View posts by our early science blogger to gain valuable insights into the developing brain and learn about activities that you can easily incorporate into your early childhood curriculum to foster the development of early science skills in young learners.
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“Hey everybody! Look at all of the tomatoes that are ripe today!” shouts Jacob to the gang. “Can we eat them for lunch? Can we?” asks Lucus. “Can we eat them now?” pleads Elizabeth. It’s early September and preschoolers around the country are learning about apples, but we have tomatoes at our fingertips. The same […]
“I smell cinnamon rolls!” exclaims Henry as he races through the gate towards our outdoor classroom. Everyone stops what they are doing to inhale deeply. “I do too! I want a cinnamon roll!” pleads Noah. My group is quite disappointed to learn that I am not baking cinnamon rolls this morning. The delicious cinnamon-roll smell […]
“Look, look! Come and see what is inside this flower!” It’s a warm, late-spring day and our friends are scattered around the yard, discovering the new surprises that have popped up overnight. The flowers are finally showing their beautiful blooms! “Is it a bumblebee?” I ask. They look at me—their eyes big with wonder. […]
“Do our shadows look like the monsters in the book?” asks James. I glance over and see James and Noa connecting their shadows by overlapping their arms. When we engage children in outdoor shadow play to support active exploration and discovery, their creativity is endless! James and Noa are playing out their version of […]
“Look!” squeals three-year-old Eleanor. “I can pick up these two balls! It’s magic!” Have you ever seen young children playing with magnets? The “magical” properties of magnets never fail to captivate early learners and spark a play buzz! Children learn by investigating, observing and figuring out how things work. Magnets fuel that curiosity in […]
” Hey guys! Look over here! My magnet sticks to the bike!” On this warm November morning, our magnetic wands have brought STEM learning to our outdoor classroom. By leaving the other magnetic materials behind, I am hoping to encourage the children to harness their curiosity and creativity for other forms of magnetic exploration. […]
“Rowan, I see a bug! It’s a beetle!” Parker calls out from across the playground. “Quick, can you bring me a bug box?” Rowan runs to the sandbox with a bug box in hand. “Oh wow!” she exclaims. “That looks like a six-spotted tiger beetle. They are usually super fast. He must be hurt […]
“Amara, come play with me!” five-year-old Leila calls out, beckoning a younger classmate over to the light table. Shy but intrigued, Amara joins her older friend. Just like that, another round of STEM-based exploration begins! I watch as Leila scoots over to make space for her quiet friend and the two girls begin to […]
“I’m making a concert venue,” announces one of the loose-parts tinkerers in my workshop. I look over to see what she’s talking about and, sure enough, there it is: A stage, a backdrop, and an entertainer complete with a microphone, drum set, and drumsticks. The “audience” in the venue includes a music lover […]
Winter is a magical time of year, full of wonder and excitement. On this particular day, the air is crisp and cold, and a special kind of magic is in the air: static electricity! To take advantage of this teachable moment, we’ve embarked on a scientific investigation that involves a classroom full of preschoolers, […]