Science Activities

Kindergarten readiness is not limited to specific answers that kids need to learn. Instead, getting them ready for school means helping them develop an eagerness for questioning and learning. Since they love to discover and experiment, we can attach learning on to their enthusiasm and natural curiosity and make it fun.

Last time, we explored magnets; this week balloons go high tech and high teach. (Balloons need to be handled with caution around little ones.) Rub an ordinary inflated balloon on your hair. Show your child how it lifts up your hair. Feels kind of tickly. Do you have any cereal in your cupboards? Ask your child if s/he thinks the balloon will lift up cereal. Put a couple pieces on a counter, rub hair and try again. Watch the cereal hop up and down. Usually, the balloon will pick up Rice Krispies, paper and even uncooked rice. The pieces seem to dance around when the balloon gets close. Sometimes, the most ordinary things can be exciting. Was this a surprise for the adults, too?

Kids at all ages love to explore. The challenge for adults is making sure what they are exploring is safe! At a small toy store, I found a horseshoe magnet big enough to be safe and light enough for little hands. It’s just right for some valentine science. After all, magnets are all about attraction. (Some flashlights have a magnetic holder on the handle and an empty one without batteries is much lighter.)

Place some objects that your child can try and pick-up with a magnet in a shoe box or other container. The size of the objects will depend on the age of your child. For little ones it’s fun to see if the magnet will stick to things like a chair leg, the fridge, the dishwasher, the floor, a blanket, etc. Older kidlets can try a spoon, a metal sponge, a popsicle stick, a pipe cleaner–it’s usually fuzzy stuff on a wire–a key, a pie plate, a cookie sheet, etc. To extend the learning, ask your child to predict if the magnet will be attracted to something before trying. Then, check and see. Predicting uses lots of thinking because children have to remember what has already happened, compare what things have worked and what hasn’t and decide which ones the new object is like. The results give instant feedback.

Science is a terrific activity for helping with kindergarten readiness and, best of all, it’s great fun.
Q. What did the paper clip say to the magnet? A. I’m attracted to you. 
Did you have any surprising discoveries with magnets at your house or carecenter?