Science, directly and indirectly, influences all aspects of everyday life. From the food we eat to the way we get around, science is everywhere. Once you begin to see all the opportunities to learn, the relationship between science and critical-thinking skills become apparent.
Young children are naturally inquisitive, full of questions about the world around them and the drive to investigate how things work. It follows, therefore, that we should take advantage of this innate curiosity and start channelling their enthusiasm for scientific discovery as early on as possible.
Why is science important?
At a community level, scientists help us better understand our world. Science involves innovation, research and solutions to major global issues.
At an educational level, science assists children to play, ask questions, explore, be creative and problem solve. It also helps them develop other skills like literacy and numeracy.
On a child’s level they learn to ask questions, make predictions, observe, test, and then communicate their findings, they are developing critical science skill.
Why is early childhood education perfect for sowing the seeds for a love of science?
It can foster a lifelong love of science
Children are programmed to explore and experiment right from the start, even as babies. On the other hand, research suggests that by the age of 7, most children have developed either a positive or negative attitude towards science education that will remain entrenched. So by tapping into their natural predispositions early on, during this key developmental phase, we can nurture and establish a positive approach to science education that will stay with them into the future.
It gives a basic grounding in scientific concepts and scientific thinking
Even the very simplest activities can introduce children to scientific concepts and stimulate scientific thinking. Early years science education can provide a strong foundation in terms of both what is learned, and how it’s learned, that will stand them in good stead. By encouraging and directing their natural curiosity, and familiarising them with basic scientific vocabulary, early years educators can help children begin to make sense of the world around them, and gain some understanding of how things work.
It supports the development of other skills and attributes
Science education activities provide children with opportunities to develop and practice many different skills and attributes. These include communication skills, collaborative skills, team working and perseverance, as well as analytical, reasoning and problem-solving skills. Help them expand their vocabulary by using scientific terms that are appropriate for their age group. Encourage them to extend and embed their learning through related literacy, numeracy and creative activities
Tips to supporting children learn science
1.Value your child’s questions
“Mommy/Daddy, why is the moon following us?” With this question, a child lets us know she is thinking about how the world works. We can respond in ways that encourage her scientific thinking. Enjoy discussing the questions your child asks. Encourage her to share her perspective and observations.
- Explore and find the answers together.
You don’t have to be your child’s encyclopedia and quickly try to answer all your child’s questions. Responding with “What do you think?” or “I don’t know but we can find out together” can stimulate more thought and additional questions. Explore and find the answers together.
- Give children time and space to explore.
Children learn science through trial and error. They need time to experiment, try things out, and think on their own. Wait before jumping in with “correct” answers. Give your child the time and space to explore and discover on her own.
- Accept that explorations are often messy.
Whether it’s outdoor exploration with mud and sticks or indoors with water, children are likely to get dirty when they explore materials. Dress children in old clothing and tell them it’s ok to get dirty. Better still, let us do the bulk of the mess at childcare.
- Learn from mistakes together.
If an experiment goes wrong, take advantage and investigate with your child to see what went wrong. A mistake can lead to all kinds of possibilities and it provides opportunities for you and your child to refine your ideas, understanding, and hypotheses.
- Invite curiosity.
Science learning begins with curiosity. Observations and questions can create a climate of discovery – key to scientific learning. Children can learn a lot about science even at bath time. Let your child ask her own questions but you can also stimulate curiosity.
- Support further exploration.
Intentional adult interactions with children can extend their learning. When the moment is right – maybe when she’s done exploring on her own, offer a suggestion to extend her exploration. Guide your child by asking questions like, “What might happen if we try this?”
Share some things you find while exploring, – a beautiful striped rock, for example. This lets your child know there is always something worthy of our attention and investigation.
- Encourage children to record their observations.
Writing, drawing, or taking photographs are all ways to record observations – an important scientific skill. Such records allow children to keep track of what they saw, heard, questioned, or discovered.
- Make good use of your electronic devices.
Take pictures of a stunning butterfly, record frog sounds, use a website or app to learn more about a specific phenomenon or creature.
- Use items you have at home to experiment and explore
You don’t need to spend money buying science supplies. Use your everyday household items.
Science week in our Babies Explorers program
You are never too young to enjoy the fascination of science. During science week
Teacher Zi and Teacher Makayla conducted a walking water science experiment for our babies. They soaked paper towels in food dye of different colours, and we all watched the patterns unfold. They also created a volcano in the sandpit using warm water, baking soda, vinegar and food dye.
