Helping Your Child Learn Science - Foreword
Some of the following was first made available by the U.S. Department of Education. As it was put into the public domain for distribution, refinement, etc. I have done much editing and updating before putting it on the web. In the coming months, I will be adding and updating various aspects of the guide. If you have suggestions for improvement, please email them to me. My goal is to make this site more useful, more enjoyable (for both the parents and the kids), and more educational for the children (and the parents too).

Foreword

This site provides examples of a few simple activities we can do with our children. It is an introduction to the wealth of material in many other books available in libraries and bookstores. It might also inspire us to make up our own experiments to see why and how things turn out the way they do.

Science is not something mysterious. Being "scientific" involves being curious, observing, asking how things happen, and learning how to find the answers. Curiosity is natural to children, but they need help understanding how to make sense of what they see.

Parents help their children learn--by reading to and with them, by helping them learn to count and calculate, by helping them begin to write, and in many other ways.

Most parents, though, say they do not--or cannot--help their children with science. But we don't need degrees in chemistry or physics to help our children. All we need is a willingness to observe and learn with them, and, above all, to make an effort and take the time to nurture their natural curiosity.

Use this website to have fun with your children while they learn. Whether baking a cake, filling the bathtub, or walking through the park, you can invite your children into the wonders of science. Often when we least expect it, a moment for learning will occur: a dollop of ice cream drops on the sidewalk and ants appear.

So, let's get started by finding an activity on this site and trying it.

back to the Table of Contents - on to the Introduction