Preschoolers conduct a ball study

 

Measuring the circumference of the football with tape

 When choosing what to study in preschool, following children's interests tops our list!  When children are allowed to pursue knowledge related to things that are interesting and relevant to their lives, they, just like adults, stay focused and can get so much more out of the process.

The Sycamore Preschool is currently doing a study of balls-- footballs, baseballs, basketballs, soccer balls and more.  In this activity, they are considering the sizes of each of the balls.


Comparing the circumference of each ball

 Children talked about the idea of circumference, or how big around each of the balls were.  They used colored tape to "measure" around each one.  Then, they lined up their tape measurements to compare which ball had the largest circumference, and which ball had the smallest circumference and which were in between. 

When children explore a concept like circumference in early childhood, it deepens their understanding of it when they learn this concept more formally in the upper elementary grades.  Compared to children who haven't had this experience, these preschool children will "get it" much more intuitively.


Children line up the balls in order of size

After measuring the circumference, the children lined up the balls in order of size (a math skill called "seriation.") 

In this process, children have the opportunity to talk about "big, bigger, biggest," and "small, smaller, smallest."  In addition, they have the opportunity to use their social-emotional skills to discuss their opinions and ideas about where each ball fits on the continuum, and solve such problems as the best way to measure the circumference of a football-- around the middle or across the ends?

How can you support this learning at home? Watch your child at play.  What is she interested in?  Ask your child, "what do you wonder about that?" Sometimes we have to demonstrate intentional curiosity by posing our own questions.  For example, if your child is thrilled to find an interesting nest of ants on the sidewalk, you can pose your own questions.  "I wonder why the ants are all gathered here on the sidewalk? I wonder what they are doing?"  It's likely that your child will have some ideas, maybe even silly ones, to offer.  Instead of just telling your child the answer, or discrediting his theory, spend some time just observing the ants.  Or even ask your child, "I wonder how we could find out?" Being curious with your child helps them understand that they can be in charge of their own learning.  They can be researchers who found out the answers to their own questions.  The intellectual pursuit of knowledge was never so interesting!