I recently read a post about providing opportunities to connect families with their child’s education that I really liked. Peggy Ashbrook’s post Involving families in early childhood science education from the NSTA Blog provides several ideas and resources for getting parents together with a focus on science. I’ve listed a few of my favorites here, plus a few others.
Family Science offers a few free sample activities that can be done at home, including Wet Surfaces and Charge It, a racing activity that explores the push and pull properties of static electricity.
Peep and the Big Wide World from WGBH is a fun online way to teach science to preschoolers. You can watch a video, play games, and do a related activity all based in age-appropriate science concepts. The videos are narrated by Joan Cusack.
Bring Science Home from Scientific American features a series of science-related activities. These activities, designed for six-to 12-year olds, include instructions, material lists, and necessary background information.
TLC’s How Stuff Works offers up a fairly lengthy list of science projects for kids including sugar crystals on a string and soda pop in a balloon. It looks like there are some fun activities here!
A love of science can begin at an early age. Hopefully some of these resources can get you and your child thinking and talking about science!