Nurture Your Child's Scientific Curiosity

Preschoolers are eager scientists. They're always ready to use their senses to explore their surroundings, and test out their own ideas. They also have a special wonder and curiosity about living things.

Try these ideas as you help your child enjoy her first steps into science exploration.

Investigate their world. Preschoolers' curiosity makes them careful observers and leads them to ask questions and investigate what they see and imagine. Encourage your child to keep asking questions as she learns new facts, and to try different ways to find her own answers. You can also help her name and classify the things she sees around her every day, as well as things she sees in books or on television.

Use all their senses. Preschoolers can see the details in different kinds of leaves, smell the odors of animals, fruits, and flowers, touch the different textures of bark or bricks, hear the sounds of birds or waves crashing, and taste the bitter, sweet, or sour flavors of fruit and vegetables. Take time to help your child notice and compare the unique qualities of living things. Record his experiences using cameras, tape recorders, and by writing down his words.

Understand what's alive. Encourage your child to compare living and non-living things. How can you tell if something is alive? What do all living things need to grow? You can play the "What's Alive?" game to find out if something is alive by asking, "Does it eat? Does it breathe? Does it move? Does it grow?"

Learn about animals. Investigating animals helps your child classify her world. She learns about different characteristics, relationships, and natural environments, explores her imagination, and learns about the care animals need. Talk together about the animals your child sees in her surroundings and in storybooks.

Appreciate plants and trees. Your child can discover what plants need to survive and what they provide for us. As your child learns to appreciate the beauty of nature, you can discuss how plants and trees are used for food and shelter. He can watch them grow and change through the seasons and maybe even grow his own plant from a seed.