Science

By 9 months, most children:

• Show interest and curiosity in the natural world
• Explore the properties of objects and materials

By 18 months, most children:

• Explore the characteristics of living things (e.g., petting a cat or dog to explore the soft fur)
• Actively experiment with and explore the physical properties of objects and substances (e.g., stacking and knocking down towers and stacking them up again; bouncing balls; playing with play dough)

By 24 months, most children:

• Observe and react to living things (e.g., when outside, chasing or follow a small creature, such as a butterfly, bird, or lizard)
• Explore living surfaces (e.g. rolling in grass or playing in the dirt)
• Explore representations of living things (e.g., playing with a stuffed animal and referring to it as a “doggy”)
• Explore characteristics of man-made and natural materials (e.g., playing with rocks that are bumpy and smooth, pairing mother and baby toy animals)

By 36 months, most children:

• Show curiosity and ask questions about the natural world
• Make observations about the characteristics of living things
• Observe and identify natural materials
• Compare and contrast properties of physical objects
• Demonstrate an understanding that different weather requires different clothing (e.g., looking outside at newly fallen snow and running to get boots and mittens

By 48 months, most children:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the differences between living and non-living things
• Describe how living things change over time
• Understand the characteristics of and differences between habitats for people and habitats for animals
• Investigate the properties of natural elements and provide simple descriptions
• Use observable characteristics to describe and categorize physical objects and materials based on differences or similarities

By 60 months, most children:

• Describe the characteristics that define living things
• Observe the similarities, differences, and categories of plants and animals
• Ask and answer questions about changes in the appearance, behavior, and habitats of living things
• Use increasingly complex vocabulary to describe natural elements
• Differentiate between natural and man-made materials
• Describe changes that occur in the natural environment over time
• Make observations about physical properties of objects, the motion of toys and objects, and changes in matter