Properties

Children investigate the world using their whole bodies and all of their senses. In the process, they learn about colors, sizes, shapes, weights, textures and the properties of materials like hardness, flexibility and absorbency. School-aged children are increasingly aware that properties of materials make them useful for certain purposes (like plastic raincoats for staying dry and wool for keeping warm). They know that some objects and materials occur in nature and that some are designed and made by humans. They have a growing understanding that natural materials are used to make human-designed objects (like wood used to make tables and other furniture). Their ideas about the properties of solids, liquids and gases (air) are becoming more sophisticated, and they can express their thinking through talking, drawing and writing. They are also becoming more independent as they plan and carry out investigations to find answers to questions and solutions to problems. When you provide lots of different objects and materials for your eight-year-old to investigate, you spark their investigations and support their critical thinking skills. Opportunities for building, creating and problem solving help them think like engineers. As you explore and talk about properties with your eight-year-old, introduce and use descriptive vocabulary like rigid/flexible and absorbent/repellant. Have conversations about their questions, observations and ideas and keep drawing and writing materials on hand so they can record their explorations. You can also support your child’s learning about properties by helping them find and use high-quality books, media and other resources for obtaining information.