How to Teach Science to Preschool Children: 3 Easy Activities

Finding out how to teach science to preschool children is all about creating curiosity. Young students already explore and discover their worlds on a regular basis. All you have to do as a teacher is help guide and explain that exploration. Basic science concepts like plants, animals, and the human body make perfect beginner subjects. This article provides several activity examples for preschool teachers to use during a science block.

Leaf Collection

A leaf collection is one of the simplest, yet most effective science activities. Simply take your preschool class on a nature walk or to a park and find newly fallen leaves. Have them collect as many different kinds of leaves as possible. Then, have each child look at their various leaves and what makes each one different. Some are wide and some are long. Some are green, while others change colors. Also, explain the difference between needles and leaves. Needles prevent moisture loss during the cold winter months.

Animal Home Activity

Studying animals is another way to begin early science instruction in preschool. Talking about different animal homes shows children that all creatures live in the world in their own unique ways. Bears live in caves, rabbits live in burrows, birds live in nests, etc. Each day, or each week, choose a different animal with a completely new habitat. Have the children construct the new animal’s home after learning how it lives. For example, if you are learning about birds, bring in various twigs, grass, ribbon, and string and let the children construct their own little nests. You could also do a day on rabbits or prairie dogs and how they burrow into the ground. Go outside in the sandbox and have the students create their own burrows. If you learn about fish, bring in a small fish tank, some rocks, and little plants, and let the children create a habitat suitable for a fish to live and hide.

Science of Sound Activity

Activities involving the 5 senses are great when figuring out how to teach science to preschool children. Sound, created by vibrations, comes with a fun lesson. For this activity, you need to make a tin can phone before class begins. Simply take 2 empty tin cans and turn them upside down. Nail a hole on the bottom of each can and thread a long string through both. Knot the string ends inside each tin can. Make sure to cover the open side of the cans with something protective like duct tape. When the children come to class, explain that sound travels by vibrations. When one child talks into one of the cans, the other child hears in the other. This happens only when they hold the string taut because the voice vibrations travel along the tight string and vibrate in the air of the “listening” can.

Introducing simple concepts of leaves, animal homes, and the five senses slowly teaches preschool students about science. Let them ask questions and explore their world during these lessons. Curiosity and exploration lead to smart young scientists.

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