Treasure Hunt: Question 5

Treasure Hunt: Question 3

Treasure Hunt: Question 2

Treasure Hunt: Question 1

Brand New Attitude for a Brand New Year!!

As educators, sometimes it can get a little overwhelming at the beginning of the year with new students, new teaching materials and maybe a new environment. However, having help is always a life-saver. Sometimes you feel alone with no one to turn to for advice and tips. Fear no more!

With the convenience of the world of internet, you can easily have get new ideas, tips and tricks from the expert or experienced teachers and educators. We, here at Little Scientists would like to help you get through the New Year with ease. We looked around in the internet for tips and tricks and we found this website really helpful!

Here are 10 of the best daily teaching tips from the website Fun In First by Jodi Southard:

May your 2014 be free of obstacles & screaming kids and more of happy smiles & hugs!

~May

10 Kindergarten Readiness Skills Your Child Needs

What do teachers really want your child to know on the first day of kindergarten? Kindergarten is changing and parents are feeling pressure to prepare their children for their first school experience. But while some may fret that reading and doing addition are prerequisites for kindergarten these days, your child likely possesses many of the skills they needs to be successful as they begins school.

“Some of the things I would like my kids to know coming into kindergarten are alphabet and some sounds, recognition of numbers 1-10, be able to write and recognize their name” says kindergarten teacher. “It is also important for them to be able to follow directions and to have the ability to express their feelings.”

Here are the 10 kindergarten readiness skills to focus on as you work with your child. Don't be concerned if they does not have them all down before the first day of kindergarten, as they will continue to work on them throughout the year. Try a few activities listed for the skills your child might need to work on a bit more before they starts school.

1. Writing

·    Help your child practice writing letters, especially the letters in their name.

·    Teach your child how to write their name with an uppercase first letter and the remaining letters in lowercase.

·     Write in finger paint or sand writing when go to beach side to make practicing more fun and multisensory.

2. Letter Recognition

·    Play games to help your child recognize some letters of the alphabet.

·    Play hide and seek with refrigerator magnets.

·    Rather than drilling your child with flashcards, use them to play a game of alphabet go fish.

3. Recognice Sounds

·   Make your child aware of the sound.

·   Play guessing sound game with them; make them guess the sound of animals, vehicles or musical instrument.

4. Number Recognition and Counting

·   Count throughout the day (for example, the crackers they are eating for snack)

·   Point out numbers you see in your environment and have your child name them (for example, the numbers found on menu or street signs).

5. Colour

·   If your child is having trouble recognizing certain colors, you might add a little food coloring to cookie dough, milk or vanilla pudding to emphasize those colors.

·   Play games in which your child finds objects of particular colors around the house or in the neighborhood as you drive.

6. Shape

·    Help your child recognize basic shapes such as square and triangle by showing them how to draw on paper.

·    Play with play dough and cut out shapes, let your kids sort the shape into group.

7. Fine Motor Skills

·    Give your child several different writing options (colored pencils, crayons or markers) to help keep her interested in writing and drawing.

·    Playing with play dough is a fun way to strengthen the muscles of the hand that will be used for writing.

8. Reading Readiness

·   Run your finger under the words as you read to your child to help her learn that words go from left to right and top to bottom.

·   Read their favorite storybook

9. Attention and Following Directions

·   Read lots of stories with your child and work up to reading longer chapter books, one chapter each night or as long as she remains interested and focused.

·    Give your child two and three step directions. For example: "put on your pajamas, brush your teeth and pick a book to read."

·    Play Simon Says with two or three step directions. For example: "Simon Says jump up and down and shout hooray."

10. Social Skills

·    Give your children opportunities to interact with other children in preschool, social groups or play dates.

·    Teach your child how to express their feelings if they do not like something.

·     Role-play different situations their might experience on the playground or at school. Help them find solutions for typical problems they might encounter.

Chances are you're already practicing many of these skills your child will need for kindergarten. Remember to keep it fun and don’t make it stressful for you or your child. With just a little fun practice, your child will be prepared for her elementary school debut!

We play, We Explore, We Learn! 
                                                                            - LittleScientists

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Halloween Science: Spooky Glow in the Dark Jars

We really hope this activity will excite all of you but it is important to know how glow in the dark material works:


Glow paints do not contain light in them. But they do have a pigment known as phosphor that makes them glow in the dark. Phosphor can accumulate light energy like  from the sun and when it's dark, it glows. When phosphor comes in contact with sun or any other form of light it absorbs the photons and later in the dark, the paint emits these photons. The photons thus released emit a phosphorescent glow. This process is known as photoluminescence.

One more day till Halloween and one more exciting activity! Happy Haunting!
~May

Halloween Science: Creepy Density Jar

We really hope that you will enjoy this series of Halloween science! We wanna wish you a very Happy Halloween! Make sure your kids do not overdose on all the sweets when they go trick-or-treating! 

~May

Halloween Science: Static Electricity Dancing Ghost

It's Halloween month! We are challenging you to do science with your kids with a Halloween twist. Ever seen a dancing ghost before? Let's have fun making ghost out of the tissue paper and use static electricity to move the ghost around.

