Educators who agree that an integrated curriculum is a good idea at the early childhood level may wonder why science should be the "hub" or organizing framework of the curriculum. Instead, why not use literacy, or a traditional "theme approach" like "the circus," or a project approach?

Any of these (and other) ways of organizing an early childhood curriculum can successfully promote children's school readiness, including their language and literacy, problem solving, and attention regulation skills. Our experience indicates that a science focus makes it easier to accomplish these general goals because of the intense interest children have in learning about the world around them.

A few years ago, a preschool coordinator wanted us to offer her teachers a series of workshops on science. When she went to the State Department of Education for funding, she was asked "Why offer workshops on science when everyone knows that developing language and early literacy must be the focus of preschool?"

She replied: "My teachers already know more than enough about language and pre-literacy skills. But, language and literacy have to be about something. Because children love science, it can be a vehicle for enhancing their language and pre-literacy skills."

Not all administrators and teachers are this aware of the importance and value of a content-based curriculum. So, the next week we interviewed the ScienceStart! teachers in our Demonstration Head Start classrooms, asking them to describe why they thought ScienceStart! was beneficial for children. We compiled what they told us into Why Science? Ten Good Reasons. Please click to learn more.

1. Science responds to children's need to learn about the world around them.
2. Children's everyday experience is the foundation for science.
3. Open-ended science activities involve children at a wide range of different developmental levels.
4. Hands-on science activities permit teachers to observe and respond to children's individual strengths and needs.
5. The scientific approach of "trial and error" welcomes error and interprets it as valuable information, not as failure.
6. Science strongly supports the development of language and early literacy.
7. Science helps children with limited language to participate in the classroom.
8. The problem solving skills of science easily generalize to social situations.
9. Science demonstrations help children become comfortable in large group conversations.
10. Science connects easily to other areas, including center-based play, artistic expression, math, and social studies.