Early Childhood Standards of Quality for ... - State of Michigan

ELE: EARLY Learning IN SCIENCE• Children have time to investigate and process the discoveries they makeout of doors.• Social and literacy opportunities are linked to scientific learningexperiences out of doors.• Children spend time outside their classroom and have opportunitiesto explore the place where they live; learning includes place-basedsituations; e.g., measuring the snow melt, observing the way the waterflows down the land.• Children have opportunities to build special places outside, make maps,and discover the nature of their own communities and neighborhoods;e.g., they play, dig, climb, plant, hike.Questions for Reflection1. How is the schedule organized to maximize children’s daily access tothe outdoors; e.g., for unstructured play, for age-appropriate games, toengage in exploratory activities with various materials?2. How do adults make themselves available to children to support theirconversations about natural phenomena in the outdoors?3. Are materials available to help children record their observations aboutnatural phenomena; e.g., clipboards, paper, camera, journals and writingtools for making drawings and recording observations?4. To what extent are adults helping children with the big ideas of scienceand not focused on knowledge that is too advanced?5. Does the curriculum reflect children’s immersion into the natural world?Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Prekindergarten 125