Hands-on Discovery Science

Summer vacation has slipped past me and it’s time to think about going back to the classroom.  One of my favorite things to teach is physical science.  Physical science covers so many topics like blowing bubbles, magnification, magnetic attraction, ramps in motion, lifting with levers, wheels, parts of a computer, and so much more.  In early childhood education, the more hands-on science discovery, the more the students like it.  I believe young children need to make their own connections, develop logical thinking, experience, discover, wonder, and ask questions themselves using their own senses.  My favorite website for science discovery is www.teachpreschoolscience.com.  This website has a compilation of 75 core discovery experiences that are so much fun, that the children want to do the experiments multiple times.  The lesson plans are categorized under the headings of life science: plants and animals, life science: people, earth and sky science, and physical science.  Periodically, parents ask me to share the lesson plans so the students can repeat the experiments at home.  Students who want to re-create science experiments for their families, have truly taken their learning beyond the classroom.