Introducing science into your preschool curriculum is a no-brainer. It’s all around us… everything thing we look at and everything we do has some ‘scientific’ aspect about it.

Think about it. Your children have just finished painting something and they want to grab it and put it in their cubby. You have to remind them it needs to dry. One little girl pips up and asks, “Where does the wet go?” That’s scientific inquiry!

You have the kids build racers from small dowels, wooden wheels and toilet paper tubes. A couple little guys have got everything glued down tight. Then they want to know why the wheels won’t turn. That’s scientific inquiry!

The children are out on the driveway riding trikes. A toddler squats down noticing ants crawling around. The 4 year old notices the ants scurry down a little hole and wants to know where they go. That’s scientific inquiry too.

The fun thing is watching the children’s curiosity ramp up when you decide to specifically set aside time for SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS! Setting aside time also ensures a more-balanced science curriculum.

So plan a science time at least once or twice a week if daily seems to frequent for you. Even young children have an amazing body of knowledge… one they are not even able to articulate. By providing the opportunity to perform ‘science experiments’ you also have the chance to increase their vocabulary and give them the words to describe what they observe.

Remember… when it comes to very young children the goal is not to acquire facts… it’s the experiencing of success, the joy of discovery, the confidence that comes from validating their observations and all of this from the kids doing things rather than being told.

My best advice to you as the teacher is to set your own sense of wonder free.  As you convey your sense of wonder and delight in the world around you the children will freely respond in the same way. In fact, I dare say they will look at some things in ways that haven’t occurred to you. Let them be the teacher for you and you all will be served well.

There are probably things you already do that would fall into the ‘SCIENCE EXPERIMENT’ category. Formally designating time for such ‘experiments’ will jazz your kids and result in some pretty amazing co-operation as they learn to respect what they’re doing as well as the tools they use.

Two books I highly, HIGHLY recommend for your Preschool Science Curriculum are Mudpies to Magnets and MORE Mudpies to Magnets. The experiments are brilliant, laid out clearly and designated appropriate for ages 2+, 3+, 4+, 5+ Naturally, there is some variability when it comes to those ages and simply observing each of your children and their reactions to any given experiment will clue you in to what they are ready for when it comes to science experiments.

Mudpies to Magnets: A Preschool Science Curriculum

More Mudpies to Magnets: Science for Young Children

Have fun EXPERIMENTING!!!