Preschool Science Experiments

Preschool Science Experiments

There is nothing more fascinating and fun than helping small children conduct preschool science experiments. Watching their delighted little faces as these experiments show them that there may be a bit of "magic," after all, is so entertaining. There are many safe and educational experiments that can be done with the preschooler. They are not overly involved or difficult either.

One such experiment involves some raisins and a glass of Seven Up or Sprite. It is aptly named The Dancing Raisins. You simply take a glass of still fizzing Seven Up or Sprite and let the children drop a few raisins in the soda. The raisins seem to take on a life of their own. They jump around on top of the soda, then seem to dive to the bottom of the glass, only to rise up again. Children love preschool science experiments such as this one.

Another experiment can be used to teach about the parts of plants. For this one, you will need a stalk of celery, 2 cups of water and some food coloring. Add the food coloring to the water. Slice the celery in half long ways and put each end into the water. Within about 10 minutes the food coloring has been absorbed into the celery, outlining the veins of the celery stalk. Children are extremely fascinated with this one.

Now, if you don't mind messy preschool science experiments, you can try this one. The children get to make their very own slime to play with. You will need to get some liquid starch and mix it with a bottle of Elmer's glue. Once it has mixed together, it starts to make a totally different substance. The children can dig their hands in and start to pull out the "globs" to play with.

An easy and fun experiment that teaches about density requires first getting a glass. Next, you will take food coloring and add it to different substances such as water, oil, and salt water. These will be added to the glass one at a time, layering as they go. The different colors help identify each substance. This is one of the more fascinating preschool science experiments, as their little eyes just get bigger and bigger while watching these substances NOT mix.

Preschool is such an easy age to teach scientific things. They are delighted and thrilled by the simplest things. Not only that, you become a magician in their eyes, so you might let them guess at what has occurred just a little bit longer before explaining it to them. Then they will get to feel special that they can make these things happen, too.

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Preschool Nutrition

Preschool Nutrition

The guidelines that are set by the USDA "MyPyramid" provide a detailed nutrition program for preschool aged children. This nutrition program emphasize the importance of healthy eating by combining all food groups in a daily menu plan. Teaching children the value of a healthy eating plan early in their life will insure that they acquire good eating habits that will last a lifetime.

Establishing healthy eating habits for preschoolers includes modeling their eating habits at home so that when they enter the school environment, they can make healthy choices.

The guidelines for a nutritious healthy eating plan for toddlers include the 5 major food groups as part of a daily diet. Each food group contributes specific nutrients to the diet. These nutrients are necessary for children’s growth and development.

1) Bread and Grains: 6 servings a day

These foods provide energy for activity and growth. Children should consume some whole grain products. At least half of the grains consumed should be in the form of whole-grain cereals and sandwiches made with whole wheat bread. Check the ingredients on the product label to insure that the product is in fact made with "whole wheat."

2) Milk & Milk Products: 3-4 servings a day

These products provide needed calcium for strong teeth and bones. Children from 2 to 8 years of age should consume 2 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or an equivalent in milk products.

3) Fruits - 2 servings per day

The number of fruits children should eat is determined by their calorie needs. But the base requirement as outlined in the food pyramid for this age group is at least 2 fruit servings per day.

4) Vegetables – 3 servings a day

Vegetables provide the important vitamins and minerals to protect eyesight and the body's immune system.

5) Meats, Beans & Nuts: 2 servings per day

Meats, beans & nuts provide protein and iron to form muscles.

Parents should limit the intake of high saturated fats or salt (sodium) in the toddler's diet to reduce the risk of high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Total fat intake should be limited to 30 and 35 percent of calories for children ages 2 to 3 years, and between 25 and 35 percent of calories for children and adolescents from the age of 4 to 18.

Most fats should come from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.

