Setting up a science center is a great way to get kids thinking and starting to ask questions. Fill up cabinets, shelves or tables with interesting items that will be used throughout the year during science activities. Items include those from outdoors, tools the kids will be using in experiments, things that make sounds, magnifying glasses, microscopes, binoculars or other items kids can handle. Consider hanging science posters and laying out picture books in the same area while encouraging conversation about how these items may fit into the school season to come.
This is a lesson that covers both bees and counting. It allows the teacher to establish science as a part of the student's everyday lives and teaches them that learning can also be entertaining. To begin, read the preschool level book "Buzz, Buzz, Busy Bees." Then ask the students to count the bees they see in the book. Stop at each page and ask what the children see and then ask questions about the bees and where the bees went. Afterward, play the game called Bee Tree, which has leaves that are threaded through holes in a tree and then the students put bees into a hive at the top of the tree. One by one, the children remove the leaves and collect any bees that may fall out. At the end, each student counts his bees to see who has the most.
Matching games teach kids how to identify. Often this game consists only of matching identical items, but with science, there is so much more to discover. Have kids match items from like areas in nature, like sticks and leaves as opposed to shells and sand. Another way to match is to by texture, finding which items feel the same as others. A variation might be using shapes, lengths, smells or types of materials. Kids could also match items according to color or use, such as things that spin, roll or stick to things.
Kids are interested in animals, so it only makes sense to add the subject to a science curriculum. Consider asking the kids which animals they would like to learn about and have them begin by drawing a picture of their favorites. Then choose from those images throughout the coming weeks, possibly even displaying or referring to them during a lesson. Lessons might include topics such as animal migration, animal camouflage, habitats, tree dwelling animals or bird watching. The point is to keep the kids involved in learning, so try to choose activities that include movement or that are tactile.