Making gooey quicksand, or what Dr. Seuss calls Oobleck, is a great way to learn about suspensions. We mix cornstarch and water together to make a soupy mixture. It acts like a thick liquid, similar to quicksand. In other words, quicksand is just a soupy mixture of sand and water. The children love to play with this and it’s a great simple hands-on experiment for them.
- Taking the children outside for a nature walk through the preschool grounds gives us a wonderful opportunity to teach them about the beautiful world around us. We’ve looked for signs of spring and fall, animals, birds, and special plants. Our nature bracelet project was a new way to teach the children to collect specimens of flora and fauna. The children each wore a bracelet made of sticky tape and yarn that they were able to place specimens on for safekeeping and later investigation.
- One of our favorite experiments in Science Explorers is making handmade recycled paper. We learned the basics of recycling and made our own paper out of scraps of construction paper. A favorite color combination was blue and green paper that resembled the Earth! We soaked the paper in water to make it mushy and put it into a blender to make paper “soup”. Then we put a screen into the soupy paper and lifted it up to reveal a very wet piece of new paper. It was a great way to celebrate Earth Day!
- Another great preschool science class was our investigation into the phases of the Moon. We learned about the crescent, half, and full moon. It was amazing to see the children discover a little bit of our solar system and it encouraged them to look in the evening sky. We complimented our lesson with crafting a project illustrating the different phases so they could bring the lesson home with them.
These are just a few ways we teach the children about science in our everyday lives. We hope to see you soon in Science Explorers!