Science and the Young Learner II

Websites to find experiments:

http://www.easy-kids-science-experiments.com/kindergarten-science-experiments.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/kindergarten-science-experiments.html

http://www.education.com/activity/kindergarten/science/

http://www.parentingscience.com/kindergarten-science-activities-tracking-animals.html

http://www.kindergarten-lessons.com/preschool_science.html

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/science.htm

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Lesson_Plans/Science/__Preschool/index.shtml

http://thesnailstrail.blogspot.com/2009/02/no-child-left-inside.html

http://www.wbrschools.net/curriculum2/science/sk/01%20SCI_Kindergarten.pdf


Do you have any that aren't listed here?  Please leave a comment and let us know about it!

The Sensory Table

One of my favorite centers is the water table (AKA sensory table).  I had one in both my preschool and kindergarten classrooms.  This was always the center that EVERYONE wanted to be at.

This is what a good sensory table looks like:

http://amzn.to/pLdlXj

It's standing so children don't have to be stooped over it.  There is a cover for when that center is closed for the day, or part of the day, or for whatever reason you are closing it (we had to close it for kids fighting over it).  Also, there are two sections, which means more kids can be at it at one time. 

Some things I have put in the sensory table:

• Soapy water and things to wash (dishes, babies)
• Water with glitter in it
• Water and toys (boats, turkey basters, small nets and plastic fish)
• Baby oil and buckets
• Wood shavings or sawdust
• Felt pieces/ fabric pieces
• Feathers
• Sand with shovels, pails, plastic bugs, seashells, toy trucks
• Snow (make sure they wear their mittens!)
• Dried peas, beans, pasta, popcorn kernals, or any kind of seed (be careful of grass seed-grass can grow anywhere!) with measuring cups, big spoons, pots
• Aquarium gravel
• Cotton balls with large tweezers to pick up them up
• Hay with toy horses
• Sugar or salt with kitchen items or plastic animal toys
• Leaves, acorns, twigs, pinecones
• Plastic eggs and Easter grass
• Shaving cream!
• Birdseed and toy birds
• Packing peanuts (very messy) hide items in there for them to find
• Large beads and string
• Buttons
• Oatmeal (not cooked)
• Pom-poms with ice cream scoops and cups or fake ice cream cones
• Marbles with melon scoops (the scoop you use to make your melon pieces into balls)
• Magnets and metal objects
• Coffee grounds
• Potato flakes

Really, I could go on and on...Hopefully this is a good starter list for you.

Making Choices

In both my preschool and kindergarten classrooms, I had to find a way to keep my centers organized.  During free exploration time, I didn't want a ton of students in one center.  So, to limit the number of children in each center, I did two different things.

In my preschool classroom there was a large bulletin board.  There was a picture of each center, with a label, and pieces of velcro under it.  The number of velcro pieces indicated the number of children allowed in that center.  Each child had a small piece of tag board and their picture on it.  On the back was a piece of velcro.  When they wanted to go to a center, they would stick their picture card on the other velcro piece under that center.  If there wasn't a velcro piece for them, that meant the center was full and they had to make another choice. 

When I taught kindergarten I had a smaller classroom.  Instead of a choice board, I had the children make beaded necklaces, each a different color.  The necklaces were hung on a 3M hook in each center.  The number of necklaces hanging indicated how many children were allowed in that center.  If there wasn't a necklace, there was enough room.  I kept the colors in each center the same.  So pink was for dramatic play, green for science, white for the water table, etc.

Supplies for choice board
Velcro
Laminate
Camera
Label Machine

Supplies for beads
Lots of beads
String for necklaces
Hooks