This August, Mount Coolum Early Learning is turning our children into budding scientists. August Investigations introduces gentle, playful science experiments for children, giving them a first taste of what it means to think and act like a real researcher.
What Does Scientific Thinking Look Like in Early Childhood?
The scientific method sounds like something for older children, but its building blocks, wondering, predicting, testing, and observing, are exactly how young children already explore the world. Structuring science experiments for children around this simple process helps them:
– Practise making a prediction before testing it out
– Build patience and persistence when results are unexpected
– Develop vocabulary for describing cause and effect
– Learn that being wrong is simply part of finding out
At Mount Coolum Early Learning, we keep our language simple: what do you think will happen, let’s try it, and what did we notice?
Our August Investigations Program
Colour Changing Cabbage
Using red cabbage water as a simple pH indicator, children add different household liquids and watch the colour transform, discussing what might be happening.
Growing Seeds in a Jar
Children plant seeds against the side of a clear jar so they can watch roots and shoots develop day by day, recording their observations with simple drawings.
Magnet Investigations
A basket of magnetic and non-magnetic objects invites children to sort, test, and predict which items a magnet will attract.
Shadow Tracking
Throughout a sunny day at Mount Coolum, children trace their own shadow at different times, discovering how it changes shape and length as the sun moves.
Bringing Investigations Home
Families can continue August Investigations at home with simple ideas such as freezing objects in ice to observe melting, testing which household items sink or float in the bath, or watching how a plant on the windowsill grows toward the light.
At Mount Coolum Early Learning, we love the moment a child’s eyes widen with a genuine discovery. Nurturing that curiosity now is one of the greatest gifts we can give our young researchers.
Keywords: science experiments for children, scientific method early childhood, Mount Coolum Early Learning, young researchers preschool, hands-on science Sunshine Coast, curiosity and inquiry early years, STEM early learning Queensland, nature investigations children
Sources and Further Reading:
– CSIRO Education – www.csiro.au/education
– Queensland Department of Education – www.qld.gov.au/education
– Raising Children Network – www.raisingchildren.net.au
– Early Childhood Australia – www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au
August Investigations: Scientific Method for Young Researchers at Mount Coolum Early Learning
