Finn loves an “exbebibent” and they were excited to take ownership of this one. They tested which melted faster, snow left outside, or snow inside.

Resources

Method

To make it a fair test, they decided to use three bowls of snow in each location, instead of one. This meant we could take an average and rule out the problem of there possibly (probably in Finn’s bowls) being more snow in one bowl than the other.

They made their predictions separately, otherwise we end up with two identical. Then they excitedly monitored the bowls until they had their findings.

We could have extended this by putting out bowls of snow in different areas of the garden (sunny vs. shade) and house (warm in the airing cupboard vs. cold in the garage) but I wanted to keep it simple so they could plan and set it up themselves.

DfES Early Learning Goals (2017)

Communication and language

ELG 02 – Understanding:

Children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.

ELG 03 – Speaking:

Children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Understanding the world

ELG 14 – The world:

Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.