Classification Preschool Style

When I taught preschool, everyone always said, "Science is so hard for preschool."  What??? Science is thee easiest thing to teach preschools.  Preschoolers are naturally drawn to nature and animals and bugs and mud and...Guess what!  That's all science.

Classification is a fancy word for grouping.  You can do this when you play with your child.  "Hey, let's find all the hedgehogs."  Easy.  "Let's make a rabbit family."  Easy.  "Can you find all the birds?" So easy.

You can talk about what makes them alike - like rabbits all have long ears and four feet, and longer back legs.

Science for toddlers and preschoolers doesn't have to be hard.  It's not a thick manual of boring facts.  It's around us everyday.  It's weather.  It's nature.  It's habitats.  It's lifecycles.  It's baking.  It's gardening.

I had lots of visitors (other teachers, parents, administrators) to my classroom to see my science center.  They saw a basket of pinecones and twigs and forest animals and said, "Oh, I can do this."  Yes, of course.  Rock science may be hard, but science for preschoolers is fun!