Can a Toddler truly be taught Science? Absolutely! The key is doing it at their level of development. Toddlers are little sponges and are soaking in everything through all of their senses. So, for our little Science lesson, I wanted to show my daughter Cause and Effect, Imagination Skills and show her the effects of Static Electricity. She absolutely loved it! Here is what we did, feel free to try it and comment how it went for you and your Toddler.
Supplies:
Scissors, Glue, Popscicle Stick, Card Stock Paper, Tissue Paper, flat cardboard, Balloon and your Toddler!
First Step
Take your card stock paper and your tissue paper. Cut two hearts out, make sure they’re around the same size. These will be the wings of your butterfly.
Second Step
You will have better results if you use a glue gun, but if you don’t have one, Elmer’s glue should work too! Take your hearts and glue them onto the popsicle stick.
Third Step
Place the butterfly onto your cardboard paper (I used a mat cube).
Fourth Step
Blow up the balloon and start rubbing your Toddler’s head. Tell your Toddler that you are creating electricity. Use descriptive words and explain the process to them.
Fifth Step
Hover the balloon over the butterfly and watch the tissue paper rise. Let your Toddler know that their static is causing the butterfly to flap its wings!
Sixth Step
Ask your Toddler to start blowing as hard as they can. Have them get really close to the butterfly’s wings.
Now watch their amazement as the wings catch the air draft and rise up slowly. Repeat, repeat, repeat! Toddlers thrive on repetition!
We had so much fun doing this activity! Expect your Toddler to get over stimulated or frustrated, that’s normal. Just reassure them to keep trying. Once they see just how this Science activity works, they will be excited to keep going!
Learning Points
Cause/Effect
Hand/Eye coordination
Patience
Motor Skills
Vocabulary Words
Balloon
Butterfly
Wings
Flapping
Static
Fun
Popsicle Stick
Tissue Paper
Card Stock
Glue
Share and comment below, make sure to see our video for this project on Instagram and share with a friend.
