‘How does your garden grow?’ Teaching preschool children about the environment

Abstract

Raising consciousness about the environment and learning ways to care for our planet are important for all citizens of the world. Young children are particularly receptive to learning new concepts; thus the preschool years are an ideal time to teach lessons about the environment. It is often the case that the information learned when children are young stays with them as they move into older childhood, adolescence and adulthood. This is particularly true when those lessons are reinforced, and when children have an opportunity to be actively engaged in their learning. This project focused on teaching preschool children about metamorphosis, plant growth, recycling and littering. Eighteen children at a preschool in Pennsylvania participated in a series of lessons and activities. Before beginning the lessons, children were given a short pretest to gauge their knowledge about the topics. A post-test was given after the lessons were completed. For all concepts taught, the children's knowledge increased.

Science in the Preschool Classroom: A Programmatic Research Agenda to Improve Science Readiness

“…A substantial body of literature describes best practices for providing quality science in early childhood classrooms (e.g., Barnett, VanDerHeyden, & Witt, 2007;Chen & McNamee, 2007;Holt, 1989;Kamii & DeVries, 1993;Lehr, 2005;Moomaw & Hieronymus, 1997;Rivera, 1998;Tu, 2006;Witt & Kimple, 2008; 240 GREENFIELD ET AL. Yoon & Onchwari, 2006).…”

Examining the Value Perceptions of Preschool Children According to Their Drawings and Verbal Expressions: Sample of Responsibility Value

“…Büyüme ve sosyalleşme sürecinde çocuklar, işittikleri, deneyimleri ve toplumun yansıttıklarından yola çıkarak kendi ahlaki ve etik temellerini oluştururlar (Veisson ve Kuurme (2010) aktaran Ülavare ve Veisson, 2015). Çocukluk yılları yeni kavramların çocuklara kazandırılmasında en güçlü dönemdir (Witt ve Kimple, 2008), bu yüzden kişiliğin temellerinin oluştuğu okul öncesi yıllar çocuklara değerler eğitimi vermek için en uygun dönemdir.…”

3Hs Education: Examining hands-on, heads-on and hearts-on early childhood science education

“…(p. 319) In the current study, the teachers had hidden curriculum objectives in their minds, and when they saw an opportunity to teach they started working on it. For example, Witt and Kimple (2008) indicate that Raising consciousness about the environment and learning ways to care for our planet are important for all citizens of the world. Young children are particularly receptive to learning new concepts; thus the preschool years are an ideal time to teach lessons about the environment.…”