At Rainbow preschool, children have been learning about volcanoes. Science activities are a part of Montessori education. It is intuitive for small children to wonder how things work and why thigs are in nature. These science activities stimulate child's curiosity and give them the solid foundation for improving science literacy.
レインボープリスクールでは、数週間前から子供たちが「火山」について学んでいます。昨日は「火山の噴火」実験の日。子供たちが自然を見て、これは何？どうしてそんな現象が起こるの？と不思議に思うのはとても自然なこと。実験は子供たちに自然を理解する鍵を与えると共に、子供たちの好奇心を掻き立てる役割があります。
After reading the books about volcano, each child made the volcano paper. They cut out the words on the sheet and glued them on the picture.
火山についての本を読んだり、写真を見たり、先生から火山の構造についてお話を聞いたり。いつの間にか子供たちは、すっかり火山博士。上の写真は子供たちが火山の絵に自分で単語を切って張り付けたもの。
Yesterday at the circle time, everybody sat patiently and waited for the experiment.
昨日のサークルタイム（お昼の集まり）では、いよいよ火山の噴火実験が。みんな真剣な表情で実験の始まりを待っています。
When the teacher poured the vineger into the horrow part of the mountain, look! it started errupting! Inside the volcano, there already were set a few tea spoon of soda poweder and food color(red).
火山の中にはあらかじめソーダパウダーとフードカラーパウダー（赤）が仕込んであります。先生がお酢を入れた瞬間！噴火が始まりました。
After a while, the teacher explained the different kinds of erruption of volcanoes, which countries have big volcanoes...etc. This science experiment can be expaneded to many other areas. Children thought about the countries in the world, the substances which make up the volcano, the different types of gasses which come from the eruption, and the world climate changes.
しばらくマグマが流れる様子を観察した後、先生が色々な種類の噴火を説明し、子供たちからも「火山があるのはどこの国？」「どうして噴火って起きるの？」と質問も。
It is the presence of gases, such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and water vapor, that causes magma to be erupted from a volcano. Magma with less gas, such as the magma under Hawaiian volcanoes, erupt less explosively. Magma with more gas, such as the magma under Mt. Redoubt volcano, will cause more explosive eruptions.
マグマが火山から流れ出すのは地下に炭酸ガスのようなガスが存在するから。ガスがあまり存在しない火山（たとえばハワイなど）は噴火も小さく、ガスが沢山存在すればするほど噴火も大きくなります。
Not only these gases cause explosive eruptions, but in high amounts they can alter the climate.
In the article I found out "The three most prominent gases emitted through volcanic eruptions - water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide - are also greenhouse gases. Historical large volcanic eruptions have been known to change the global climate. For example, the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines spewed so much greenhouse gas that global temperatures were warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter for almost two years after the eruption."
このガスは火山の噴火を促すだけでなく、大量に発生すると気候変動までもたらします。噴火によって火山から出るガスは温室効果ガスの一部です。歴史に残るような大きな火山の噴火、たとえば1991年フィリピンのピナツボ火山の噴火では、噴出されたガスにより世界の気候は夏も冬も2度ほど例年より気温が高い年が2年も続いたとか。話を聞いている子供たちも、話をする大人も、毎回自分たちの知らなかったことを発見し、学んでいます。
Wow, one big eruption can change the world climate for 2 years! So exciting and fun for me as well to learn science.
子供時代に、たくさん科学の下地を作っておくと、これから触れ合う自然への興味も増したり、環境の中で見聞きする情報から自分で色々な事を学んでいくこともできるのではないでしょうか。下にあるのは、モンテッソーリ（3－6歳）のクラスで扱うサイエンスアクティビティーのリスト。動物学、植物学、物理学、科学＆化学、地学、天文学と項目に分かれています。
Here, I found the list of science activities for Montessori classroom (3-6 years old).I wanted to go to Montessori school as a child! http://www.montessori.org/story.php?id=122
Living/non-living
Plant/animal
Zoology;
• Animals in the environment
• Vertebrate/Invertebrate
• Matching animals (objects then cards)
• Classes of animals (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods, mollusks, and sea life)
• Other ideas of interest; animal homes, animal young, animal camouflage, animal tracks, birds; types of nests, beaks, feet, shell identification, human body systems, teeth, nutrition).
Botany;
• • Plants in the environment (care and observation)
• Plant care
• Activities for matching and sorting;
• • Fruits and vegetables
• • Leaves
• • Seeds
• Fruit and vegetable identification (let them eat!)
• Experiments with seeds/plants
• Measuring growth
• Gardening
• Parts of a flower/leaf puzzles, botany cabinet, nomenclature
Physical Science;
• Matter (gas, solid, liquid)
• Properties of matter (buoyancy, magnetism, surface tension, evaporation, volume, weight, measurement, etc.)
Earth Science;
• Rocks
• Minerals
• Space, solar system, constellations
• Land and water forms
• Volcanoes
Also, I found the very useful book in the school;"501 Science Experiments" by Estelle Longfield, (Hinkler books). It has a lot of easy but fun experiments(of astronomy/geography/biology/chemistry/physics) we can do with children. I love science experiments.
写真の本"501 Science Experiments" は準備が簡単でかつ面白い実験が盛りだくさん。残念ながら英語ですが、お家でも手軽にできそうなものが多く、お勧めの一冊です。