Science Is Everywhere For Children

Growing YearsScience is everywhere around us.  It is important that children explore and learn about some of the world’s science secrets.  And, they are never too young to begin appreciating the world of science.  In the world of their future, it will be necessary to understand science to it’s fullest.  I have listed a few activities to spark your child’s curiosity.  Even the youngest child can participate with you as their teacher.

Observe animals, imitating their sounds.  Learn the names of the animal babies and how they make their homes. Observe ant farms and spider webs, talking about how insects protect themselves from the weather and predators.  Watch and feed birds, observing their nests.  Learn about the life cycle of the butterfly and collect and observe tadpoles changing into frogs.

Observe plants.  Sprout sweet potatoes, carrot tops, orange seeds, or avocado seeds, and watch them grow.  Talk about the uses of plants for food, clothing and shelter.  Start a seed collection from nature.  Label each seed in the collection.  Leaves from trees can be collected in the same way.  Talk about the cycle of a tree, how it tells it’s age, and its many uses.

Collect natural materials and examine their textures.

Explore the different tastes of food (sour, sweet, bitter, salty, etc.)

Explore light and shadows.

Watch machines at work.

Learn about water (evaporation, different forms, floating and sinking in water, reflections in water and objects moving in water).  Freeze ice and watch it melt.  Play with water, floating and sinking, pouring and feeling it’s weight.

Provide dishes of things that look alike but are different, salt, refined sugar, powdered sugar, soap flakes, flour, corn starch, starch, baking powder and talk about the uses and differences of each.  Explore various textures by feeling their differences, fabrics, screen, wood, glass, metal, sandpaper, egg shells, rocks, nails.  Smell various odors in the same way.  Collect and classify rocks by size, shape, color, density and hardness.  Scrape them, drop vinegar on them, weigh them. Weigh other objects and compare them.

Discover how magnets, gears, clamps and vices work.

Talk about the different kinds of weather, fog, sun, snow, hail, wind and rain.  Use blowing activities with straws (blowing a cotton ball across the table, blow painting, bubbles).  Use paper airplanes to explore how weather affects it. Explore air movement using a fan, paper bags, balloons, pinwheels, whistles, and a parachute.  Talk about things in the sky.

Source: Linda G. Swann, M.S. Early Childhood / SPED