Leading up to the Science Center Trip and afterwards we engaged in science experiments. As you can imagine the kids loved it! And yes it was a bit messy at times....but that's one more sense that was involved in the learning process. In the beginning of the year we introduced opposites, and science experiments are a great way to demonstrate opposites in a hands on way. We focused on sink and float; but many other opposites lend well to science exploration (e.g., dark/light, heavy/light, rough/smooth, hot/cold).
Sink and Float
Mixing Colors
Zoo Animals
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Put Me In The Zoo by Robert Lopshire
Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See by Eric Carle
From Head To Toe by Eric Carle
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
Making Ice Cream
shake_and_make_ice_cream_recipe.pdf |
The children loved making ice cream and seeing how the milk, sugar, and vanilla changed into ice cream (another embedded science experiment!!). Making snacks is one big way we get reticent children involved in food activities and give them a sense of ownership. As in past years, a number of our more picky eaters gave the ice cream a "taste" and loved it! Please check out my mealtime resources if you'd like to learn more strategies for picky eaters.