With eyes wide open, endless questions, and renewed amazement at every moment, our path ran from home to kindergarten, then to school later, on a daily morning walk with my daughter, and questions about everything, why did the foliage fall down and not fly to the sky? Why does our shadow on the ground veer to the left like this? What is the shadow made of? Can we get ahead of him, Mama? I love the sound of birds, can birds hear our singing? Do you know, Mama, that I can explain to you how clouds form?
My little girl was explaining in her childish language and half-broken letters the process of evaporation of water and the formation of clouds, and the experience that I watched on YouTube, and I remember that at her age I used to think that clouds formed from the breath of my late father. I did not know anything about rain, evaporation and condensation except after I studied it in the science class in an advanced stage of elementary school, and the experience that my little girl watched on YouTube, and later conducted by herself, was just poor quality graphics and faded colors on the pages of my textbook.
"That which surprised her was astonished, and everything happened before his eyes, something new he met with the love of the child, to the point that he had never learned from experiences!"
(Sabri Musa)
Scientific curiosity in children begins at a very early age, and it can be distinguished in the first months of the child’s life, with the beginning of his attention to the details of the world around him, as it is evident in his stare in games suspended above the cradle, in the view of surprise and the desire to understand, and his attempts to extend his young hands to What does not lengthen. He grows a little, and his curiosity grows with him, his hand extends to play with simple building blocks, held by his little fingers, and begins to jaw and installation to expand his understanding of the world around him little by little, and tests many new concepts. Parallel to the increase in curiosity, his linguistic outcome increases, to allow him to express the burning questions inside him, and curiosity dances on his tongue: Where do the stars come from? Where does the moon come from? We may know the answers and perhaps not. In any case, we must help our children, whether by searching for answers or by asking more questions, and by providing simple scientific vocabulary.
Providing scientific vocabulary to a child at an early age helps raise his ability to understand science in the primary stage, and helps them to understand better abstract ideas, language, science and critical thinking all go hand in hand. (1) While most of the curricula for the kindergarten stage focus on teaching Principles of reading and mathematics, we find that they ignore the sciences and their associated. While the National Association of Science Teachers (NSTA) emphasizes the need to introduce science to children at an early age of 3-5 years, and indicates that their practice of science and engineering-related activities at such an early age arouses in children feelings of curiosity and desire to explore the world around them, Rather, it also stresses the necessity of introducing science to children at an early stage from birth until the age of three to help them explore the basics, by simple practices such as introducing them to materials such as water and sand and giving them an opportunity to explore and question them, and practicing simple scientific activities such as measurement and mixing different materials. (2) )
The importance of science for children at an early age
Children do not stop surprising and exploring the world with insatiable and widening eyes for more questions and knowledge, and while reading or hearing abstract information answered our questions in the past, our children today live in a different world, with different tools and open sources of learning, which gives them wider opportunities to understand and understand these Answers and information by applying them and using their different senses. The benefits of providing sciences at an early age for a child are not limited to the knowledge that they provide to him, but rather help in strengthening many life skills as follows:
* Science education at an early age enhances linguistic abilities and the ability to communicate. When a child explores scientific phenomena, he will ask questions, learn new terms and vocabulary, which works to develop and build his communication skills.
* Developing the logical sense and critical and investigative thinking skills of the child through realizing and understanding the connections between the various phenomena around him, linking them with the world and understanding their impact on his life
* Developing simple problem-solving skills.
* It promotes the independence of the child, the ability to make decisions and form independent opinions, and not to accept information as postulates without researching behind it, so he learns how to search for information from multiple sources, and how to search for evidence to validate theories.
* Providing science for the child at an early stage enhances basic life skills such as the ability to organize, focus, research, and build observational experiences. It also enhances qualities such as patience and perseverance, improves the child's ability to infer and generate ideas, and also enhances problem-solving skills.