Here’s what you need:

• balloon or a plastic spoon
• tissue paper
• markers
• scissors
• tape
• woollen clothes

Cut out your Halloween Ghost shapes from the tissue paper. After cutting out the ghost, draw the eyes and mouth using marker pen.

Tape the bottom of your ghost to the table (If you don’t tape down your tissue paper, your Halloween Ghost will most likely just get stuck to the balloon/plastic spoon).
Rub the balloon or the plastic spoon on a woollen clothes to gather some extra electrons. Move the balloon over your Halloween Ghost. The tissue paper ghost will rise up. As you move the balloon/plastic spoon around, the tissue paper ghost will move as well.

Have fun with your dancing ghost! Stay tune for more Spooky Halloween Science!

~Grace

Scared? Don't be! We are here to help.....

Loads of parents and teachers have a fear of teaching science to toddlers and pre-schoolers because of the fear that it is too difficult. However, it is easy when you are able to relate to to things that is surrounds them.  Here are some ideas as to how you can do it! 

Relate it to daily life
Simple things like cooking, playing are somehow related to science. For example, when we bake a cake we turn a liquid batter in to a solid cake.  Or even when an ice melts into liquid and how we boil it it will turn into a steam. 

Things that can be seen and not too abstract are the best for them to grasp certain concepts. There are resources that you can find online that can help you with this.  We have posted a few fun and exciting things  that you can do with your child at home that is easily done at home or in the classroom.

Have toys that are science related
There are many toys available out there that are science related nowadays and you know kids love to play. So why not let them learn while they play??  However, loads of DIY science kits out there may not be as suitable for younger kids but if parents or teachers can do it together, it is really a very effective way to get kids to explore. We, here at Little Scientists also have a online shop where you can browse for fun science toys for your kids or for Christmas/ Birthday gifts.

Visit science centres and factories
Science centres are places where kids can learn about many things, from the galaxy to bugs, from cars to music. You might even find something that really interest your child so that you can tap on it at home or at the classroom. It is definitely easier for them to "get the idea" when they are interested in something.

Visiting places like factories this is always fun and educational. Exploring how things are made and work always triggers the curiousity of young children. They may not get it at first but sure would like to explore more. Schools trips to chocolate factory, ice-cream factory is definitely a winner because the children know that they would be given some treats at the end!

Have science experiments at home
Easy science experiments that are age appropriate are now everywhere on the internet and usually uses things that can be found at home or can be bought cheaply. Resources online are endless, from video tutorials or printable instructions can definitely ease your worries. Little Scientists also has some simple experiment videos online at our Youtube channel. Do feel free to experiment with them and we will be very happy to see your exploration with your child. Put it up on Facebook and tag us!

These are just a few ideas for helping you overcome your fears of teaching science to the little ones. We do hope these tips are helpful and we would love for you to share your experiences.  Have fun and enjoy, and remember, a little mess won't kill! :)

~May

Kids Wonderland Holiday Science Camp

Dream of bringing your children to theme park this year end school holiday? We can make your dream come true. Get our latest science camp now and bring your children to a theme park that's just at the comfort of your school! 

Our KIDS WONDERLAND science camp is packed with fun-filled science adventures for your children to explore. We have 9 awesome activities that will amaze your children and the teachers too! 

From a magical sand that doesn't get wet to the cutest scampering bunny ever, KIDS WONDERLAND science camp will make your school holiday an unforgotten one!

Watch our trailer for a preview of the exciting activities:

For Kindy, who are interested to run Kids Wonderland holiday science camp during this coming year end holiday,  please do not hesitate to contact us, pm us in Facebook or Call/sms "YES" to 010-366 0160 for more information.

For Parents, if you are interested, you may ask your children's kindy to get the camp from us. You may also bring your children to the nearest kindy that will be having this camp.

Website: www.LittleScientistS.com 
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Activities you can do at home with the kids that make science ANYTHING but boring! - Magnet Fishing Game

Are your kids bored out of their minds at home every weekend? There are lots of fun science experiment you can do at home with your kids. Here is one example of science activity that you could try it out with your kids over this coming weekend - Magnet Fishing Game! This is really simple and it's fun for kids of all different ages!

Here is what you need for this Magnet Fishing Game.

To make the fishes:

• Few pieces of plastic sheets
• Paper Clips

To made the fishing rod:

• A stick
• A piece of string
• A magnet Ring

Lastly a large bucket or paddle pool filled with water for the pond and your kids can ready for some fishing game!

You could also try a larger pond by using a bathtub! Fill up your bathtub a quarter full, add those fishes to the water. Place a towel on the floor along with a plastic bowl to place the "fish" in that he catch.

If you do not wish to play with water, you could create another set of "fish" using just coloured paper and paper clips to play with on dry land.

To make the whole fishing game more fun and tricky, you could add in "fish" without paper clips. This will be a great way for your kids to learn that some of the things are magnetic and some are not.

You don't have to go to a museum to get playful with science. Simple science activity like this will definitely keep your child busy for few hours. Science is everywhere once you start looking for opportunities to use it.

-Grace-

Science Experiments Vids

Science Lesson - Life Cycle of Butterfly

Here is a class of 5 year-olds learning about the the life cycle of a butterfly. The teacher is helping the children learn it by using hand gestures.

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