Learning about the science of the world is vital for all young children to help develop their curiosity and understanding of how and why things work in the world around them.
Science is all about learning about the world through observation and experimenting with what we have around us to make sense of it all. This is what children do every day in our settings.
As a nursery practitioner, you are in an ideal position to have a positive influence on children's interest in science. You can spark this interest early on and allow children the ability to explore whether this could be an opportunity for them in the future.
When you examine the basics of science in more detail, you can see that the activities and resources that you already provide for children each and every day, contribute to their basic scientific understanding. These could include:
- Treasure baskets and heuristic play
Treasure baskets and heuristic play activities help children to discover differences in textures and colours. Children do this by experimenting with their hands, mouths and other areas of their bodies. They also notice the differences in the difference textures and colours which is a key part of scientific development for children
- Outdoor play
Encourage children to go outside and discover the world around them, they can experience different weather using all their senses - this is all science too! See our Outdoor Play publication for activity ideas here
- Experimentation
Then of course we have the fun experiments. These can include bangs, pops and whizzes. All great fun, and even better if children can start to understand the science behind the dramatics
- Inspiring our children
Charles Darwin’s theories became the foundation of modern evolutionary studies. He questioned everything from a young age and did not take any information from others for granted until he had proved it himself. This is what we need for our children. As a practitioner you can inspire them to be able to question why things happen and in some cases, don’t happen, every day at nursery.
If we don’t inspire our children through scientific exploration, what will the future of space travel hold? Will one of your children finally discover a cure for cancer? Or be the first to live on Mars? Use our resources below for more support.
Science resources:
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