This month at Grow ELC Killarney Vale has been jam packed with SCIENCE based activities! The whole centre has been engaging in experiences that encourages children to explore, hypothesise, wonder and learn. Some of the highlights for this month has been the commencement of our Beyond the Beanstalk stem programs. We have already done 2 programs out of the 10 we have booked in and they have been amazing so far.
On our first visit, the children participated in a program called “Where the Crystals Grow”. The children listened to a story about a fairy and her crystals through a super large electronic book. This story shared the concept of how crystals are created and made naturally. All the children loved this story and were asked revision questions about the story, which encouraged them to think and remember the information shared in the story. After the story, the children watched an experiment conducted by the Beanstalk ladies where they made instant crystals! It captured the children’s interest and then they each got to make their own crystal necklaces. How cool is that?!
Our second Beanstalk visit was called “The Hidden Garden”. This special program taught the children about the world’s water cycle, how storms and tornadoes are made, and how our garden grows. They were then given resources to make their very own little open-air terrariums which they absolutely loved making! Each child took home their terrarium to show their family, and to nurture and care for.
Following these two programs, we held SCIENCE WEEK at our centre! It was a great week with lots of fun and exciting experiments for the children to engage in. We made lava lamps and replicated how volcanos erupt using sand, bicarb soda and vinegar. We also did gravity painting, experiments with colours and more! It was a wonderful week where the children learnt to hypothesise, experiment and wonder. They also learnt concepts of the world around them, explored processes, and learnt to predict, observe, count and measure. There’s so much to learn through science! I wonder if we have any future scientist on our hands.
