Preschool Science 2013

It’s funny, science is such fun to put together when the kids are little, and bring about feelings of nervousness as they get older. Well, we already covered how we are tackling high school science, so here’s a peak into what we’ve got planned for preschool science.

First, let me say that at young ages, I lean much more in the unschooling direction than in high school. While I look forward to organizing some circle time for Little Miss in the future and I want to have a flow to our day, I largely want our learning time to be within play time. Now, how to organize that while keeping up with high school work? Well, we’re working on that, in sha Allah.

My favorite preschool science resources

Mudpies to Magnets

This is such a fun book with a variety of activities from ages 2-5 that it’s easy to just pick it up and find something that looks fun and easy to do. Two weeks ago our homeschool group did two activities with color and water: Painting with watered down paint and an eye dropper(great fine motor skills!), and a “rainbow in a jar” activity where  you drop food coloring into a large jar and watch how it swirls around.

Open the Door, Let’s Explore

I love the idea behind this book, and I’m looking forward to continuing to do some activities with it in the future. The idea is to make neighborhood trips full of information and life when you are intentional. The book includes activities before your walk, things to talk about and do during the walk, and summary activities once you are finished. It really is a very well rounded book with lots of ideas on how to point out interesting things in every day life. Since scientific ideas are sprinkled in with the walk, exploring and discovering science in every day life becomes a natural occurrence. For instance, in one walk, you point out shadows, where they come from, and talk about how they are formed. Planting the seeds of inquiry!

Before Five in a Row

The Five in a Row series is technically a literature based unit study, but the early learning science pieces are valuable also. Take for instance in Goodnight Moon. It is pointed out that as the lights of the room dim in the story, it looks brighter outside. In the first few pictures, it looks very dark outside, and in the last picture, there is actually some light coming in through the windows. Simply pointing this out and opening that door to observing such things sparks the flame of curiosity that fuels scientific exploration.

Just a side note: Before Five in a Row has a new cover design, but it doesn’t appear there’s much, if any, change to the content of the book. Don’t worry if you find one that looks a little different. It’s still the great content we’ve come to know and love!

Of course, there are many blogs that cater to preschool science as well, but since I haven’t used them personally, I can’t recommend anything in particular. Try things out and come up with your own list as well. I’d love to hear some of your favorite resources!