4 safety tips for children exploring science through practice

On the morning of April 4, at 19/5 Kindergarten, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, professional cluster 5 held a district-level training session on "Organizing scientific discovery activities through practice and experience for preschool children".

Children 3-4 years old practice experimenting with mixing color into filtered water, observing the color change of the water, teacher Nguyen Thi Tam guides

Other preschool teachers observe children's science exploration activities to learn from their experiences.

PHOTO: PHUONG HA

Here, 3 educational activities were organized by teachers of 19/5 Kindergarten, District 7, including: letting children practice experiments (3-4 year olds); integrating STEM education (4-5 year olds) and exploring natural phenomena: the moon (5-6 year olds). Management staff and teachers of preschools observed the activities of teachers and children, thereby sharing experiences and appropriate and optimal educational methods.

Ms. Vuong Thanh Phuong Thuy, Principal of 19/5 Kindergarten, said that the school's experience is that since the beginning of the school year, it has provided specialized training for teachers, developed many scientific discovery activities, and helped teachers improve their knowledge of methods for organizing scientific discovery activities through hands-on experiences for children. Teachers need to ask themselves: Does this activity help children develop their curiosity and creativity, does it help children want to explore the world around them and acquire knowledge?

5-6 year old children in the activity of exploring natural phenomena: the moon, class organized by Ms. Vu Thi Bich Thuan

PHOTO: PHUONG HA

The school sets out four basic principles to ensure absolute safety for children when exploring science through practice and experience:

1. Build a safe educational environment, free of dangerous objects, and equipment and experimental tools must be thoroughly inspected before use.
   
2. Only use educational equipment that is appropriate for the child's age, ensuring ease of use and safety when organizing activities. Scientific exploration content should be selected that is practical and related to the child's daily life, from the environment where educational activities are organized, allowing children to observe and practice materials and experiences such as trees, animals, soil, water, sand, gravel, etc. This helps children easily accumulate experience, create knowledge and apply it to solve real-life situations naturally.
   
3. For children to explore science effectively, they will need to directly use their senses to perceive the world around them, then they will have a deeper understanding of simple scientific concepts.
   
4. Scientific knowledge needs to be explained to children by preschool teachers in precise and simple words, not too advanced for children, linked to visualization and only explained when the phenomenon is taking place through implementation.
   

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Kieu Trang integrates STEM education (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) for 4-5 year old children.

PHOTO: PHUONG HA

Good implementation, contributing to improving the effectiveness of children's education

Activities for preschool children to explore science through practice and experience are a process of purposeful and planned arrangement by teachers. This creates many opportunities for children to apply a group of practice and experience methods, using their senses to actively explore, discover, and discover new and hidden things about surrounding objects and phenomena through specific, practical actions and accumulate knowledge and skills. From there, attitudes appropriate to children's needs, abilities and interests are formed.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Cam Hong, an expert from the Department of Education and Training of District 7, said that with the viewpoint of taking preschool children as the center, activities organized for children to explore science through experiences need to be organized safely, lively, and attractive to children. Activities are built to suit each age group, closely following the Preschool Education Program of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Ms. Vuong Thanh Phuong Thuy, the school's principal, said that when activities for children to explore science through practice and experience are organized effectively, it will contribute to improving the quality of preschool education.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/4-chu-y-an-toan-khi-tre-kham-pha-khoa-hoc-qua-thuc-hanh-185250404221551679.htm