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3 Preschool Science Activities To Try At Home

19 June 2017 by Cory Diaz

Preschool science doesn't have to stay in the classroom. Continue the learning process long after your child gets home from school by trying a few simple science activities at home. Don't stress if the last thing you remember about science is failing your high school bio final. Your preschooler isn't ready for in-depth, high-level explorations – at least not yet. Start simple and try one (or all) of these kid-friendly at-home science activities. These are perfect for preschoolers who are learning the basics, and lets your little learner explore the world around her.

Chemistry Fun

Okay, so your preschooler is way too young to combine chemicals in a lab. But, she can explore chemical reactions with a simple baking soda and vinegar experiment. Measure half a cup of baking soda (note – you need to use baking soda and not baking powder) and pour it in a tall clear plastic cup. Instead of measuring the baking soda yourself, let your child do it. Why? It's an easy way to add math into this preschool science activity. Place the cup on an opened garbage bag or a similar barrier – this gets messy.

Before the next step, ask your child to predict what will happen when the vinegar meets the baking soda. Let your child start adding white vinegar to the baking soda very slowly. As she drips it into the cup she'll notice that the mix will start to bubble and overflow. You can adapt the activity and get creative by adding a few drips of food coloring. Try mixing the one drip each of two primary colors (red, blue and yellow) to see what happens when they combine during the chemical reaction.

Nature Walk

If you have a bag, you're ready for a science-filled nature walk. Go outside into the neighborhood, the backyard or the local park. Ask your child to look around and describe what she sees. This includes the surroundings, plants, animals and the weather/season. She can collect twigs, fallen leaves or flowers in her bag. Don't take any creepy crawlies or little critters out of their natural habitat.

Bring along a magnifying glass to get an up-close look or take a sketchbook and crayons for your child to "take notes."

Melt It

Explore transformations with a liquid to solid to liquid again experiment. Ask your child to predict what will happen when you pour water into an ice cube tray and then put it in the freezer (it freezes and turns into a solid). Give her something to compare plain water to and try a few cubes of veggie oil, milk and fruit juice. Ask your child how she thinks these will all differ. Keep track of the cubes, periodically looking to see if they've turned into solids. After the water is frozen take it out of the freezer and have your child compare it to the other types of cubes. Set them on a plate and time them to see which one melts the fastest.

Extend your child's education with an at-home science activity. Getting scientific after the school day is done lets your little learner use the skills she's developing in preschool and reinforces class content. For more ideas, visit a site like http://www.kidscountry.net.

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