Chapter 19 I Learned

I learned that science is important to children in many ways. One of the ways is when children are actively involved in investigating their world, they are learning by doing. Another reason science activities help young children develop skills in using their senses. And science allows children yet another chance to exercise their creative abilities. I learned about the 3 different types of science activities. One is formal science it is experiences that are planned by the teacher to develop young childrens fine-motor skills, might involve pouring and measuring with tools in the sand and water area. The second is incidental science and it cannot be planned. And the last one is informal science and it call for little or no teacher involvement. Children can work on their own at their own rate and when they feel like it. I learned about inquiry-based learning, it is often used when discussing science experiences for young children. Ways to promote inquiry-based learning in the classroom are: ask questions that invite constructive input and validate prior knowledge, encourage children to wait a few seconds before giving an answer to allow time for thinking and repeat or paraphrase what the children say without praising or criticizing. I learned about Aesthetics and science and sciences and art/materials activities. Art and sensory can really be science too because when mixing or making is science. The discovery/science center should have things for the children to do, it can have live plants, animals, wood, bark, leaves, etc. for the children to look at. Taking walks with the children to gather nature materials will spark their interest to observe the materials they collected. The center should be in a place that invites them but does not distract them. I learned about discovery centers and younger preschool children. Science activities are more intended for children 3 and older but some activities can be adopted to 2 year olds. They can use their senses, like their sense of touch different objects/textures. They can taste fruits and vegetables that have grown from plants and they can listen to soft or loud sounds. There are two different environment they are man-made and natural thing that are needed for children to be surrounded by. Ecology is the study of all elements of an environment, both living and nonliving and the interrelation of these elements. Some specific activities related to environmental education and ecology for children of all ages are: help children use materials-paint, paper, crayons, etc. conservatively by saving scraps, storing unused paint, completing a picture before starting another and keeping pencils and crayons off floor, encourage children to help care for and clean classroom, grow in compassion for and humane treatment of animals and there are many more ways to help in the classroom. I learned about the outdoor science and how to introduce nature-related materials into different

learning centers. Some outdoor activities are you can create bird feeders, hearing the sounds of nature, what happens to rain water, plants in the environment, water/mud play experiences.