Help the toddler make smart choices: replace sugary snacks with healthy snacks like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

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Preschool Activity Ideas

Preschool Activity Ideas

One of the better approaches, when trying to think of preschool activities or preschool lessons for you and your child to do for home school activities, is that you don’t get bogged down trying to be too structured. There is plenty of fun, educational, and informal preschool activities that you and your child can get involved in.

The top of the list when it comes to preschool activities and child learning would be reading. Getting the child involved early in learning to read, establishes good reading habits and a foundation that the child can learn from for a lifetime.

Learning to read for the child certainly doesn’t have to limited to books. You should also include poetry, songs (while singing together); reading the boxes of their favorite toys, or anything that they are drawn to could be included in their homeschool preschool activities. Just be creative.

Preschool age is a wonderful learning time for the child. They are naturally full of wonderment and curiosity at the preschool age. Take advantage of this trait. Use everyday tasks around the house for learning activities. Sorting clothes by color for laundry, dishes by color or size, if you are doing some organizing around the house, use this opportunity to relate different shapes and sizes to your preschooler. When you’re out and about in the world, always use this time as an educational moment. All the shapes sizes and colors you come across just at the grocery store alone make for a wonderful preschool activity. Its homeschooling and you’re not in your home!

If, you run across a question you are unable to answer, don’t just say that you aren’t sure or that you don’t know and leave it at that. Take the opportunity to begin to instill another great learning skill into your child. That of looking something up for an answer to which you don’t know. Even though the child can’t search for the answer yet, they can, witness and be a part of this valuable information seeking procedure. I can’t tell you what a valuable skill you will be instilling into your preschooler if you help them in developing this type of problem solving skill and attitude if you incorporate this into their daily preschool activities.

Preschool activities are limited only by your imagination.....child education is a wonderful experience, just relax, be informal, be creative.

Learning activities are indeed everywhere

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Free Preschool Activity Ideas

Free Preschool Activity Ideas

If you work or live with preschool children, you're always on the lookout for ideas that will help you build in some daily physical activity. Just what type of activities are most beneficial to preschool children? What types of things should you be careful of? And where can you find some free preschool activities that really work. Below are some great activity generators and suggestions for how to keep it safe.

Warm up. Preschool children need to warm up before they exercise just like adults do. Make sure you move them around gently for several minutes before instructing them to run, jump or do any type of strenuous movement.

Balance. Good balance is important for almost all athletic activities. Keeping in mind the age of the preschool children, they should be able to balance on one foot from 3-10 seconds. Don't limit yourself to only standing balance exercises. Children love to get down on the ground and balance on hands and legs and then lift one or even two limbs in the air.

Sports Skills. Have all the children use plastic coffee can lids as Frisbees or wadded up balls of paper with mini-brooms as hockey sticks. You can create a number of sports items from common household supplies. Preschool children need practice with basic sports skills early in life to become competent and proficient enough to enjoy these activities later on. Make sure all children have their own prop so that they can get the most amount of hands-on time practicing.

Aerobic Exercise. Anything that gets preschool children to move quickly and use the large muscle groups in their legs will help provide much needed aerobic exercise. It's the aerobic exercise that helps burn fat and strengthen their heart and lungs. Relays, obstacle courses, races, dancing and gross motor locomotion around the room are all excellent preschool aerobic activities. Just make sure children take active rests (like walking or moving at a slower pace) between strenuous bursts of activities as they won't have the endurance an adult has.

Strengthening. Resistance exercise will help prevent childhood obesity by developing muscle mass which burns much more calories than an equal amount of fat. Children can do simple calisthenics like modified push ups, squats, lunges and crunches using their own body weight for resistance or have fun with props such as tug-of-war ropes, weighted bean bags, elastic bands, and water bottles.

Stretching. Preschool children's muscles need regular stretching which should be done after the exercise session, not before. Any stretches performed should be held still while counting from 5-10 instead of bouncing while stretching. Bouncing stretches or ballistic stretching can tear muscles and lead to a shortening of the muscles instead of elongation.

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