A parent's guide to early science

'Under-fives learning science! Are you serious?' This might be your response to the subject of this month's parent's guide but science actually forms part of the Foundation Stage curriculum that most children aged three to five are following in England. The Foundation Stage encourages children to learn through play, and early science comes under the area of learning called 'Knowledge and Understanding of the World' (see Nursery World, 21 September, 2000 for a Parent's guide to the Foundation Stage). You'll probably be relieved to hear that early science is not about formal experiments, but more about developing some of the skills that are needed in science. These include observation, exploration, prediction and forming hypotheses - suggesting explanations for why things happen - and they are all gained while your child is enjoying playing and taking part in traditional nursery activities such as sand, water and dough. You would be surprised how much your child can gain as they play in the water tray and observe how some things float and others sink. The staff may ask your child to predict which objects will float and which will not. They may ask them to observe how some objects such as bottles will float when they are empty, but sink when they are filled with water.