Science Activities to Do at Home

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." - Marie Curie

Young children are instinctively curious, full of questions about the world around them and are naturally inclined to investigate how things work. That is why we should take advantage of this curiosity and start challenging their enthusiasm for scientific discovery early on. Each day, children do science of some sort regardless of the environment in which they live. Children observe and learn that things change and for that change to occur, there is a process. The concept of change can be explored through very simple things activities like making waffles at home. Children observe that waffle mix begins as a powder, next it changes to a liquid, then it becomes a solid waffle. Providing opportunities for scientific discovery in the early years is beneficial to young children in many ways:

• It can foster a lifelong love of science: Children are programmed to explore and experiment right from the start. During this key developmental phase, we can nurture and establish a positive approach to science education that will stay with them into the future.
• Using five senses daily: For example, smelling, touching and tactical discrimination.

• It supports the development of other skills: Science experiments provide children opportunities to develop other skills like reasoning, problem solving, communication, and collaboration.
• Science experiments encourage curiosity: It encourages them to extend their learning through related literacy, numeracy, and creative ideas.

Here's a little secret: Science isn’t just about equations, it is a way of thinking. Science means being curious enough to ask questions and staying interested long enough to answer them. Remember that children need time to experiment, to try things out, and think on their own. Give your child time to discover things before jumping in with the "correct answer". Whether kids are walking in a park, playing with a ball, or digging in the dirt, they are fully engaged. They are engaged in questioning, observing, testing, thinking, and learning- they are in a sense, “doing science”.

Here you can read an interesting article on promoting the development of scientific thinking.

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We have a few fun and simple science activities for you to try at home. Have fun!

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