ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the main scientific concepts children can learn through experiences that involve the phenomena of forces, magnets and electricity. Forces, magnets and electricity are areas of children's experience of the world that can appear quite alien to many Early Years practitioners, for three reasons. A physical activity in which children are using their own bodies can lend itself to a performance as the mode of communication for their findings. The National Curriculum turns the focus towards the creation of technology: Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project found that, in Early Years settings, freely chosen play activities often provided the best opportunities for adults to extend children's thinking.
