Using Explorify in Early Years

Each of the new Zoom In Zoom Out activities, has the familiar format of information for teachers in the Background science and ideas for how to Take it further. The suggested follow up activities reflect the different aspects of Early Years settings and have optional questions for the adults involved in supporting children’s play, as well as story book ideas. You can easily find these activities by using the new category in the age group filter and then key word searching in the right-hand box. 

To view the full collection click here.

To get started, click on classroom view which will give you an enlarged image and ask everyone:

• What do they think the image is and why?
• What does the image remind them of and why?

Each time you zoom out, ask:

• Can they describe the colours, shapes and textures?
• What do they think the image is now – have they changed their minds?

This is the first stage of content creation for our new Early Years category. New What’s Going On? and Listen What Can You Hear? activities are still to be developed and, in the Autumn, we will be bringing a brand-new activity type created especially for children aged 3 – 5 years old.

Before the next set of activities are published, there are lots of existing What’s Going On? videos and Listen, What Can You Hear? activites which fit well with the Early Learning goal of being able to: listen attentively and respond to what they hear.

You can use Explorify with the whole class, or groups of children, at any time of the day. Good What’s Going On? activities to start with are Special delivery , Buzzing with Life, Hungry hedgehogs, In the swim,  Spring Flowers and Baking cookies. The aim of the activities is to spark a conversation among your young pupils about what they see. There is no right or wrong answer, it is simply an opportunity to explore ideas and find out what they know.

PSTT Fellow Jane Catto says, “Explorify is such a wonderful free resource of no-prep engaging science activities - perfect for milk time or any spare five minutes. My Reception class particularly love the 'Wow factor' that the zoom in zoom out activities provide - I hear them express loads of ideas, and vocabulary I didn't know they understood. They also ask to watch the exploding watermelon slow-motion video again and again!”

All these activities offer an opportunity for young learners' to develop and use new vocabulary, a key aspect of the Communication and Language goals.

Listen What Can You Hear? sparks conversation and excitement as well as develop good listening skills. Why not try: When we were young,  Prepare for launch ,  keeping track   Sharing is caring  and Scrub-a-dub-dub.

Young children need to use all their senses to explore and learn about unfamiliar objects, so all of Explorify’s activities could be seen as a launch pad to hands on activities either in the classroom or outside. You could also look at some of the Odd One Out activities to give ideas for simple comparative group activities with the real objects in the classroom.

Let us know how you get on and share your class's favourite activities using Twitter, Instagram or our Facebook staffroom.

Updated  26 April 2023 

Image Credits: FatCamera via Canva.