Introducing Science Education in Early Childhood

The increasing focus on literacy development and kindergarten readiness in preschool has created a lack of science education in early childhood education. In recent research, Head Start found that of the four academic readiness domains for preschoolers (i.e., language, literacy, math, and science), science is the lowest-performing area amongst students in their program (Bustamante, White, & Greenfield, 2018). Research is showing that declining performance in science is partly due to the lack of science education in classrooms. Lack of science is not only affecting school performance down the road, but it also limits children in receiving the benefits of early science education. Children can benefit from early science education because it teaches STEM skills, new approaches to learning, and environmental stewardship. To address the lack of science instruction in preschool education, I created a 2-session curriculum about the water cycle and storm drain pollution for Ms. Kelly\u27s class of 4 to 5-year-olds at the Hollister Presbyterian Cooperative Preschool in Hollister, California. Keyword