Our children were curious and enthusiastic participants in these experiments, displaying their amazement and excitement throughout. We loved our science week ad watching our little ones faces light up as they experienced the magic for themselves.
Science week in our Toddlers Explorers program
Even normal food holds scientic fascination. We use humble lemons we tasted the tang and described what they smell like, taste like and feel like. We poked holes into half a lemon; they will then used pipettes to place droplets of food dye of their choosing onto the lemon. A squirt of dish soap over the top and then we sprinkled a generous amount of baking soda onto the lemon. The children pushed the baking soda down into the lemon using a pop stick to kick-start their rainbow eruption! Our exploding lemons were a great hit and the children were stunned at the reactions.
Science Week in our Adventurers program
We have started a new scientific project in the 3 year Adventurers Kindy room. We are excited to have our own silkworms and look after them.
Teacher Vera brought in a container with some little, tiny eggs on a piece of cardboard. She took them out of her fridge where they were kept from October last year.
On Wednesday 17th of August, we had a “birthday party”- some tiny black silkworms started to hatch out of the eggs. They were only 4 mm long, so the Kindy children used magnifying glasses to observe them. Once hatched, the silkworms moved straight onto the mulberry tree leaves that we had in the container as they were very hungry little caterpillars.
We discussed with the Kindy children about a silkworm life cycle and showed them some pictures of different stages of the silkworm development: eggs, caterpillar stage, cocoon, silk moth.
Every day we watch our silkworms eat mulberry tree leaves and grow very fast. Our silkworms will spend 4 weeks being caterpillars before they start cocooning.
We would like our Kindy children get connected with nature and learn something about these amazing little creatures that make silk for us.
Science week in our 4 year olds Imagineers program
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In our Imagineers room we were busy experimenting and exploring with magnets, kaleidoscopes, magic sand and our marble run.
Inspired by the experiments our children spent the ages in the science area, exploring magnets, light, rainbow, microscopes, getting the gloves on and working collaboratively on the marble run
Teacher Jade chopped and boiled some red cabbage to make some purple water. We used this to learn about acids (sour) and bases (bitter) as she showed us how the water would change colours; pink with the citric acid and blue with the bicarb. Our children loved playing around themselves experiment ting with adding in bits of the powders or mixtures to try and get the water to turn back to purple.
We can also use books to bring science concepts to life
Wombat stew is a fantastic story about Dingo attempting to make a wombat stew while all the other animals are trying to protect Wombat by recommending additional ingredients for the stew, such as mud, flies, creepy crawlies, feathers and gumnuts?!
We can encourage the children to make their own wombat stew in the mud kitchen using so many different science concepts.
Which ingredients dissolve and which don’t? Which one’s float and which one’s sink? Once the wombat stew has been cooked, the children can investigate how the Dingo could go about cleaning the water again…
Kids College Philosophy quote
“We aim to enhance the children’s understanding of the world around them through a developmentally appropriate program of activities rich with opportunities and information to spark a child’s imagination and curiosity.”
“Our unique Kids College curriculum and the Early Years Learning Framework builds on each child’s current knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities and interests to ensure all aspects of our program maximize learning opportunities for each child.”
National Quality Standard
1.1.2 Child-centred. Child-centred. Each child’s current knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities and interests are the foundation of the program.
1.1.3 Program learning opportunities. All aspects of the program, including routines, are organised in ways that maximise opportunities for each child’s learning.
1.2.1. Intentional teaching. Educators are deliberate, purposeful, and thoughtful in their decisions and actions.
3.2.3 Environmentally responsible. The service cares for the environment and supports children to become environmentally responsible.
KIDS COLLEGE FAMILY
At Kids College we work each day embedding our values and philosophy into each facet of what we do. We continually improve our practices by critically reflecting and engaging in meaningful relationships with our community and for this we need your support and input. Make sure to follow Kids College Childcare on facebook, watch for our regular emails and keep an eye on our Kids College website. Share in our vision of creating the very best childcare where children experience love, laughter and learning every day. You can reach us on Jennifer@kidscollege.com.au
With love, laughter and learning from your friends in the
‘village it takes to raise a child’
Teacher Jen and the Kids College Childcare family
