3.3y–5y12 minFree playFamily timeOutdoor
Change Detectives: Melt, Freeze, Grow
Support the adult to help your child examine change over time (ice melting, water freezing later, sprouting beans over days) and use clear vocabulary to compare what stays the same and what changes.
What you'll need
Essentials
- 2 bowls/cups (or 1 bowl and 1 cup)
- 2-3 ice cubes
- paper and a pencil/crayon
Nice to have
- warm water (from tap)
- dried beans/lentils (a small handful)
- paper towel or cotton wool
- a clear jar/cup for a sprout watch
- phone camera (optional)
Movement level: low
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
- MilestoneCompares object propertiesMind· 2.8y–5y· core· Step 2
- MilestoneUses talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events.Mind· 3.3y–5y· core
- MilestoneUses basic time conceptsMind· 4y–5y· stretch
- MilestoneSays what will happen nextMind· 2.5y–4y· core· Step 1
- MilestoneCreate simple representations of events, people and objects.Mind· 3.3y–5y· core· Step 4
- MilestoneCaptures experiences and responses with a range of media, such as music, dance and paint and other materials or words.Mind· 2.5y–4.2y· stretch· Step 4
- MilestoneGives meaning to own drawings or marksMind· 2.8y–3.8y· core· Step 4
- MilestoneTalks about own interests and ideasMind· 4y–5y· core· Step 1
- MilestoneReceptive opposite understandingMind· 4y–5y· core· Step 2
- MilestoneVerbal opposite identificationMind· 4.5y–5y· stretch· Step 2
What it practices
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Examine change over time, for example, growing plants, and change that may be reversed, e.g. melting ice.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)