The word "Science" terrifies some of us. Maybe we just haven't been exposed to science at a very young age the way we should have been. Science, simply put is nothing but a natural exploration where children discover themselves as well as the world around them. Our job as educators is to give them the opportunities to play and do things where they will naturally discover and learn. This discovery is the beginning of science.
I was once with this little girl who saw a ladybird. She watched it for a while and then asked, "How does it move? Does it have feet like us?" I suggested that she lift the insect gently and turn it upside down to find out if it did indeed have tiny feet. She refused to do so because she had been taught not to touch insects and the like. I did it for her, and our discussion moved forward. What impressed me was the fact that although she couldn't see the insect's feet, she had made a connection between walking and feet by extending her own experience of movement i.e. the use of feet to move.
The point I'm trying to make is that children are curious by nature. We owe it to them to fuel their curiosity and then help them discover. We may not realize it but there are potentially hundreds of opportunities that come up every single day that can be used to draw children into a "scientific" situation. Let me give you just one example.
Kids love playing with dough. Flour is easily available in every home and can be used in the classroom too for a great "doughy" activity. Mix flour, salt and water to make the dough while the children watch. Add some amount of water to flour and salt mixture. Stir it, all the while talking to the "observers". Ask - "Is it too dry? Is it grainy? What can we do to make make the dough?" Someone will tell you that you need to add more water. Do so - maybe add more than required. Mix it again. Invite the children to touch the dough - they'll tell you it's sticky. Ask them to give you a solution to the problem. Someone will definitely ask you to add more flour. Do that.
When all agree that the dough is of a perfect consistency (having touched it and made little balls), say its time to add colour to the dough. (Be sure to use food grade colour.) This will generate a great discussion with each one wanting a different colour. Ask them to come up with a solution. Maybe the dough can be divided into parts and each part coloured separately. This is also a great opportunity to mix colours and see which new colour emerges.
Through this seemingly simple activity, your kids have been through several scientific processes. Don't believe me? Why not? They've observed, made predictions, experimented, solved problems, compared and contrasted and discussed differences - that's a lot of Science even if they haven't been made aware of it!
So, look sharp and make use of situations where you can develop the scientific bent in your child. For some fun Science experiments for kids, check out this link
Till we meet again!
Playpen Team
