Ms.

Kushnars

Discovery
Corner

November 26, 2012

Activities:

Science and Health Activities

Dear Family,

Icky Slime!
I Scream for
Ice Cream!
Nature
Scavenger
Hunt!
Move It!
Healthy Foods!

We love science and

health so much in our
kindergarten classroom
that we wanted to share
some of our favorite
activities with you!

Thats Me!

The Students of Ms.

Kushnars Kindergarten
Class

Discovery Corner

Ms. Kushnar

Dear Parents and/or Guardians,

Kindergarten is an important time for discovery. Children at this age are
natural scientists, curious about everything around them and wanting to learn more.
It is our job as the parents, guardians, and teachers to fulfill that curiosity with
activities so they can learn about and discover the world around them. Science and
health exploration can be easily integrated into daily play and other daily activities.
The six activities in this newsletter are just a glimpse of the possibilities.
The curriculum for kindergarten is centered more around the five
developmental domains physical, cognitive, language, spiritual, and socialemotional rather than a full focus on academics. Science and health can be
designed to focus on different domains for the children. For example, science
experiments are more cognitive and language oriented while health activities focus
more on physical development. Through the incorporation of science and health
both in and out of the classroom, childrens minds continue to develop through their
curiosity and questioning.
With the rise of childhood obesity today, it is crucial that health topics, habits,
and skills are part of the daily routines for these children. Science at this age needs to
be hands-on and full of inquiry and discovery. If science is presented in this way, the
children will become excited about science and start getting prepared for STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) in the upper grades as they progress
through school. Introducing science and health topics at such an early age shows
children that it isnt scary and that their decisions now affect the world of tomorrow.
Science and health are easily accessible for children through many different
means. Television is loaded with shows such as Sid the Science Kid on PBSKids and
Little Einsteins on Disney Junior that teach children without realizing it. Through
seeing and experiencing the world around them, ideas are sparked within their
developing minds.
Keep exploring and fulfilling your childs curious mind with knowledge!
Ms. Kushnar
2

Ms. Kushnar

Discovery Corner

Materials:
Clear Glue
Liquid Starch
Food Coloring
Measuring Cups
Bowl

Questions to Get
Your Children
Thinking
What did it feel
like?
How did
everything mix
together to
become slime?

Instructions:
Mix 1 cups clear glue with 1 cups liquid starch.
Separate into bowls (the number of bowls depends on
how many colors you want to make) and add a FEW
drops of food coloring. You may need to mix it with
your hands to get the desired texture. When the food
coloring is completely mixed in, let your child explore!

ADAPTATION:
To make the activity beneficial to students with fine
motor skill disabilities, add objects to the slime to have
them grasp and pull out. Also, have the child mix it
once the food coloring is incorporated.

Discovery Corner

Questions to Get
Your Children
Thinking
How did the
liquid become a
solid?
How did
everything mix
together to
become ice
cream?

Ms. Kushnar

Materials:
Milk
Sugar
Vanilla
Ziploc bag
Salt
Ice
Coffee can

Instructions:
Pour 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon
vanilla into the Ziploc bag. MAKE SURE THE BAG IS
SEALED TIGHTLY! Fill the coffee can halfway with ice
and add 1 tablespoon salt. Put the bag of liquid into
the coffee can. Roll the can back and forth on the
floor with your child (or whole family!) for around 15
minutes. Presto! You now have a delicious science
experiment to eat!
This can also double as a math measuring activity!
Have your child measure the ingredients with you so
they can learn measurements.

ADAPTATION:
If the child is in a wheelchair, roll the can on a table
instead of the floor.

Ms. Kushnar

Discovery Corner

Questions to Get
Your Children
Thinking
Are there
different things
that can count
as more than
one thing on the
list?
Can you find
everything on
the list all the
time during the
year?

Instructions:
Go outside with your child. Give them a copy of this list
(found at http://www.parents.com/blogs/homeschoolden/2012/03/09/nature/nature-scavenger-hunt/) and
have them find the items on the list, asking questions
along the way to fulfill their curiosity. Instead of picking
up the items and taking them from nature, take
pictures of the items with a digital camera. This also
keeps children safe because the item may be
poisonous. TELL YOUR CHILD IF IT IS OKAY TO TOUCH THE
ITEM. The child can explore with their senses and discuss
it while on the scavenger hunt. It also provides family
bonding time!
ADAPTATION:
Move the scavenger hunt to a safe location, free of tree
roots and other natural debris for students in
wheelchairs.
5

Discovery Corner

Ms. Kushnar

MOVE IT!
Materials:
Plastic Cups
Lots of Space
Stethoscope (if available)

Questions to Get
Your Children
Thinking
What does you
heart feel like
before you play?
Did your heart
change after you
played?
What did it feel
like after you
played?
Why did it
change?
6

Instructions:
Have children feel their heartbeats before going and
playing outside. Also, have them press a plastic cup or
use a stethoscope on your chest to hear a heart
beating. (If you have access to a stethoscope, they
can hear their heartbeat as well.) Play with them for
about twenty minutes. Have them stop and feel their
hearts as well as use the cups or stethoscopes to hear
the heartbeats. Something has changed!

ADAPTATION:
Go to a handicapped accessible park. Perform
activities and exercises given to aid in gross motor
development and/or muscle training for children
with motor disabilities.

Ms. Kushnar

Discovery Corner

Healthy Foods
Materials:
Variety of Foods
Plates with labels of food groups
Knives and other utensils

Questions to Get
Your Children
Thinking
What does it
mean to be
healthy?
Why are some
foods bad for
you?
What will happen
if you eat all bad
things?
Is it okay to have
bad food
sometimes?

Instructions:
Have children help you make a snack. Have a variety
of foods, both healthy and unhealthy on the counter.
Explain to your child what makes a food healthy or
unhealthy. This website is a great resource for teaching
children about healthy eating:
(http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/go_slow_
whoa.html) Children will have to sort the foods based
on if they are healthy or unhealthy.
After they are done sorting, they get to choose two or
three items from the healthy group for everyone to eat
as a snack.

ADAPTATION:
For sorting, have pretend food in addition to real
food so the children can have a better grasp on it.
WARNING: BE CAREFUL OF FOOD ALLERGIES.

Discovery Corner

Ms. Kushnar

Thats Me!
Materials:
Butcher Paper
Art Supplies
Cut outs of major body organs (heart,
brain, lungs, stomach)

Questions to Get
Your Children
Thinking
Why cant we
see some of our
body parts?
Does everyone
have the same
size body parts?

Instructions:
Trace your childs body and have them tell
you about their body parts (ie, what they do).
Have them color the parts of their body the
way it is on them so they can see what they
look like. Also, the cutouts of major body
organs such as the brain and heart can be
placed on the drawing to show location
since we cant actually see them.
ADAPTATION:
Have larger crayons and art supplies for fine
motor development.

Ms. Kushnar

Discovery Corner

Further Resources for Curious Minds!

Pbskids.org

Brainpop.com

Kids.discovery.com

Kids.nationalgeographic.com

Carnegie Science Center - carnegiesciencecenter.org

Exploratorium.edu

Kidshealth.org

Resources for Parent Letter

Making the Most of Kindergarten Trends and Policy Issues Sharon L. Kagan &
Kristie Kauerz. NAEYC Article

edu.searcheric.org/science-education.html

school.familyeducation.com/kindergarten/science/38486.html