The Concept: In this activity, children will learn how columns are used to increase the strength of a building. They will be amazed to find how much weight six ordinary sheets of paper can hold. The children will practice counting as they determine the number of books the paper structure can hold.
The Concept: The children will learn to identify solids and liquids. Through exploration they will deepen their understanding of texture, measuring, pouring. As part of their learning, they will increase their vocabulary and recognize letter sounds.
The Concept: In this activity the children will learn about the concepts of attract and repel. They will use a compass to find the north and south poles of the magnet and will investigate to find out that like poles repel and opposite poles attract.
The Concept: This activity is suitable for older children and extends some of the concepts in the Sink or Float activity. When salt is added to water, it increases the water’s density. This means that it is easier for items placed in salt water to float or remain buoyant.
Water is made up of tiny molecules. Each one is like a little magnet. At the edges of each drop of water, the molecules line up like little mini magnets, attaching to each other. In this activity, students will predict how many drops of water can fit on a penny. They will do the same for other coins and then graph the results.
The Concept: The children will learn about the role of a paleontologist, a scientist who studies fossils—the ancient remains of animals and plants. They will act as pretend paleontologists as they explore fossils with different plastic animals. The children will also sort by attributes and learn about characteristics of different types of dinosaurs. The follow-up activity provides opportunities to practice counting and learn the term in half.
View a video of this activity here.
The Concept: The children will learn that suspensions have qualities of both liquids and solids and appear to be in a state between the two. Suspensions are thick; pour slowly; are similar to solids that appear to ooze; and can be compared to substances such as oobleck, GAK, or Silly Putty. Students will compare and contrast, mix, and measure as they explore a suspension.
Check out the video for the Suspension activity here.
The Concept: Students will learn that some liquids are denser (heavier) than others. They will combine liquids and observe which float on top of the others. Students will examine the words sinking, floating, heavier, and lighter. Children will predict; pour; analyze; use the positional words top, middle, and bottom; and discuss colors.
View the video for this activity here.
The Concept: Children love to sort just about anything! In this activity, they will learn how to classify and group items by size, color, shape, and other characteristics. Sorting can be done for free exploration or as part of a structured activity. It is easy to collect materials for sorting. Simply let parents know what you are collecting, and provide an area for them to drop off donated items.
View the video for this activity here.
The Concept: Estimating and making predictions are valuable skills that foster critical thinking in young children. As children develop number sense, they will also develop their ability to estimate. The more children have opportunities to practice estimating, the better their estimating skills will become. Even young children can make predictions—the fun is in the guessing!
This activity provides ideas for making estimation part of your daily routine. Along with estimation, the children will sort items by size and will count the items in each category.
The Concept: In this activity the children will revisit the life cycle of the tadpole and mealworm and learn that plants also go through a life cycle as they develop. Children will use a hand lens to compare a wet seed to a soaked seed and describe the physical properties. They will compare the size and shape and will remove the seed coat to reveal the new plant. Finally, seeds will be planted to begin their study of plants and gardening.
The Concepts: The children will learn that a geologist is a scientist who studies rocks. This activity will give the children an opportunity to explore rocks, compare and contrast rock sizes and colors, and use a hand lens to get a closer look.
The Concept: The children will make predictions about the hues different primary colors can make. Children will learn about change as they explore how to combine primary colors to make secondary hues.
The Concept: Space and space travel are exciting topics for children. Most will know that rockets go up into outer space and that space is a faraway place. This activity involves recycling paper-towel tubes to make rockets. The children will be amazed when the rockets launch high in the air. Concepts presented include following directions, counting, making predictions, and understanding the concept of chemical changes in matter.
It was a great privilege to have been invited to present at the FLAYC 2013 conference in Orlando Florida this past weekend. We’ve had such great feedback from the teachers and early childhood educators that attended my presentation that I wanted to share with you some of the images from the conference.
These pictures show the activity tables that were used by the attendees so they can see how simple and easy it is to implement a pre-school science lab in their school and their curriculum.
The Concepts: Children will use their sense of smell to sniff cross sections of evergreen trees. You can use donated Christmas trees, with trunks cut into 1- to 2-inch sections, or you can buy the tree blocks online. Students will put things in order from smallest to largest, use a hand lens to get a closer look at the rings of the trees, and use a tape measure to determine the distance across tree blocks and the height of their structures. The concept of recycling can also be introduced in this lesson.
Check out the video for this activity here.
The Concept: The children will learn about the physical properties of matter and the terms hot, cold, sinking, and floating. They will observe physical changes in a bar of soap after it is heated in the microwave and will have opportunities to touch, smell, and explore the soap in its new form.
The Concepts: The children will learn about temperature and the difference between hot and cold. They will participate in activities that let them feel how chemical reactions can make substances hot or cold. Students will explore the sounds of the letters H and C and also will distinguish between pictures of hot and cold items.
The Concepts: Students will learn how things grow and change. After discussing life cycles, children will examine how tadpoles grow and change into frogs and how mealworms grow into black beetles. Children will learn how to use a hand lens as they get up close by holding tadpoles found in containers of water at their table. They will also have a chance to see tadpoles with legs as they transition into frogs. In weeks to come, the mature frogs will be seen by the students.
Find tadpoles in local ponds and put them in the pond water in plastic shoe boxes. Have test tubes or small water bottles on hand for children who do not want to touch the tadpoles. You will also need hand lenses.
Frogs start out as tiny tadpoles. As they grow, they change. First they start out as a tiny egg, then they look like a little fish with a tail. As they grow, they develop two front legs. When the tail gets long and falls off, they will grow two more legs in the back. Soon, they will grow and turn into a frog. (Show photos of the stages of development).
The Concept: Students will sort, count, graph, and make comparisons with a variety of lids. My nickname for this lesson is “Making Something out of Nothing at All.” Accumulating huge lid collections is easy. Simply put a box somewhere in the school, and ask families to recycle by bringing in used lids. You will find that the children tend to play with these items more than commercial toys.
View the video for this activity here.
