Active Experiences for Active Children: Science

Organized around the National Science Education Standards and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy, Active Experiences for Active Children: Science consists of clear, concise, usable guides for planning meaningful learning experiences in science for children in childcare settings, preschool programs, Head Start and other federally funded programs, and kindergarten. Primary-grade children should be engaged in active experiential learning as well, and each experience is extended to the early primary grades (grades 1-3).

The experiences in this book are meaningful because they

• are grounded in children’s interests and needs in their here-and-now world.
• have integrity in terms of content key to science.
• involve children in group work, investigations, or projects based on inquiry learning.
• have continuity: One experience builds on another, forming a complete, coherent, integrated learning curriculum for young children as well as connecting the early childhood setting to children’s homes and communities.
• provide time and opportunity for children to think and reflect on their experiences.
• provide the teacher with the opportunity to document and assess children’s learning.