A Lesson in Bonding and Growth

As parents, we strive to provide the best opportunities for our children's growth and development. While formal education begins later, the foundation for learning is laid in the early years. Curiosity is a natural trait in young children, and nurturing this curiosity by incorporating science into everyday life can foster a lifelong love for learning. From sunrise to bedtime, science is all around us, waiting to be explored and discovered together with your preschooler. Let's embark on a journey of embracing science in the little moments that make up our days. Nature's Wonders: Nature is a vast playground of scientific marvels, perfect for young explorers. Take a walk in the park, and encourage your child to notice the colours of flowers, shapes of leaves, and different animal sounds. Observe birds soaring high in the sky, and wonder together how they can fly. Engage in simple experiments like dropping leaves from various heights to understand gravity or catching raindrops. These playful interactions with nature will ignite their curiosity, fostering a sense of wonder and appreciation for the world around them. Kitchen Science Fun Your kitchen is a treasure trove of science experiments waiting to happen. Cooking with your little ones can be both fun and educational. Let them mix ingredients to learn about mixing and blending. Introduce basic concepts like hot and cold while cooking or baking, explaining how heat transforms food. Conduct simple kitchen experiments like observing what happens when you mix oil and water to teach about density and immiscibility. Not only will they enjoy the tasty outcomes, but they will also love learning and questioning along the way. Sensory Exploration The world is full of sensory experiences, each offering a unique lesson in science. Set up sensory play stations with water, sand, mud, or even a bin of rice. Let your child explore these materials using their hands and senses. Discuss the differences in texture, colour, and even temperature. Engage them in activities like blowing bubbles and observing how they float or experimenting with floating and sinking objects in water. Sensory play is not only a fun and messy activity but also an opportunity for them to understand scientific concepts in an interactive and memorable way. Science is not a subject confined to school textbooks; it is an integral part of our daily lives. Embracing science with your preschooler can be exciting and effortless. From observing the wonders of nature to conducting simple kitchen experiments and engaging in sensory play, you can provide endless opportunities for your child's scientific exploration. As they grow, these early experiences will lay a strong foundation for their future learning and encourage a lifelong curiosity about the world around them. Let's empower our little ones to become curious thinkers and lifelong learners through the wonders of science! 🚀🔍🌟

Yes! And here's why...

After International Women and Girls in Science day recently I've been thinking about this a lot

Now I’m not talking about some mechanical version of our much-loved honey producing insects, no. These are little programmable robots designed to look a bit like a cute bumble bee! I thought Dinky was Science? What’s robots got to do with it? Good question! Dinky aspires to cover the range of STEM topics which very much includes science, but you notice a healthy dose of maths and engineering in there too (the M and E). The T stands for technology, which in our weekly topics can be a bit harder to include… Cue the entrance of cute bee bots! Yes, these little characters are specifically designed for little hands and minds to use. They open up a world of screen-free, hands-on coding fun for our littlies! We know that screens are a part of our lives, I’m writing this using a screen, you are reading this using a screen. But screens allow us to access so much that it can be quite distracting – I don’t just mean for our kids. (Yes I fall down numerous rabbit holes when on a screen as I’m sure you’ve experienced too!) As well as the distraction we know that prolonged screen time for young children is not great for their eye sight, social interactions and general wellbeing. I’m rambling on a bit (!) I’m trying to say it’s great that these Bee Bots offer us screen free coding as a fun first taster. I bought these little cuties before lockdown and before I ever go to try them at Dinky, I found them invaluable during lockdown. We used them for all sorts of learning alongside coding and the best bit – the kids just thought they were playing having a great time! The Bee Bots first involvement in a Dinky session was this week for World Science Day and they were so popular with both kids and adults! This has really spurred me on to revive my ambition to start a pre-schoolers coding course. Would you be interested? I have a 6-week course mapped out where we build the kids coding skills week on week. This would be aimed at 3+ years for the kids to get the most out of it. Tell me if you’re interested and when you’d want the course to run so I can get it in my 2023 plan asap!

Love it or hate it, hear me out!

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” Confucius

Firstly, a personal welcome from me. If you don’t spot me immediately, don’t worry it’s likely I’ll be fetching water from the kitchen or I might be crouched down chatting to one of the children. As soon as I see you I’ll be over 😊 I’ll introduce myself to your child so that they know my name and to start building engagement. I’ll explain to you how the session format works before inviting you to explore the free play station if you wish or find a spot to sit ready for the experiments. So, what is the session format then? 1. Arrival and welcome . Everybody is getting settled, free play is available, and I invite the children to help me set out the equipment for our experiments. 2. Introduce the topic . I’ll encourage everyone to find a seat at a table and tray before introducing our topic for the week. The topic changes each week, meaning that we explore two new experiments each week. 3. First experiment . I guide the group through the experiment, asking age-appropriate questions and encouraging them to ask me questions too. 4. Second experiment . If there is going to be a messy experiment I try and do it second… but sometimes they are both messy! As per the first one I guide the group through the experiment. 5. Tidy up . As it sounds! I also encourage children to help with pouring into my “slop” bucket which is often a favourite! 6. Story time . I read a story that fits in with our topic. It’s a chance for us all to calm down after the excitement. 7. Thank you and close . I’ll let the group know what have planned for next week and also keep everyone updated about term dates and booking for future places. Dinky is a friendly and relaxed place to spend time with your child. Listing out all the parts of the session makes it sound rigid, when it really is not! It’s fluid and interactive all the way through. I’m always asking questions and encouraging the children to contribute so when they do, I will acknowledge and include it in the session. As you might imagine this can lead to some very random conversations – we’ve paused many a time to appreciate a cement mixer passing by or to notice a spider weaving its web. But what’s important to Dinky is that the children feel it’s their session and they are truly involved in the science. Children are welcome to contribute at any point through the session. To help build the children’s confidence and engagement in the sessions I make sure every child receives lots of personalised positive reinforcement and praise for investigating in their own way, having a go – even if it doesn’t work out, and asking and answering questions. No question is considered silly here! I also want you to feel relaxed and enjoy the time you spend with your child at Dinky. So, if your child needs a brain break at any time, or if the experiment doesn’t interest them, they can go for a play at the free-play station. If you need to go with them to supervise that’s fine, or if you want to stay and continue the experiment so that they can join in again when they are ready, that’s fine too. Sometimes the children like to do their own version of the experiment rather than follow my guidance, and as long as it’s safe to do so, that’s fine too. You know your child best so I will follow your lead on how much to encourage them to participate in the experiments. Dinky is passionate about making sure its venues are accessible and with great facilities. You’ll find level access for wheelchairs and pushchairs, as well as modern and clean baby change, disabled toilet and facilities. I also welcome anyone with special needs; get in touch with me before attending so that I know what support I can put in place. The experiments are mostly table top based which makes this a great group for those less able to sit or play at floor level. Finally, let’s not forget about the experiments! Dinky provides age-appropriate experiments in a fun and relatable way. I use stories, role play, challenges and “cool tricks” to present the experiments in an exciting way. I always try to relate the science we are investigating to something they will have experienced in day-to-day life, or to a familiar character. For example, relating melting of ice with the character Olaf from Frozen.  It's fun for the adults too! This is a class where you might find yourself learning alongside your child and having a blast too! You certainly do not need to be a science expert to bring your child to Dinky. Everyone welcome :D

What if my child is not great at listening? Or can’t sit still? I’m worried they’ll disrupt everyone.