Learning material

It is important that children have an opportunity to immerse themselves in a theme that interests them. Different kinds of books, encyclopaedias and posters should be available for them any time. It doesn’t matter if a child can read letters or not; pictures and figures make meaning as well. But reading books together with children is a good opportunity for natural science talk and can stimulate the curiosity of the children.

A way to make children more involved in a theme or interested in a certain topic, or to keep the conversation going for a longer time, is to tell a story or fairy tale related to what has been talked about. Oral texts such as stories, rhymes, fun facts or even songs can make children become more aware of what they discovered or wondered about. Telling fun facts could invite them to keep on wondering, questioning the topic, and discovering even more. An example can be how stories, songs and rhymes are used in these hot spot-pictures.

With all the different apps now available, identifying different species in nature is easier than ever before. Some of them include sound, such as birdsong. It is convenient to have them on your mobile phone, so that you can use them any time you and the children want to identify what you have found. Use the search engine to find app suggestions.

Some examples: 

• Artsorakel (in Norwegian)
• Strandkanten (in Norwegian)
• Treslag - på tur i skogen (in Norwegian)
• Fugler i nærmiljøet (in Norwegian)
• Spiselige vekster i naturen (in Norwegian)
• BirdID -  European bird guide and quiz (in English)
• Rock Identifier: Stone ID (in English etc.)

A broad collection of websites on science to use in the classroom, see: 

• Terrific Websites for Science  (in English)
• Kleuter leermiddelen en digibord hulpmiddelen: natuur (in Dutch) 

The use of pictures or videos can help you to explain a bit more about the things children wonder or ask about. A picture shows the real bird, not a drawn one, and can be more accurate when naming parts of the bird, colours, etc. With videos you can show processes, movements and so on. Pictures could also be used in games or small assignments: Which birds do we see at this moment? Could you tell the different kinds of birds apart? What would this bird eat and why do you think so, looking closely at the picture? 

Making pictures or videos of their surroundings themselves could make children look at their environment in a different way. They might discover things at the moment when they are taking pictures or filming, or they can discover more when looking at them afterwards.