Children Are Never Too Young To Learn About Science - Experiment Included

sward (57)in #steemiteducation • 6 years ago (edited)

Introduction

Education allows us to shape human beings so that they are capable of coping with the world and enter adulthood as well-rounded individuals. Education should be introduced to children from birth in my opinion since they are never too young to learn, observe and act on their observations. Very young children learn mostly by observing their parents and caregivers, and with their guidance, can learn a lot before they have even started attending school.

Parents are the very first teachers a child will have, what we as parents teach our own children can be regarded as an informal education. But none-the-less, we can still teach our children things that some might think are advanced for their age, it all depends on how we administer the lessons. For instance, children under five years are usually very active, have huge imaginations and are extremely curious they always want to know “why” and “how”. In my opinion, parents should take advantage of this early curiosity that surfaces during the toddler years and introduce educational subjects to them, like science!

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Introducing Science To Toddlers

Toddlers are like sponges and absorb information more quickly than we think. Of course, the trick is to keep the learning activities age appropriate and fun, to hold the short attention spans that these little ones have.

“All children are curious and I wonder by what process this trait becomes developed in some and suppressed in others. I suspect again that schools and colleges help in the suppression insofar as they meet curiosity by giving the answers, rather than by some method that leads from narrower questions to broader questions. It is hard to satisfy the curiosity of a child, and even harder to satisfy the curiosity of a scientist, and methods that meet curiosity with satisfaction are thus not apt to foster the development of the child into the scientist. I don't advocate turning all children into professional scientists, although I think there would be advantages if all adults retained something of the questioning attitude, if their curiosity were less easily satisfied by dogma, of whatever variety.”
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If you are a parent or a caregiver who looks after toddlers, why not try out the activity I have shared with you below, as an introduction to science for little minds.

Activity: Water Absorption – A Science Experiment

This is a simple experiment that is fun for toddlers and not dangerous at all. They will enjoy playing with the water and through this activity, they can create an awareness and learn about water absorption. Toddlers learn best by observing!

What you will need for the is experiment:

• A jug of water
• A bucket or bin (large Tupperware)
• A spoon
• Different objects with varying surfaces, for example; paper, tissues, plastic, wood etc.

Instructions:

Place your items into the bucket, let your toddler place a few drops of water on to each item and then let them observe. Items like paper and tissue will absorb the water quickly, wood a little slower and plastic will not absorb the water at all.

The explanation:

Paper and tissue are porous and so water can pass through it, wood is less porous and will absorb water slower but hold it for longer. The plastic prevents water from passing through.

Conclusion

From the experiment above we can understand that adults need to guide children through educational activities, with the aim of developing a curiosity for learning within these little souls.

Just like a sheet of paper absorbs water very quickly, so do young minds when it comes to learning new things!