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I will be working with Kindergartners in a few months for my students teaching! I am very excited, but also very nervous since I have not worked with students this age. Are there any tips that you have for teaching students this age science? Any things you have tried that went well? Any things you do not recommend trying? Thanks in advance!

Hi Maddie, 

This semester I incorporated a starting physics lab with preschoolers! I think that kindergartners would love it too. I created a water dynamics lab for the students to explore the flow of the water. They also used various materials and had 2-4 students at it at a time. To start the lab, I used a large tote and cups. Then I gradually added cups with holes, funnels, beakers, and eye droppers. I did this for weeks with the children and they seemed to stay engaged the whole time! You could do this with more elaborate materials for kindergarteners. Another idea would be to make a KWL chart to fill out before and after you have completed this. Students can create a drawing of what they have learned or journal. While they explore, you can ask them productive questions to spark their thinking of why things are happening. I had a lot of fun doing this with the kids and they enjoyed it as well. There was plenty of opportunities for investigating science!

Hey Maddie, 

I too am an early childhood major and kindergarteners are great! I nanny for twin five year old boys every day and they love being challenged as Amy mentioned. They definitely want to act like grown ups and so I agree with Amy that 'cute' lesson plans might not be as beneficial! They also love learning about nature and any sort of animal! Hope this helps!