Preschool Science

Science activities at Little Lukes Preschool stimulate curiosity, teach science concepts, and are developmentally appropriate. Preschool science is exciting and intellectually meaningful.

Little Lukes Preschool science activities can:

  • nurture your child's natural sense of adventure and curiosity
  • help your child develop his own understanding of the natural world
  • encourage your child to be a persistent problem solver, and
  • introduce your child to basic elements of scientific reasoning (seeking evidence; testing predictions)

Preschoolers learn best by doing, so we prefer preschool science activities that emphasize hands-on experiences. 

Scientists develop hypotheses to explain the world.  Testing these predictions--and analyzing the results--is the essence of the scientific method.  We ask preschoolers to make predictions about what they think will happen during experiments such as testing whether objects will sink or float or what will happen if certain materials are combined.

Young children are fueled by an innate curiosity about what works, why it works, how it works, and what's in it that makes it work. Preschoolers are constantly asking, "Why does this rock sparkle?" "How can a frog jump so high?" "What's in water?" When they pose the time-honored, "why is the sky blue?" question, preschoolers are not expecting a detailed explanation of the electromagnetic spectrum but they are purposefully gathering information about, and trying to explain, their observations.

Science is exactly that: a system of acquiring knowledge. This system uses inquiry, observation and experimentation to describe or explain their observations. For our preschool school students, such activities involves manipulating objects, asking questions, making predictions, developing generalizations, and learning relevant vocabulary. Scientific experiences can occur both formally and informally, but should, as much as possible, allow for hands-on activity with objects and contexts that are meaningful to the child.

Teachers may present a lesson on properties of water, but explaining why popsicles drip and ice cubes melt is likely to be more meaningful to children, to have a greater impact on their understanding, and more significantly, to increase their interest in the topic. By exploring the science in the child's everyday world, science is understood not just as the work of chemists, biologists, and geologists, but as an integral and inspiring part of the real life of every child - a powerful message to be learned early and reinforced throughout life.

Here are 2 sample Science experiments from our Little Lukes curriculum:

Next Step: Preschool Social Studies
Little Lukes

Testimonials