Very often, teachers will teach specific science lessons once to a few a times a week. During this time, the class will learn about a certain topic (for example, water, weather, animals, plants, and nature) through the use of books, demonstrations with actual objects, explorations outside, or interactive activities. In addition, preschoolers are natural scientists as they play and explore the world around them with their curious minds. They constantly experiment and learn as they play outside, explore natural objects, and play with toys such as clay, sand boxes, and water tables.
In order to build science skills, your preschooler:
- Is a natural born scientist, constantly exploring, observing, questioning and experimenting as she plays and interacts with her surroundings.
- Sorts and organizes.
- Interacts with and learns about nature.
Science Activities
- Go Outside: Draw, write about or take pictures of plants, insects, animals and nature.
- Cook: Mixing, measuring, and cooking all introduce your preschooler to scientific concepts and skills. Talk about what happens when things get hot, cold, or mix together and which measurements are more or less.
- Garden: Growing plants teaches preschoolers the basics of how plants grow and what they need to thrive.
- “Study” Your Pets: Talk to your preschooler about the scientific part of your pet — its body, how it grows, its habitat, and what it needs to live.
