Sitting criss-cross in a circle, five preschoolers reach out to touch pieces of fabric their teacher spreads in front of them.
As the children pat the leather, denim, and cotton, she starts a conversation about which they like best. “Do you wear clothes that feel like these fabrics?” she asks.
The teacher then shows her students a turkey baster filled with water. “What do you think will happen if we get the fabrics wet?” she wonders aloud. In a matter of minutes, she introduces her students to two new words: “absorb” and “repel.”
Even though English isn’t their first language — and they’re not yet familiar with the scientific process of observing, forming a hypothesis, and experimenting and analyzing — the children relate to these concepts.
“Everybody wears clothes, so the experience is naturally engaging,” says Dr. Lucía I. Méndez, a UNCG communication sciences and disorders researcher.