MONROE - Preschoolers at the Small World Childcare Center in New Glarus will soon delve into the "Small World of Science," a program designed by Melissa Dickson, Monroe, who teaches 2- and 3-year-olds.
Dickson received the 2013 Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children's Tylenol National Child Care Teacher Award for her project, and, to implement the science program, she will get $1,000 on April 11 at a special ceremony at Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, Penn.
She hopes to spark the interest of her students to learn more about the world around them.
"Science gets lost sometimes," Dickson said. "I didn't experience a lot of science until grade school. It scares away people, but it's the basics of everything."
Dickson said preschools materials often focus on art, literature and developing fine motor skills, and preschool children don't always have the right materials for science exploration. Science materials tend to be more expensive, she added.
She plans to use her cash award to purchase rain gauges, wind chimes, child-sized flashlights, and child-safe tweezers and magnets for her classroom.
"Children learn through play," Dickson said.
"The cognitive, social emotional, language and physical growth of each child can be taught using science," she said. "The objective of my project is to educate the children in my classroom using science throughout all interest areas. Science is what makes up our surroundings and is the foundation of our learning."
Because learning varies with the individual child, Dickson said curriculums are prepared, but learning is child-initiated and child-directed.
"It's all about the child's interest and what they are going through," she said.
Dickson hopes to expand those interests by providing developmentally appropriate materials and a safe environment in the Small World of Science, so children can learn through observation and by using their artistic, fine motor, literacy and sensory skills, as well as their imaginations.
Currently, children from ages 6 weeks to 4 years learn about life cycles from caterpillars and gardening at the center. They also explore sand and water, weights and scales, color and light.
"All the children experience the garden," Dickson said, "watering it, picking it, and our cook uses what they pick."
Now in her seventh year of teaching at the center, Dickson said people can never acquiring enough knowledge and teachers should be willing to learn as much as the children, if not more.
"I am always trying to expand on what I'm teaching," she added. "I challenge myself every time I do something, thinking outside the box."
Dickson received the 2013 Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children's Tylenol National Child Care Teacher Award for her project, and, to implement the science program, she will get $1,000 on April 11 at a special ceremony at Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, Penn.
She hopes to spark the interest of her students to learn more about the world around them.
"Science gets lost sometimes," Dickson said. "I didn't experience a lot of science until grade school. It scares away people, but it's the basics of everything."
Dickson said preschools materials often focus on art, literature and developing fine motor skills, and preschool children don't always have the right materials for science exploration. Science materials tend to be more expensive, she added.
She plans to use her cash award to purchase rain gauges, wind chimes, child-sized flashlights, and child-safe tweezers and magnets for her classroom.
"Children learn through play," Dickson said.
"The cognitive, social emotional, language and physical growth of each child can be taught using science," she said. "The objective of my project is to educate the children in my classroom using science throughout all interest areas. Science is what makes up our surroundings and is the foundation of our learning."
Because learning varies with the individual child, Dickson said curriculums are prepared, but learning is child-initiated and child-directed.
"It's all about the child's interest and what they are going through," she said.
Dickson hopes to expand those interests by providing developmentally appropriate materials and a safe environment in the Small World of Science, so children can learn through observation and by using their artistic, fine motor, literacy and sensory skills, as well as their imaginations.
Currently, children from ages 6 weeks to 4 years learn about life cycles from caterpillars and gardening at the center. They also explore sand and water, weights and scales, color and light.
"All the children experience the garden," Dickson said, "watering it, picking it, and our cook uses what they pick."
Now in her seventh year of teaching at the center, Dickson said people can never acquiring enough knowledge and teachers should be willing to learn as much as the children, if not more.
"I am always trying to expand on what I'm teaching," she added. "I challenge myself every time I do something, thinking outside the box."