Teachers adjust experiences to the developmental level of the children. In infant and toddler settings, explorations focus on children's senses and teachers help describe the experiences. With 3- and 4-year-olds, teacher-child conversations begin to focus on why things are happening, and children look for patterns across many related experiences as evidence for their ideas. As children get older, their capacity to communicate their explorations and think analytically about what they observe increases. They record their findings in science journals and use simple math processes as they collect data.For all ages it is important for the teacher to encourage and support problem solving. The following classroom vignette illustrates both the content and process of science, as well as the essential relationship between experience and conversation. Excerpted from Spotlight on Young Children: Exploring Science by Amy Shillady All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