* Exposure to science at an early age equips a child to study science later, what he learns in childhood affects his interests later. Studies have shown that children who develop an interest in studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics or what is known as "STEM" in their childhood, are showing interest in these areas in the future, which may mean better job opportunities. (3) (4) (5)
In her interview with " Maidan ", Dr. Tiba Jamal Al-Din, who is interested in teaching science to children and a founding partner in Qutuf schools, and Qatuf virtual schools (via the Internet): “Through my experience in teaching science for different ages extending from the age of 4 years until undergraduate students, I realized the importance of the practical side, and the importance of providing science Through practical applications and experiences, and the positive involvement of students. This helps to satisfy the passion of those interested in science, as well as attracts the interest of those who are not interested - and there are not few. - In my opinion, nothing is more joyful than the surprising look in the eyes of a child discovering something new or watching A new experience It is important to cultivate passion in a child from the start, and Make sure that he will continue the research alone only if enough passion has been planted inside him. We can always invest the environment around us, and transform it into an educational environment, by encouraging the child to think about the phenomena around him, such as astronomy, for example. The Internet also has become a rich source For information and experience, there is a lot of free content available to provide science in a simple way for children. "
By asking her, is it better to follow the child's passion and present topics appropriate to his interest, or to present the topics in a specific order? She told " Meydan ": "It is a mixture between the two, when we follow the child's passion and interests and help him discover what arouses his curiosity and understand more about him, this will arouse his enthusiasm, and he starts to accept more than he did not interest him before. The presentation of the topic also varies according to age, For example, when I explain the human body to different ages, I used the same stereoscope and the same educational boards, but the information provided, how deep, abstract, and how it is presented differ, so what is presented to the age group from 4 to 8 is different from what is presented to the age bracket from 8 to 12. The same information but the presentation and extent Depth varies. "
Notes for a successful experiment
There are many things that awareness will help you in providing science to your child in a better way, including being aware that each child has his own learning style / style, some learn by touch, others learn by looking, and your knowledge of the appropriate learning style for your child helps you in Choose the best way to present information. Joking and laughing also helps the child to receive information better, because deaf information is boring.
Also take advantage of every opportunity for research and learning, as preparing food and the mixing it includes, the cooking process and the chemical and physical changes that take place during it, and the dough fermentation process are all enormous opportunities to introduce scientific concepts, as well as going out in the gardens and what it includes from monitoring animals and birds, and contemplating plants, And study the differences between them and their composition, and contemplate the sky and its astronomical phenomena, all multiple opportunities for learning.
Because the child learns from his parents, ask questions aloud about the natural phenomena around you, and look together for the answer
Don't forget to take your child to science museums or science centers in your city. If your child asks you a question that you do not know his answer, encourage him to use his imagination first, then look together for the answer. Follow the child's passion, for example, if the child shows interest in cars, you can take him to the car repair shop to see the interior of the car and learn about its functions. And give your child the opportunity to play, children learn through play, and nature provides them with many opportunities to learn, know and develop their mental skills. It is worth noting that the most scientific topics that raise the child's attention are matters related to the Earth, such as volcanoes, especially dinosaurs, their types and environments, astronomy, stars, planets, the moon, and telescope observations of the features of the moon is very interesting to their attention.
And introducing science to a child does not need complicated tools. You can create many scientific experiments with simple tools available in every home. It is also important to make sure to present the child with a curious model and interested in the world around him, and because the child learns from his parents, ask questions aloud about the natural phenomena around you, and look together for the answer, questions such as: Why does this phenomenon happen? What is expected to happen next? How and what is his name? Putting and testing hypotheses, thinking about their answers and testing their validity helps them organize their thoughts and understand how things work around them. (6)
The most important YouTube channels that provide scientific content suitable for children:
National Geographic Kids channel
It offers a wide range of videos about animals, space, various inventions, and quirky scientific facts. Channel link here
Crush course kids
Videos of humor, physics, biology, geography, engineering and astronomy are presented in a humorous way. Channel link here.
Channel "Hooplakidslab"
A channel that offers children a wide range of simplified science experiments that you can conduct at home. Channel link here.
Minuteearth channel
Her videos are no more than five minutes in length, and each video answers a child's question with fun cartoon graphics. Channel link here.
DR Mad science
How the trampoline works, how to make a battery using fruit, and how to create volcano at home, all of which are videos that the child Jordan presents on his channel, in which he displays safe scientific experiments that can be done from the components available at home. Channel link here.
Channel "The Dad Lab"
A father has fun with his two little children, and he offers many videos with his two children that are not limited to scientific experiments only, but also showcases ways of making simple forms of paper, different formations of Lego cubes, and making toys from the first handkerchiefs, in addition to a lot of scientific experiences appropriate for young people of some age Before school. Channel link here.