Your Child Will Learn
Making predictions and conducting a simple experiment
Here’s What to Do
- Invite your child to draw with markers or chalk on a piece of paper.
- Fill a spray bottle with water, and ask your child to predict what will happen when you spray water on their picture. (Instead of a spray bottle, you can also use an eye dropper or medicine syringe, or a wet paper towel- squeeze the towel until it drips).
- Let your child spray water on the picture and watch what happens.
- Talk about what you see. Was their prediction correct?
Put PEER Into Action
PAUSE
- Close your eyes and use your finger to paint an imaginary painting in the air.
ENGAGE
- “What do you think will happen when we spray water on your picture?”
- “What do you notice? How do the colors move? How do the colors look different than before?”
ENCOURAGE
- If your child needs help making observations, offer one of your own first as an example. Like: “I noticed how the blue part here turned fuzzy. What do you see?”
- “It’s okay that your guess wasn’t right. That’s how scientists learn, testing out their ideas and finding out if they’re right or wrong.”
REFLECT
- “Did anything about this experiment surprise you?”
Not Quite Ready
If your child can’t articulate predictions or observations easily, model the process by saying your own observations out loud.
Ready for More
Extend the experiment with different art supplies- what happens when you spray crayons, colored pencils, or different paints with water?
As Your Child Masters This Skill
They will make predictions and be able to describe if the result of an experiment matched their prediction.
Time to Complete
10 minutes
Materials Needed
Paper, markers or chalk, a spray bottle filled with water (or an eye dropper, or medicine syringe, or a paper towel soaked with water).