- The Willow Tree Children's Centre, Rotherham
'We bought a portable light box about six months ago which the children really enjoy using,' says lead teacher Paula Sadler. 'We have really been looking forward to the autumn when we can bring more things in from the garden to put on it.
'We have been using it for exploratory play. We bought some leaves from the local craft shop that had been stripped down to the veins and the children are interested in looking at leaves like that and at feathers - we have got some beautiful peacock feathers from the craft shop too.
'We use Perspex shapes on the box and you can create a prism effect as the colour of the light changes. We work with the shapes or we use strips of coloured acetate to build up colours. We also have some chunky glass beads and blocks of different colours.
'Normally the light box is on a table, but the children really enjoyed using it when it was on the floor. They liked to look at their own hands on it.
'One boy is intrigued by it and curious about how it works, and that when it is plugged in and switched on the light comes from underneath. That raises all sorts of issues like power and electricity.
'The children tend to make arrangements on top of the box, and we can take photographs of the arrangements, and they will get resources from around the nursery to try on it.
'I wouldn't be without my powerful magnet blocks. The children find them interesting and exciting, especially when the forces are repelling.
'They are too powerful to push together and the children have to problem-solve and switch them over so the opposite poles attract, and then the blocks snap into place.'
- Ashbrow infant and nursery school, Huddersfield
'The science resource I couldn't be without is our forest garden,' says science co-ordinator Helen Collier.
'We can go out and explore. The garden covers about three-quarters of an acre and has a pond, trees, a wild area, sensory garden and there is just so much to see and explore.
'We go out in all weathers so really I would say you can't be without a set of Wellingtons so you can splash about in the puddles and feel the mud.
'We had a kite-maker come in at the end of a topic on air and everyone made kites. There were some tears as it was a very windy day and one or two got broken. Quite frankly, a plastic bag and a length of ribbon would do.
'A lot of the science resources are things that we just have around the nursery like magnifiers. The children like looking at anything under the magnifiers so they bring in things from the garden or they will fetch things from the sensory table in the room. If we are cutting up fruit for snacks they like to look at the seeds through the magnifiers.
'I wouldn't be without our water and sand tray, as you can introduce features to take you off on different explorations. You can put a block of ice in the water tray or some gello or some colouring, and then see how the water changes.'
- Seagry Pre-School, Chippenham
'We bought a Let's Explore - Looking Closely Outdoors kit that the children adore,' says supervisor Sally Lewis.
'We have only got a small garden but every time they go outside they get the bug-finder out, and we look under the stepping stones in the garden and under the logs and see what we can find to inspect.
'They don't just put in bugs but they will examine daisies, grasses, anything they pick up and want to take a closer look at.
'We invested in a pair of RSPB children's sized binoculars. Children's toy binoculars are just not good enough as they struggle to see anything through them. We have a field and woodland behind us, so there are lots of things for them to look at through the binoculars. They can see quite a long distance and spot the birds in the trees.
'They are a nice size for small hands to hold with a good rubber grip. They go on a cord around the child's neck so they are not likely to drop them.
'The children like looking at each other through the binoculars, or just walking round the garden and looking at something through them, and then looking again without them to see the difference it makes.
'We have a set of magnetic letters, like the ones you put on a fridge, which are very popular. The children stick them on the table legs and then try putting them on the table-tops to see where they will stick and where they won't. I bought a proper magnet kit with all sorts of magnetic things in it, but the children always seem to go back to the letters.'
Resources checklist prepared with the help of Linda Thornton & Pat Brunton of education consultants alc associates (www.alcassociates.co.uk) and authors of Nursery World's series 'Science in the Foundation Stage' (available in our website archive. Search under 'Brunton')
CHECKLIST: BASIC RESOURCES
A windy day, an autumn leaf, a speeding trike can all provide the starting point for an exploration of science within the EYFS, making a neat list of essential science resources impossible to draw up.
Far easier if practitioners reflect on the broad scientific themes that can be discussed with young children and these include:
- forces
- light and shadow
- materials and their properties
- floating and sinking
- air - wind, how air moves
- water
- floating and sinking
- magnetism
- sound
- living things and life processes
- electricity.
However, there are some staple resources that settings will find invaluable as they put science under the 'microscope' and these include:
- magnifiers
- light box
- bar, ring and horseshoe magnets
- funnels, tubing and pipettes
- mirrors
- electricity kits
- colour paddles
- stethoscopes
- pulleys, wheels, ramps and levers (for exploring forces).
Magnifiers are a staple for early years exploration of science.
Young children find it easier to use freestanding magnifiers initially before moving on to hand-held ones. Packs of small plastic magnifiers are cheap, useful for exploring outdoors and readily available from early years suppliers.
But whatever the kind of magnifier you provide, make sure:
- the lens is of a high quality
- magnification is between 3x and 5x
- you show the childen how to use it effectively.
