Children learn by doing, by trying new ideas and challenging old ones. This doesn't just happen in school. You can help your child learn by providing him with safe, interesting learning experiences in a supportive atmosphere.

The activities provided are intended for you to use with your child both at home and in the community. They are designed for you to have fun with your child while developing and reinforcing science skills.

These activities are intended to show your child that:

• Science plays a part in many everyday activities;
• Science is used in many places and environments;
• Learning science doesn't require expensive equipment and complicated experiments.

Recording Results

Keeping records is an important part of science. It helps us remember what did (and didn't) work.

• Before starting the activities, give your child a notebook—a science journal—in which she can record her observations.
• If your child cannot write yet, she can tell you what to write for her or draw pictures of what she sees.
• In addition, you may want to use a simple camera to help record observations.
• Remember that seeing isn't the only way to observe. Sometimes we use other senses: We hear, feel, smell or taste some things (of course, your child should be careful about what she tastes—and she shouldn't taste anything without your permission).

The Learning Process

As you go through these science activities with your child, keep the following in mind:

• As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can.
• That desire to learn is a key to your child's success.
• Of course, enjoyment is also an important motivator for learning.
• As you choose activities to use with your child, remember that helping him to learn doesn't mean that you can't laugh or that you have to be serious.
• You can teach your child a lot through play.

We hope that you and your child enjoy these activities and that they inspire you to think of additional activities of your own.

Please note: Throughout these activities, we refer to a child as "she" in some places and "he" in others. We do this to make the activities easier to read. Please understand, however, that every point that we make is the same for boys and girls.

U.S. Department of Education
Office of Communications and Outreach
Helping Your Child Learn Science
Washington, D.C., 2005