As a techie whose planning on retiring as a teacher, I just finished my teaching of science class in a masters program and I have to say that many people in the comments are missing the boat. There is so much opportunity for learning science concepts and more importantly 'doing' science at a young age. But rather than just take my word for it, check out the K-2 Science Standards at both the National Level and in your state: http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/6a.html
There's many inquiry-based, standard-based programs that you can tap into as a teacher or parent. One, such as fossweb, has a kindergarten module called Animals Two By Two. Most people are like WTF, why 2 by 2. But for kindergarteners, having two of the same animal side by side helps them in developing skills such as compare and contrast, asking questions, observation, and a little bit of analysis as well. That's just one example and there are many, just look for stuff that's standard's compliant and hands-on rather than the old science facts memorization lessons that left so many people so dumb.
Slashdot Mirror
As a techie whose planning on retiring as a teacher, I just finished my teaching of science class in a masters program and I have to say that many people in the comments are missing the boat. There is so much opportunity for learning science concepts and more importantly 'doing' science at a young age. But rather than just take my word for it, check out the K-2 Science Standards at both the National Level and in your state: http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/6a.html There's many inquiry-based, standard-based programs that you can tap into as a teacher or parent. One, such as fossweb, has a kindergarten module called Animals Two By Two. Most people are like WTF, why 2 by 2. But for kindergarteners, having two of the same animal side by side helps them in developing skills such as compare and contrast, asking questions, observation, and a little bit of analysis as well. That's just one example and there are many, just look for stuff that's standard's compliant and hands-on rather than the old science facts memorization lessons that left so many people so dumb.