Resource - High/scope In The Elementary Classroom

HigH/SCoPE
Teacher’s Corner
Real Science in Preschool:
Here, There, and Everywhere
by Polly Neill
T
he following article is an excerpt
from the new book Real Science
in Preschool: Here, There, and
Everywhere, published by High/Scope
Press. For more information, see p. 29.
Find the Science
House areas are generally very busy
places where a lot of different things go
on at the same time, with the play often
spilling over into the block area or other
interest areas. So much is happening
that we have to focus our science senses
in order to spot children exhibiting the
behaviors that are part of the preschool
scientific method. Again, as children engage
in these behaviors, they are laying
the groundwork for more formal science
learning later on in school.
Observing
The house area often is the
center of a number of different
activities, and it can be a bit
In this preschool classroom, the
house area becomes a beauty parlor,
as children engage with concepts of
hair texture and style.
overwhelming for a child who is new
to the program and who is comfortable
just observing. As we learned earlier,
children who stand by quietly at first
are absorbing information. in the house
area, they are taking in the location of
the pots and pans, the dishes, and the
silverware. Additionally, while taking
stock of how children interact with one
another as they role-play, the observing
children are anticipating how they might
fit into this social structure. The following
are examples of some of the sciencerelated
play children might observe in
the house area:
Today several of the children are
cooking a “birthday cake” using the
pine cones and little yellow sponges
they found in the canisters. They ask
two other children to “please set the
table for the party ’cause the cake
will be ready soon and 37 people will
be here any minute!”
Another part of the house area becomes
an emergency room for a
veterinarian who must operate on
a puppy whose mom says she has
“monsters in her tummy.” The vet’s
office is very busy, because the phone
rings a lot, too.
As children play, they
engage in behaviors
that are part of the
preschool scientific
method — laying
the groundwork for
more formal science
learning later.
Children who are observing may be
silent or they may show evidence of what
they are taking in with comments like
the following. These remarks indicate
that children are processing information
as they observe, leading them to classify
and engage in other scientific behaviors.
“My mom uses pans like that at
home.”
“i could comb her hair and make
it smooth.”
“You could go out and run with
the puppies — that makes them
sleepy.”
Classifying
The house area can be one of
the best environments for children
who are classifying, organizing,
or sorting objects or information.
Materials such as pots and pans,
utensils, linens, and plastic fruits
and vegetables easily lend themselves
to children’s classifications,
www.highscope.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 20