Preschoolers are natural scientists! Every day they run different experiments and analyze the results. If I drop my cup on the floor, what happens? If I push the door with all my might, will it make a large BOOM? Parents can harness this instinctive inclination toward discovery through these fun activities to introduce science to preschoolers. S.T.E.A.M. activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) can be lots of fun for young minds. Stay curious and keep exploring!
Sunscreen Painting
Does your child love putting on sunscreen or is it one of their least favorite activities? For little arms, faces, and legs, sun protection is important! While UV-blocking clothes can help, sunscreen is still a must for young children. If your preschooler has sunscreen hesitation, you can explain why it’s important by having them paint a design with sunscreen lotion on black construction paper and placing it in the sun. The strength of the rays will bleach the paper, but the sunscreen design will remain protected! To help activate their scientific instincts, ask them to make a hypothesis, or a prediction, about what will happen to the paint on the paper. Then, see if they’re right!
What Melts in the Sun?
This simple activity helps sharpen children’s deductive reasoning skills. Ask your preschooler to choose a few objects that you can leave for a few hours in the sun. (Choose items that can fit into an egg carton or a muffin tin for easier clean-up.) Your child may choose items like small toys, paper, crayons, or food items. Before you place the items outside, ask your child to make another hypothesis about what will happen to each one. You can even write down their predictions in an official lab book! When you return, ask your child why they think some objects melted while others remained intact. While the sun is millions of miles away, it’s very powerful, and this activity will help explain concepts like light, heat, and energy in a simple way.
DIY Ice Cream
Chemistry has never tasted this delicious! The opposite of melting is freezing, and children will be eager to explore this fun activity that explores temperature, crystallization, and states of matter. All you need is 1 cup of milk or cream, a tablespoon of sugar, ¼ teaspoon of vanilla, two large plastic zip-top bags, a few cups of ice, and 12 tablespoons of salt. Add the milk, sugar, and vanilla to a bag and seal it. Then, place it inside the second plastic bag. Fill the second plastic bag with ice and salt, so that it surrounds the first bag. Then, shake it up! You can have a dance party with your child and encourage them to get their wiggles out as they shake the bag as hard as they can. (The ice will get very cold, so a towel or oven mitts may help!) It will take a little time, and some elbow grease from parents, but soon soft ice cream will form! Enjoy it while you explain how and why salt lowers the temperature of ice, making a mini-freezer out of a plastic bag!
Sink or Float?
This simple activity can also be a game you play during bath time, kiddie pool time, or with a water table. Have your child choose a few water-safe objects to guess if they will sink or float! Initially, they may think that larger objects will sink and smaller objects will float, but that’s not always the case! After all, large boats can float on top of the water with ease.
Sink or Float: Salt Water Edition
For an extended version of the prior activity, fill two vessels with water, but add a good amount of salt to one of them. Then, doing another session of your “sink or float” activity, place each object in the salt water and in the normal water. Does anything change? How and why do more objects float in the salt water? Do they have any ideas? Remember, the process of asking questions, making predictions, and drawing conclusions can be just as valuable as the “right” answer.
Growing With The Gardner School
Science starts with wondering “why?” and trying out new ideas. Encourage your child’s curiosity by enrolling them at The Gardner School, a preschool that places an emphasis on S.T.E.M. and S.T.E.A.M. instruction. Contact us today to schedule a tour and learn more about what we can bring to your child’s educational journey.