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What’s happening in the early childhood world of Pumpkin Science? Have you planted and harvested pumpkins? Have you weighed, floated, cut-open, counted seeds, printed, or rolled pumpkins? Share your pumpkin science…
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Are children getting enough direct experience with natural materials?
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There has been an interesting discussion going on among the middle and high school science teachers on the NSTA General Science email list about the lack of direct experience in their students’ background. Some have…
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Resource sharing—websites and other places to learn
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Does it seem to you that this blog needs a place to post about resources such as book and website recommendations, commercial sites for needed early childhood science supplies, and interesting articles that are not…
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"Early Sprouts" for two
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When I shared my copy of the book Early Sprouts: Cultivating Healthy Food Choices in Young Children with a nutritionist friend, she got very excited about the possibilities, but then her job changed and she no…
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What science should we teach in early childhood?
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I’m interested in your opinions on what should be included in early childhood science standards. We don’t want to underestimate the abilities of young children to understand relationships in natural systems, nor…
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Favorite smells—stories and activities
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I love the way two-year-olds inexpertly sniff, to sense an odor. They crinkle up their nose and snort, or gasp, and blink their eyes, not quite putting it all together to inhale through their nose. Yet they have an…
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Thinking BIG, Learning BIG: Summer reading becomes September's lesson plans
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July is a distant memory of 6am wake up calls for my high-schooler who took PE over the summer, balanced with my getting more than five minutes of peace and quiet—time to read about early childhood and science, to think…
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Nature of science: a new NSTA position statement
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Winter weather often makes us wonder how wild animals survive without a heated environment. Combining this wondering with children’s love of teddy bears, and the 100’s of bear songs and finger plays to be found…
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Play—outdoor, in-door recess, and science
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Children move eagerly to get their winter wear gear, stream out the door, across the street and onto the playground. This 45 minute period, the second of the day, is a time for children’s gross motor activity on a…
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Book clubs, professional learning communities, and resources on equity
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One of my favorite professional learning opportunities was an informal Professional Learning Community (PLC) organized by a colleague before the term “PLC” came into common usage. A small group of early childhood…
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100 days of school–weather watching and documenting plant growth
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Just as numerals marking the number of in-school days are sometimes posted in one long line stretching across walls of the classroom, weather data can be collected and posted throughout the year. Using symbols that…
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Intentionally providing materials to sort
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In addition to providing materials for children, we can ask ourselves, “What is my role as an educator when I provide materials for sorting?” If we were picking through lentils to sort out any wee stones before cooking…
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When a construction site is next door
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Street closures and high noise levels from construction on or near school grounds or other early childhood programs may disrupt the daily routine. Using the engineering habit of mind of optimism, defined as “a world…
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What happens in your block area?
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When playing and building with blocks, children experience the way the properties of matter, shape, weight, and proportionality affect balance, stability, and position within their structures. Beginning with open…
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Fostering children’s capacity to design and construct
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In the October 2019 Early Years column in Science and Children, Anne Lowry, a preK teacher at Aleph Academy in Reno, Nevada, and I wrote about problem-solving experiences that took place in our classrooms. Engineering…
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