Day 17: Science Part 2–Experiments

“Play seems to be the essential feature in productive scientific thought – before thre is any connection with logical construction in words or other kinds of signs that can be communicated to others” – Albert Einstein

Children begin learning about scientific concepts from very early on. 

• Infants begin learning the concept of gravity by dropping things, weight by the amount of effort it takes to pick things up, and shape by manipulating objects.
• Toddlers are able to take this a bit further and sort objects by their physical attributes, they pour water or sand into cups to understand mass and conservation.
• As preschoolers, children start being able to collect and organize data.  They start being able to understand that ice melts, plants grow, and can therefore start doing science experiments.

Just because younger children may not understand everything about science experiments, doesn’t mean that you can’t do some of them!  They can still be fun and engaging for every age.

Here are some of my favorite science experiments:

Colored ice cubes in the bathtub

Bubble Pool: from Two Prince

Rainy Day Prints: from Little Page Turners

Science Lab: from No Time for Flash Cards

Activity #17: Make a Science Experiment

Do one of the experiments above, or make up one of your own.

I think I’ll do the science lab with J today.  He’s getting really good at pouring and mixing, so I’ll give it a try.  Will probably do it in the bathtub or at a sink in case of spills.

• Put different objects in water to see if they float or sink
• Play with magnets (not good for young children)
• Melt broken crayons in muffin tins to make new ones
• Mix colored water together to make new colors
• Place celery in colored water to see it change colors

Tomorrow: Learning Math Through Play