Unschooling a Preschooler {Science}

I recently wrote about how we’ve decided against sending our oldest to preschool even though there’s a highly-recommended one just across the street from us. That was the introductory post to a series that I am doing on how exactly my preschooler is learning at home.

In all of my research on education over the last several years, I have been most attracted to the unschooling/eclectic/interest-led approach to learning. While unschooling really starts from birth, this series is more to answer the critics who ask how my child will learn “the essentials” (whatever they may think those are) if I don’t send him to school (or replicate the traditional school model at home).

I want to show that a child who is left to discover and explore the world by following their passion and interest will be well educated and knowledgeable by adulthood. It is our hope and belief that he will be fully equipped for a successful life and career in whatever field he may choose, and he will never lose that passion for learning that is so precious in these young beginner years of which I am in the midst.

In this series I plan to go through a variety of traditional school subjects post by post and show how learning opportunities in those areas are happening organically and naturally through play and living our day-to-day life. Your child is learning every day, no matter what you’re doing or not doing.

To kickstart the series I want to talk about science. My preschooler doesn’t even know the word “science”, but he sure does love it!

General Categories of Science

The main science categories are usually as follows:

• Chemistry
• Life Science & Biology
• Earth & Space Science
• Physical Science & Physics
• Technology

Examples of Natural Learning Opportunities

Today we acquired (second-hand) a tunnel/volcano combo that attaches to Isaac’s train tracks. It basically looks like a mountain with a tunnel in the bottom and red lava coming out the top. Isaac was naturally curious about what the red stuff was, since he has not yet learned anything about volcanoes. I explained that it was called lava, which is like fire, which led to a google search for volcanoes, which led to watching a video of  volcano erupting, and a viewing some photos. He observed that the lava was giving light like the sun, which of course led to a discussion about how the sun is actually made out of fire. Boy, were his eyes wide and curious after all of this!

{Earth Science for a 3-year-old? Check.}

Other examples include…

• Using baking soda and vinegar to help Mommy clean and noticing the fizzy reaction between the two (Chemistry)
• Like most kids, he loves animals, and has been learning about them since infancy (Life Science)
• Playing in the dirt outside is probably his all-time favourite activity (Earth Science)
• Seeing blood come from a cut on his finger leads to a discussion about what’s inside our bodies and how they work (Biology)
• Learning the correct terms for his own body parts while dressing and bathing (Human Anatomy)
• Simply being outside to observe and interact with the dirt, sky, plants, and animals (Earth Science)
• Setting up a track off the couch for his cars to roll down and observing the effects of gravity (Physics)
• Using lego to construct a house (Technology and Engineering)
• Helping in the kitchen and asking questions about how food is cooked on the stove (Energy & Chemistry)
• Helping with laundry, and noticing that the clothes out of the dryer are warm, asking why (Technology and Energy)
• Playing with fridge magnets and noticing that they also stick to the stove, asking why (Physical Science)
• When we go on an elevator and he asks how it works I can explain about levers and pulleys (Physics)
• When we go outside and see a dark cloud and it starts to rain (Earth & Environmental Science)

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but that’s really exactly the point. The simple day-to-day living as well as the special outings and trips to places like the zoo or the science centre are all ways that my preschooler will be exposed to the basic foundations of science.

Watching my child soak in these moments and learn is a fascinating and exciting privilege. His brain often seems to be going a mile a minute, and it is truly a wonder to see him be so excited about learning.

How does your preschooler learn science? Can you think of any more natural real-world opportunities?