This is a simple and safe activity for the science center for exploring electronics and how they work.
I bought a simple, inexpensive flashlight, took it apart, and placed it on the science shelf. Children put it back together like a puzzle through trial and error. Once they get all the pieces together correctly, the flashlight will turn on!
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I loved the science ideas and will use them in my classroom! Thanks!!!
I have just been looking through some of my books and the net trying to locate some science experiments to do with my three year old daughter. I was delighted to stop by here and see your great ideas. i really like the idea of trial and error with the flashlight.
This is an idea withe simple science experiments! Great blog!
I put out the flashlight activity today. I had a very small class because so many are out sick. Of course I am sorry that the kids are out sick, but the few of us that were there had such a great day. You can be so much more flexible with a small group! Anyway, after they very easily put the flashlights together, they took them to the puppet center, turned off the lights, and put on a shadow show. I loved their creativity!
what an awesome idea, I LOVE IT!!!!
very simple and lots of fun for them 🙂
thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Awesome ideas! It is always good to see what other teachers are doing out in the field.Thank you
How often do you change out your centers especially your science center and your sensory table?
Amy, I don’t have any set schedule for changing out the centers. As long as they are interested in something, I leave it there. If I see their interest waning, I change it. Typically, a sensory table might stay for about 2 weeks. In the science center, some things might stay 2 weeks, some might stay a month, but I have at least 4-5 different activities on the science shelf at a time. In the math & literacy center, I make sure I have some items related to whatever I’ve recently introduced, say if it’s patterns, I have materials for making patterns, but there are also counting activities, sorting, sizes, etc.
What would be a good PK science project using a poster?
Thanks
I need to make a 4 year old learning center. Every idea I have come up with the teacher says be more creative. She says she wants to see something she has never seen before. I am lost………. can someone give me an idea.
Thanks
JD
This is a great idea! Are there any other kid-safe and kid-accessible gadgets that kids can take apart and put together besides a flashlight?
When you do these types of activities how do you manage it? For instance, is the expectation that they put it together and then take it apart for the next person? Or are you working with them? Do the kids come back after the have done it once? I’m just curious. All of my center activities are open ended so I wouldn’t have any clue how to incorporate one with a final task! 😳 Thank you!
It’s not something that I manage, really, and there’s not a set expectation. I just let them put it together and take it apart as they choose. If one person leaves it put together then someone else can come along and take it apart. I set it up as shown and introduce it to the children, then it’s theirs to use without me regulating it.