To be able to develop a scientific understanding of common place events around us it is essential that children understand the basic concepts behind them. In order to do so they need to be taught a few fundamental basics across a multitude of scientific topics. Don’t worry about some topics or concepts being out of their grasp, once you begin teaching them, it will amaze you how quickly they pick up complex concepts. It all comes down to what you share with them and how you do it. Here are a few simple topics that you can begin with.
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Build that Base
At an elementary level there is no need to go into too many details. Let them learn a few basic concepts. Simple scientific principles related to forces in motion can be a great way to start. Do some pulling and pushing activities, even drop a ball to show them how gravitational forces work. Move on to energy based forces like cars and the fuel that makes them go.
Introduce kinetic and potential energy, pulleys, pendulums, maybe even magnets. Talk about friction and its effect on the energy based force. Soon they will be able to identify different types of forces being exerted and energy being utilized. You can even make a game of identifying the energy types around you as you take a walk in the park.
Get more on that Foundation
Most kids love the invisible attraction of magnets, so its a fairly interesting topic to deal with. Get out a compass, a few magnets in different shapes and sizes and some iron made things and begin the experimentation process. First you show them a few tricks and then hand over the tools to them to have some fun. As they find different ways to pull stuff or repel stuff with the magnets keep talking about why it happens. The theory becomes part of the practical and their understanding of magnetism improves.
If they are bored with magnets you may even move on to electrical circuits. Of course you have to be very very careful about what they can and can not do. Make sure you have a talk on safety rules about electricity before you begin work on circuits. These will also demonstrate more scientific principles related to electricity to them.
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