Tuning In with Nature Walk in EC

EC 3 students have learned about ‘How The World Works’ during our time within this unit over the last two and a half months. The children have explored, discovered, and investigated some simple science activities which we prepared and offered at our invitation tables. We started with a nature walk as a Tuning In activity into our unit.

The children found natural and non-natural materials while walking through the school playground and grassy area. During this activity, they collected and shared what they had found. We prepared some simple hands-on science activities which we offered at our invitation tables every day.  We changed them every week to keep things fresh and interesting. 

Hands-On Science Activities

We introduced and exposed them to the scientific method before we did each experiment. It started with making a guess or hypothesis, then allowing the students to have fun exploring the materials given, and then at the end, they made a conclusion about what they had noticed or what had happened. 

To discover the third line of inquiry, “How We Use Materials”, we read a book entitled “Bunny Cakes”. As knowledgeable students, they understood that to find the ingredients, we had to go to the supermarket.  At the end of February, we had a great experience visiting and shopping at Ranch Market for the ingredients to make a cake.

All the students curiously looked around to find the ingredients we needed. Finally, we had fun using those ingredients we bought together to bake a cake. The children helped to mix and stir the ingredients together. During baking time, we discussed the types of matter that each ingredient was and how the cake batter was a liquid.  We also discussed how it turned into another type of matter, a solid. After the cake cooled, was frosted and decorated, we shared it with many friends.  

Explore interactive science experiments for early childhood at Science Buddies. Foster a love for exploration with resources designed for EC education.