With preschool science - a lot of the concepts and ideas that we consider to be scientific are far too advanced for children of this age instead it's looking more into scientific process, investigation and what happens to the world around them. One area though that is good to go into more depth with preschool children is that of materials, it's something that they can touch and as you explore different materials you can look at the properties and work on developing vocabulary as you do. This weeks #playfulpreschool theme is all about Balls and we're investigating what makes balls bounce.
Materials Need for investigating what makes balls bounce
Balls of different sizes, shapes, materials - as many as you want to investigate
- To conduct an experiment fairly
- Discuss and extend vocabulary about different types of materials and their Bouncy Property
Investigating What makes balls bounce
I made sure that within our bucket of balls I had some balls like wooden beads that I knew wouldn't bounce as well as some balls like our soccer ball that would so it would be a fairy experiment.
As we went through testing the different balls we used "Very Bouncy", "Not Bouncy", "Some Bounce" as our criteria and then looked at the balls.
When a ball didn't bounce we tried to identify what the material was that it was made of first - wood in the case of our none bouncy ball, then found words to describe it - hard, heavy, solid
With our "some bouncy" balls - the ball pit balls, they were light, hollow, made from plastic that was almost see through but not like a window.
When it came to our "very bouncy" balls - they were made from rubber or plastic, some were hollow and some were solid, they were lighter than the wood but they weren't as light as the some bouncy balls.
I also did this with my older elementary age child as he has been studying properties of materials as part of his science work - with him we recorded the data getting him to create a table to contain the data, write titles and then record what was going on as he tested each ball.
Try these other easy Science Experiments to do at Home
More Ball themed Activities
Ball Themed Alphabet Kick the Cup - from Mom Inspired Life
Teaching Word Families with Ping Pong Balls - from Fun a Day
Language activities for preschoolers preposition fun - Growing Book by Book
Ball Jar Numbers - A Number Recognition Preschool Activity - Learning 2 Walk
Fine Motor - Ball Colour Sorting - Still Playing School
Rhymes with Ball ending words sounds game - Capri +3
3 Easy Maths Activities to do with Balls - The Educators' Spin On It