SCIENCE FOR YOUNG

CHILDREN
(ECE 3063)
 TOPIC 1
Early Science and Reasoning in Early
Childhood Education for TASKA and
TADIKA
 INTRODUCTION TO EARLY SCIENCE FOR CHILDREN
• Science is the study of the world around
us.
• Children naturally explore and discover
during play so introducing children to
science at an early age builds on their
ingrained curiosity.
• By collecting information about the
world around them, science helps
children to understand the world.
• It allows them to grasp more abstract
ideas as they continue to grow.
 Children and Science
• Young children, particularly those
between three to eight years of age,
learn best through hands-on science or
simply “doing”.
• Abstract thoughts and concepts are
difficult for them to grasp because
they primarily learn about the world
around them by experiencing it through
their sense.
• Introducing children to science at an
early age also help them to develop
reasoning skills through simple problem
solving and understanding how things
are connected in the world around them.
Why is it important to introduce early childhood to
Science Education ?
1. Young children are primed for learning
• Lets spend few hours with this early-aged
children and you will get a million
questions, “why is the sky blue?” , “how did
I get here?”
• It shows that they have high level of
curiousity.
2. Young Children are already hands-on learners
• True project-based learning is about hands-on activities.
• Learning through play is a perfect opportunity for these
kinaesthetic and tactile learners to experiment with simple
scientific processes .
3. Children are natural-born
scientist.
• The children are naturally inquisitive and
begin doing science from the moment of
birth by observing and sorting out their
world-perhaps even earlier.
• They play with their hands and feet and
with their fingers and toes, with blankets
and toys and with just about anything
near them.
• They look, they manipulate, they move
things, they throw and they chase.
• Their eyes go wide with excitement when
they encounter something new.
The teacher of early childhood science has a
wonderfully rich palate with which to work.
Children and Environment
• Young children strive to make
sense of the world they live.
• They try to organize the visual
images and concrete objects in
their environment into meaningful
systems.
• Some children who begin attending
childcare in infancy may spend as
much as 12,000 hours in this
setting.
• This massive number of hours in
one environment demands that the
space be carefully designed to
create the “best” place possible
for young children
How children understand the environment ?
1. The caring teacher is a critical component.

• Specific design techniques, when combined

with a caring teacher, can help the
environment become a wonderful place for
nurturing the development of young children.
• Children who live in this classroom will have
many opportunities for expanding their
knowledge by actively participating in a world
that is appropriate for their level of
development.
• It will include spaces for active play as well as
spaces for privacy.
• Opportunities are provided for a child to work
quietly and areas are available where small
groups can collaborate on a project.
2. An environment that matches young children
• The first step in creating an appropriate environment for infants, toddlers and
preschool children is to examine how young children learn and develop.
• Each stage of development has unique characteristics that influence how a child
will experience his or her environment.
• For examples, infants and toddlers learn about their world by acting on objects
and materials in their environment.
• As the toddler feels the texture of a beach ball, pushes the air filled object and
rolls it across the carpeted floor because infants and toddlers learn by interacting
with the environment, their space must be designed with many opportunities for
physically exploring real materials.
3. Brain Development During the Early Years.
• Early childhood educators and neurologists agree
that the first eight years are critical time of brain
development.
• Infants come into the world with a brain waiting to
be woven into the complex fabric of the mind.
• Some neurons in the brain are wired before birth,
but many are waiting to be programmed by early
experiences.
• The early environment where young children live
will help determine the direction of their brain
development.
• Children who have severely limited opportunities for
appropriate experiences will be delayed, this may
permanently affect their learning.
• But, children who have opportunity to develop in an
organized and appropriate environment are
challenged to think and use materials in new ways.
Why is environment important for children’s
learning ?
• Unfamiliar surroundings and people can provoke a stress response,
which has the potential to be damaging to a child’s learning abilities.
• Having homey features in a classroom environment helps children feel
more comfortable and can help their ability to learn.
• Once a feeling of comfort has been established, there can also be a
variety of new and interesting areas and features.
• Different parts of environment can have different stimulation levels.
 The competent teacher of early childhood science encourages
children to wonder to ask questions, to explore possible answer
to these questions and to construct their own conclusions.

Teacher should encourage children actively making

meaningful connections to their existing knowledge.