When it comes to preschool activities, science is often one of the most difficult to plan around. This is because most preschool teachers don’t really take science that seriously as an activity for their students. They are stuck in the old mindset that science is for older students, and that preschoolers should focus on reading, writing, math, and art. However, preschoolers can learn science just as well as any other student, and may even be better at it because they are naturally curious and interested in the world around them. They want to know how it works, and why it works that way. You can help them engage that natural curiosity with good science lesson plans included in your classroom routine.
Preschool science doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple terrarium project, or identifying different types of rocks, or even studying the weather (including cloud patterns outside) can be fascinating for students. Watching videos about different kinds of animals, examining different types of plants, and learning about the planets are all also good activities for children at this age that they will love. And if you want to get into archaeology, nothing beats teaching kids about dinosaurs!
If you are having trouble coming up with lesson plans involving science for your students, that’s okay. You can go online and find plenty of science-based activities for them. You can even find entire themes based around science lessons. If you really wanted to, you could use one of these themes for a day or even a whole week to teach your students about a scientific concept, while incorporating other types of lessons like reading and math into the overall science theme.
And don’t think that preschoolers are too young for science projects, either. These projects don’t have to be elaborate, but they can be lots of fun and very educational. Just let students explore a scientific idea that interest them, and help them create a presentation on it in class. Make the presentations artistic and fun, and every child will enjoy it. With preschool activities, science is one of the most overlooked of the lessons, but should be right up there at the top, so don’t forget to include it in your classroom curriculum!