El used to attend an enrichment centre, and I quite like some of the activities where the children would conduct science experiments or engage in games related to a book.
One famous book, I’m going on a bear hunt, was used by the teachers to create an exploration for the children. They made the children walk through a puddle of water (a basin of water was placed there), walk through tall grasses (streamers were used), and then wandered into a dark cave (lights were switched off). The children were led through the entire room. Experiential learning takes place, and the students had fun.
There is another story about a crow who searches for water, only to find water in a narrow beak jar. The teacher wore a mask of a crow, and then tried to drink water from a jar. True enough, she could not reach the water. Then, she guided the children to place pebbles into the jar, and true enough, the water level rose and the beak could finally reach the water.
On another occasion, there was a story about a little pig who was a postman. It delivered letters for the other animals. The teachers made a card box to resemble a mail box, and children had to deliver letters. They had to hop through a path, and climb up a few steps to deliver a letter.
One more lesson that I could remember was to teach the children about fishing and magnets. The children went around the room to attract fish with a magnetic fishing rod. There is a good example here about a simple activity of fishing with magnetsyou can do at home. They had also used little nets to catch fish toys. They also learnt the concept of density, where certain items float, while others sink.
Fishing with magnets by billaday
I enjoyed the lessons more than my son did, as he was pretty non-responsive then, but then again, he was very young then. Perhaps if there was more room for quiet time, he might have enjoyed them more. However, the school did a good job of incorporating science and other activities into the story telling.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the time and energy to try to bring these books alive, apart from the use of my voice when reading books with El. I am not sure whether his current school teaches science.
