This may been an odd topic for the period of Lent for a Christian setting, but for my charges - who are all (except 1 very part time child) of the Catholic faith at the moment - this is of little consequence as the religious significance of this festival needs a familial focus, not to be confused by my personal take within the setting. We will naturally explore the Easter festival, but afterwards to consolidate learning and emotional responses. No; I wanted to use last months topic of colours as a spring board into the experimental world of science.
So.... 'science'. What does this mean to a 1, 2, 3 or 4 year old? Indeed; what about the 5, 7 and 11 year olds that will be encompassed in this topic around the school hours?
Science for the preschoolers is about hearing the conceptual language and relating it to first hand experiences; when Carrie asks us to 'predict', what does she mean? When Carrie narrates our play, why does she say odd words like 'experiment' and 'record'? All they really note is that we mess about with materials and explore ourselves and the environment more closely.
The first week was spent introducing the topic. We had books with scientists, 'Nina and the neurons' BBC's Cbeebies links on the laptop, puzzles that were either using technology, imagery of scientific experiments or that of physiology. The treasure basket had things like pipettes, petri dishes, thermometers (digital for safety), magnifying glasses, natural resources scrounged from the park on one of our dog walks like pine cones and leaves, a medical kit and some 'Talking tins'... We always have a tray on the dinning table to provide for more focused mark making; so this was filled with things like geometry sets, calculators, graph paper with varying sized squares, note books and measuring tapes. The children are always encouraged to use whichever resources they would like for their role play and activities. [One child has pincer grip issues and so I asked them to use a set-square to assess whether if the activity required greater focus whether this would detract from his concious battle over how they held the mark making tool, and also how much pressure they could exert - let alone follow directions, create a piece of work without free form marks, only the straight lines of a ruler edge and so on. The observations were illuminating and a detailed discussion with their family followed the following day; in particular how to use a sock with 2 holes in order to scaffold this aspect of tool use and encourage a muscle memory element to pincer grip.] We also 'predicted' what apparatus we would use at Gym Tot's - a soft play centre - and then I recorded with photographs what they 'actually' used. The children then selected a photo to be printed on a Pogo printer to stick into their diary book. Children of all ages took to these concepts really well.
This coming week we will concentrate on chemistry. We will be making 'pictures' with bicarbonate of soda on trays and coloured vinegar, baking without a recipe and role play with the chemistry props such as pipettes, petri dishes, scales, jugs and funnels etc. We'll also have the 'home' box out with narratives about how chemistry is an element of daily life. The older ones will have books like 'George's Marvellous Medicine', 'How to fossilise your Hamster', cookery books - both contemporary and from the war days where elements of traditional cooking had to be emulated, how and why - natural cleaning guides and scientific manuals. Links to 'Bitesize Chemistry' again on the BBC on the laptop in addition to 'Nina and the neurons'.
Thereafter we will look at physics. Balloon hover craft or aeroplanes, sinking and floating exercises, water state experiments, 'salt' dough and gravity with wooden block towers etc. The children will all take from these activities what they can; with the narratives and extensions being tailored to each child's needs; if indeed they participate at all. the plethora of mathematical applications will naturally be exploited, as will the notion of mark making/record keeping in a scientific manner of 'hypothesis', 'methodology', 'results' and 'conclusions'. The youngest will have apparatus such as a ball run, sensory bottles and magnetic draw and wipe boards.
Finally we will develop our understanding of biology including making sour dough bread with a starter using airborne yeast, yoghurt, exploring how we feel after exercise and why as well as having the 'outdoor' box (full of skipping ropes, cones, balls and Frisbees) the medical kit and the dinning table tray extended with wool, tape and junk modelling and straws to demonstrate skeletal and muscular aspects of their bodies. The older ones will be offered a sensory experiment regarding their sense of touch; although this will be too complex for the younger ones.
By the end of March we will have extensively covered all 7 areas of the Revised EYFS and engaged the children in exploring the environment and their response to aspects of their daily lives. The why's and wherefores explained in language they can comprehend, and at the very least provided the weeny ones with experiences that will spur them on to have a greater sense of the possible. All my charges social and emotional development will be stretched as they rationalise what they thought they knew to what they have yet to discover - and see this as a positive rather than the impossible. Physically the children will all be given opportunities to develop both fine and gross skills, tool control and how they respond to their environment. Where as the language potential is exhaustive!!! Literacy, math, art and design and understanding the world take little explanation for this topic... now; LET'S HAVE SOME FUN :)
