Janelle Durham

Fifteen Minute Focus for 4’s

For the past ten years, I have taught play-based STEM classes for 3 – 8 year olds, where we set up stations (including crafts, experiments, sensory bin and water table, pretend play, block play, and more) and the children have lots of “free choice” time and brief group times to teach the big idea of the day.

This year, I’m trying out a new format for STEM learning. At one of the preschools I work with, they have a play-based morning but then after lunch, they have “Dino Time” which is a 30 minute session for four year olds, where the goal is to “practice for kindergarten” by all focusing on the same learning activity at the same time. One day a week, I’m offering Science Friday, which is a 15 – 30 minute focus. I will try to incorporate some math, literacy and art work in with the STEM learning. I do this with a group of 6 – 8 children. You might need to adapt it for a larger group. I’ll share my lesson plans as the year goes on.

  • Scientific Method, Sink and Float
  • Apples and Peaches. Compare and contrast two different fruits.
  • Farm Animal Science. Learn about farm animals, sounds, relative sizes.
  • Footprints on the Farm. Learn about animal footprints. What is one difference between mammals and birds?
  • Spiders! Learn about spiders, and do a spider craft that is a great scissor practice activity.
  • Bats! Learn about bats, and do a craft project with lots of glue practice, plus a silly book.
  • Northwest Native Plants. Learn a song with gestures that makes it easy to remember 8 types of plants, then learn more about them and do a craft.
  • Towers. Demonstrate some core ideas about how to build a stable structure.
  • Wind. What will blow in the wind? What won’t blow? Test your predictions.
  • Flight. Learn how shape affects aerodynamics. Make a paper helicopter.
  • Going on a Bear Hunt. Make binoculars and scenery for a pretend hunt.
  • Bear Snores On – a sequencing activity. Read the story, then put events in order.
  • Snowflakes – learn about snowflakes and create drawings with radial symmetry.
  • Shape Snowmen – talk about shapes, learn how to trace three circles to make a snowman.
  • Magnet Exploration. Learn about how magnets attract and repel.
  • Shadow Puppets – learn how light plus an object makes a shadow.
  • States of Matter – learn the concept, then melt the ice to free the treasures
  • Chemistry Reactions – mix up lots of fun in a water bottle for a demo
  • Rainbow Color Mixing – learn how to use watercolor palettes
  • Sound Vibrations – learn about sound and make a craft stick harmonica
  • Inventors – learn that inventors want to solve problems in creative ways, then draw an invention
  • Joints Experiment – what would it be like if your finger and thumb didn’t bend?
  • Insects – learn about insect body parts and how to draw a beetle
  • Eggs – learn about all the creatures that hatch from eggs, and make an egg craft
  • Ocean Watercolor Resist – learn to draw sea creatures with oil pastels, then paint on watercolor and sprinkle on salt

photo credit: Old South Preschool, marked as Creative Commons

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