Ideas for Preschool Science

Young children can learn a lot with preschool science. Young children have a natural curiosity about their world. They love to learn and experiment.

Water Activities

Preschool science should include some water activities. Preschoolers like to play in the water. Have your child experiment with items to see what floats and what sinks. The activity could be done in a wading pool, the bath tub, or in the kitchen sink.

Have your child observe the properties of water. Boil water and let him watch the steam. Remind him that the water is hot and not to touch. During the same time freeze water so that it makes ice. Tell him that the ice is cold.

Make music with water. Fill glasses with different amounts of water. Tap the glass with a spoon. Listen to the different sounds that the glasses make. Play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star or another familiar song.

Another preschool science activity is to make bubbles with your child. Talk about why the bubbles pop. Have your child look for the rainbow in the bubbles. Winter is a fun time to make bubbles. If it is freezing the bubbles will also freeze.

When you let your child play with water teach some safety rules. Tell him never to play in water unless you are right there. Teach him that he can drown. Also teach him about hot water. Tell him not to touch a boiling pot because it could burn him. When you do water experiments you need to watch your child closely.

Colors

Learn about colors in preschool science. You can make a rainbow by taking a clear glass of water outside in the sun. Have the sun shine through the glass onto a piece of white paper. You should see a rainbow.

Another fun activity is to mix colors. Add food coloring to glasses of water. Have your child mix the water together. Blue and yellow should make green. If you do not want to use water and food coloring you can use paint. Another idea is to mix food coloring into unflavored gelatin. Place two colors in a zip lock bag. Have your child squish the colors together.

Take a black water soluble marker and draw on the center of a coffee filter. Drop water on the coffee filter. The black mark should turn to different colors.

Teach the names of colors by having him color pictures. Tell him to color the tree green and the trunk of the tree brown.

Shapes

Make shapes that you can eat. Make some finger jello. Cut the jello into circles, squares, triangles and rectangles. You can also make shapes out of sugar cookies. Take about the shapes when you eat them.

Have your child look for shapes around the house. Rectangles and circles should be easy. Have your child look for books and clocks.

Plants

Children like to watch things grow. Grow carrot tops or sweet potatoes in a shallow dish of water. They will grow in a short time usually in a week.

Alfalfa sprouts also grow fast. Buy sprout seeds that have not been chemically treated. To grow place 2 tablespoons of seeds in a quart jar. Fill the jar halfway with warm water. Soak the seeds overnight. Cover the jar top with cheese cloth and drain the water. Place the jar in a dark cupboard. Rinse three times a day. When the seeds have sprouted place the jar in a windowsill for a day.

Have your child grow grass or bird seed on a paper towel. Your child will be able to observe how seeds grow.

The Night Sky

Show your child the night sky. Point out the constellations that you know. Also look at the moon. Tell your child about the different phases of the moon.

I hope that my ideas have helped you think of preschool science. Preschool is a time for exploration so science should be easy to teach. Just teach about anything your child is interested in.

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