This activity allows your preschoolers to play in the dirt for the day while learning about the world around them. Announce a day ahead of time to dress in old clothes. Take the children to a place with a lot of dirt, such as a park. Give them shovels, cups, and buckets, so they can dig in the dirt. Give them watering cans, so they can create mud pies. Help them examine the dirt and rocks they find with magnifying glasses.
Teach preschoolers about one of the Earth's biggest landforms by having them build their own volcanoes in the sand. Provide them with film canisters that are half full of baking soda to put on top of their volcanoes. Instruct students to pour red-colored vinegar on top of the baking soda. Explain to them that the red-colored vinegar represents the lava that erupts from volcanoes.
Help your preschoolers understand that the Earth contains more water than land with a game of globe toss. Have them stand in a circle and toss an inflatable globe to one of the students. Ask him if his fingers landed on land or water. Keep tossing the globe to other students. Pay attention to the number of times their fingers touched land or water. The preschoolers should recognize at the end of the activity that their fingers touched water more often than land.
Explain to your preschoolers how leaves disappear into the ground and help make new things grow. Also talk about how other items decompose, such as bananas and orange peels. Ask your preschoolers to bring in items they want to bury in the dirt for a month. Take them outside and help them bury the items in a big hole. Have them dig up the items in a month to see which ones decayed and which ones did not.