Using the Scientific Method with Kids

The scientific method is the basis for all research that’s done in science, and it’s how we go about doing experiments in the classroom or in the real world. You probably remember at least parts of it from your own school days, and it’s actually great to start using this process with kids even at a young age.

The basic parts of the scientific method are to make observations, come up with a question based on those observations, predict what you think will happen, experiment, record your results and draw conclusions, and share your results with others.

That sounds complicated, but introducing the scientific method can be as easy as telling kids about a project you’re going to try and asking what they think will happen and why. Then do the thing and talk about what happened and why.

This can be worked into projects as simple as blowing up a balloon, making slime or playdough at home, or any of the classic science experiments we all know and love.

If you want a project to walk through learning the scientific method for kids, Little Bins for Little Hands has a post all about it and an ice melting experiment you can use to practice the steps. There’s even a full set of scientific process printables you can use with all the steps laid out and explained, as well as sheets kids can use to write or draw their responses to the different steps.

Once you and they start thinking in terms of the scientific method when you do activities, this process will start to come quite naturally. Kids are naturally little scientists full of curiosity about the world around them, and using the scientific method to guide their inquiries is a great way to focus their attention and get them thinking scientifically.

Learn more at Little Bins for Little Hands.

[Image by info9srinivas from Pixabay]

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The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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