Science Curriculum

Science Curriculum for Pre-K2

• Nature Studies
• Field Trips
• Science Play
• Animal Time

 Science Curriculum for Kindergarten

• Nature Studies
• Field Trips
• Science Play
• Animal Time

Nature Studies:
Naturally, when you find a bug you don't trust, you investigate.  We took a sample:

  We researched it's identity and occupation, classified it, and recorded our findings in our Nature Notebooks:

Drawing a Squash Bug

A more rudimentary drawing of a Squash Bug

I have fond memories of the Charlotte Mason method, so we spend as much time as we can in wild places, or parks, or the woods.  We bring our journals.  We observe more carefully and remember more luminously because we have our journals with us.

Feeding the birds

By the way, if anyone wants to know more about the Charlotte Mason philosophy or about Nature Journals, I happen to have celebrity connections to Karen Rackliffe, the author of a lovely book called Wild Days.    

A Wild Day with Papa

Once a week we bring out a fun book called Science Play.  It is age-appropriate for ages 2-6.  I love that it prompts kids to ask questions, and without always telling them what the answers are, encourages them to theorize for themselves.  Many of the experiments happen as a natural consequence of toddlers, so I just skip the ones we've done already.  Of those we haven't, we almost always have the materials on hand, so it has been convenient to use.  I do not need to prepare anything in advance.  

"Animal Time" was abandoned for lack of time, although it often sneaks it's way in when we're supposed to be doing something else.  The plan was to choose one of our plastic animals, and learn more about it.  A quick YouTube video, a sound clip, and the intro paragraph of a Wikipedia article are all it takes to get them talking about zoology for days.       

Don't know why the moose is in a measuring cup . . . This was [C]'s choice for Animal Time

This field trip to the wild animal safari was perhaps too up-close-and-personal.

Our special place

"the woods"

catching butterflies

Recording our findings in our Nature Notebooks