Which are included as process skills that good early childhood science instruction programs help to develop?

• A. Prediction, Experimentation, and Evaluation
• B. Observation, Measurement, and Recording
• C. Questioning, Hypothesizing, and Testing
• D. Observation, Classification, and Communication

Answer: (D)

In early childhood science, the process skills that best support young learners are observing, classifying, and communicating. Children learn science by using their senses to notice what’s happening around them, then grouping objects or events into meaningful categories based on attributes like color, shape, size, or texture. This sorting activity helps them see patterns, compare similarities and differences, and begin to reason about why things belong together.

Communicating is essential because talking about what they’ve observed and the groups they’ve formed allows children to articulate ideas, listen to others, and build shared understanding. Verbalizing discoveries, posing questions, and describing evidence are fundamental ways they develop scientific thinking and language alongside their hands-on exploration.

While other process areas—such as predicting, experimenting, measuring, and recording—are valuable and can appear in later growth stages, the combination of observing, categorizing, and sharing findings best captures how young children naturally engage with science: they notice, sort, and tell others what they notice. This foundation prepares them for more formal inquiry as their thinking and language develop.