Chapter 3 introduces the reader to the Australian Curriculum: Science (Version 9), starting with a brief outline of the history of the Australian Curriculum. The three curriculum strands of Science Understanding, Science as Human Endeavour and Science Inquiry are described, along with how these could be woven together to provide a framework for developing experiential, connected and sequential science learning experiences for children in the early years. The seven general capabilities and three cross-curriculum priorities are presented, along with examples that relate to science in the early years. Case studies provide an insight into how the Australian Curriculum: Science can be implemented.

Chapter 9 highlights the importance of play in young children’s science learning. During playful events, children can explore, discover, investigate and experiment, thus promoting critical thinking and scientific inquiry. Play pedagogies that promote children’s learning through playful activities are discussed. Four case studies are presented to highlight how EC professionals can encourage children’s scientific exploration and thinking through play.

This chapter examines how creativity supports learning in early childhood educational settings. The chapter begins with a brief overview of research on creativity in early childhood education, highlighting frameworks that tend to the creative potential everyday classroom interactions have on learning. The data presented in this chapter is from a play-based activity that took place in a mixed-age classroom of children aged six to eight years old. Children in the study dramatically pretended to play as marine creatures to learn about the interdependent relationships in marine ecosystems. Conversation analysis was used to examine how children creatively used playful and dramatic talk to develop and communicate scientific ideas in discourse. Findings also illustrate how teachers can support and sustain children’s creative work in playful, inventive, and meaningful ways. The chapter concludes with recommendations for practitioners who seek to implement and develop creative learning in their classrooms.

Child-focused conversation analysis research on children’s storytelling practices has drawn attention to family, pre- and early school storytelling practices in a variety of contexts and at different ages. The research has been conducted on storybook reading, and on storytelling during family mealtimes, in bilingual settings and during play. It has shed light on displays of children’s interaction skills, and has also shown how storytelling changes across time.

This chapter provides an overview of the Australian Curriculum: Science, with particular reference to the early years of schooling. The chapter starts with a brief outline of the history of the Australian Curriculum. It then describes the three science strands of Science Understanding (SU), Science as Human Endeavour (SHE) and Science Inquiry Skills (SIS), and considers how these should be woven together to provide a framework for developing experiential, connected and sequential science learning experiences for children in the early years. The seven general capabilities (literacy, numeracy, information and communication technology, critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, personal and social capability, and intercultural understanding) and three cross-curriculum priorities (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia, and Sustainability) are presented. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders science elaborations are also introduced. Various case studies provide an insight into how the Australian Curriculum: Science can be implemented through connection to nature, citizen science and place-based education.

Play is important to children’s learning. When young children have uninterrupted time to playfully and independently explore, discover, investigate and experiment in stimulating, safe and varied environments, critical thinking and scientific inquiry are promoted. Notably, facilitating on-the-spot observations related to the ‘nature of science’ during play provides diverse opportunities to support children to construct scientific knowledge as a process of inquiry. This chapter describes the importance of play in early childhood and the ‘nature of science’ in the early years. This is followed by four case studies that highlight how studying scientific phenomena can be facilitated through play. Each case study describes the context of the children’s play and how the educator/teacher expands on this to encourage their scientific explorations and thinking. The development of the case studies occurred in a school inspired by the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy.