Kindergarten Science: how to help at home
What your child learns in Kindergarten science in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- Physical properties, magnets and light
- Day and night, weather, rocks, soil, water and air
- What plants and animals need, and plant structures and life cycles
Easy ways to practice science at home
- Go on a nature walk and name what you see: leaves, bugs, clouds, puddles.
- Plant a bean seed and check it together each day.
- Ask “What do you notice?” before you explain anything.
- Talk about the weather each morning and what to wear for it.
What each unit covers
What Living Things Need
Telling living from non-living things, and what plants and animals need to live: food, water, air, shelter and sunlight.
Animal Features
Noticing body parts like fur, feathers, fins and shells, and how features help animals and plants live where they do.
Materials
Describing everyday materials (soft or hard, rough or smooth, bendy or stiff), what sinks or floats, and naming what things are made of, like wood, metal, glass and cloth.
Weather & Seasons
Dressing for the weather, the four seasons in order, day and night, and how plants and animals change with the seasons.
My Five Senses
Take a sensory walk and name what you see, hear, smell and feel. Sort household objects by how they feel, such as rough and smooth.
Sun & Moon Patterns
Practices the pattern of the Sun's position through the day, how shadows change, and how the Moon seems to change shape over about a month. Remind your child never to look straight at the Sun.
Plant Parts at Work
Practices what each outside part of a plant does to help it survive and grow, from roots that drink water to thorns that keep animals away.
Where Animals Live
Practices matching plants and animals to places that meet their needs, and noticing how animals and people change their surroundings to get what they need.
Magnets & Light
Practices which things a magnet pulls, how magnets push and pull each other, that we see things only when there is light, and that some things let light through while others block it and make a shadow.
Rocks, Soil, Water & Air
Practices sorting rocks by size, shape, color and texture, noticing that air is all around us and that wind is moving air, and naming ways people use rocks, soil and water.
From Seed to Plant
Practices the simple plant life cycle (seed, seedling, plant, flower, fruit) and noticing that young plants look like the plant they came from.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Texas report card guide.
Common questions
Go on a nature walk and name what you see: leaves, bugs, clouds, puddles. Plant a bean seed and check it together each day. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Kindergarten science units include What Living Things Need, Animal Features, Materials, Weather & Seasons, My Five Senses, Sun & Moon Patterns.
Free printable Kindergarten science practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.