Laying a foundation for children's lifelong learning and development is the target value pursued by science education in the new syllabus, which has a far-reaching impact on children's sustainable development.
(1) Pay attention to stimulating the driving force and internal driving force of children's scientific exploration.
The new "Outline" clearly points out: "Children's science education is scientific enlightenment education, focusing on stimulating children's cognitive interest and exploration desire." Stimulate children's cognitive interest, arouse their desire to explore, let children experience the fun of discovery, perceive the significance of science, and put "interest in things and phenomena around them, curiosity and thirst for knowledge" in the first place.
These spirits run through the goals and content requirements of science education, and their fundamental purpose is to stimulate children's inner motivation to yearn for and pursue science from an early age through simple and enlightening scientific understanding and inquiry activities, so that children have a strong desire and need for scientific exploration activities.
Children are interested in the characteristics, changing rules and relationships of things and phenomena around them since childhood, and have a strong curiosity and thirst for knowledge, which is the source of their motivation to actively study and explore science in the future. Children's strong impulse to feel and strong desire to understand will drive them to study, practice and explore consciously and actively, thus achieving continuous development.
(two) pay attention to the germination of children's scientific innovation consciousness, and enrich the experience of children's early scientific activities.
The goal of science education in the new "Outline" requires children to "use all kinds of senses, use their hands and brains to explore problems" and emphasizes that "we should try our best to create conditions and opportunities for children to actually participate in inquiry activities, so that they can feel the process and methods of inquiry and experience the fun of discovery". Its essence is to cultivate children's ability and consciousness of scientific practice and innovation, and to help children enrich their early scientific activities and experiences. Research shows that "scientific activities can make children experience what is feasible and what is not" [①], and "hands-on practice can greatly improve children's ability in scientific research and creative activities" [②].
Therefore, science education in kindergartens should proceed from the reality of children's life, from the law of children's perception and understanding of things, guide children to practice by themselves with various senses and means, perceive things from various angles, fully grasp the characteristics and changing laws of things, and promote children to combine hands-on practice with brain thinking. This is not only an important means to cultivate children's learning ability and innovation ability, but also an effective way to help children accumulate rich scientific experience.
(3) Attach importance to the combination of scientific spirit and humanistic spirit.
The new "Outline" emphasizes that children should experience the process of exploration and discovery, which is very conducive to cultivating children's attitude of respecting science and the spirit of seeking truth from facts. Studies have proved that "scientific research can help people understand things and eliminate fears and doubts" [③], and hands-on practice can also change people's attitudes towards scientific research and activities [④]. Science can't be fake at all, let alone made up by subjective imagination. Cultivating children's attitude of respecting science and facts from an early age has an important influence on the formation of children's future outlook on life and world.
At the same time, the science education in the new syllabus not only attaches importance to the cultivation of scientific spirit, but also embodies the combination with humanistic spirit. The new "Outline" emphasizes to train children to "care for animals and plants, care about the surrounding environment, be close to nature and cherish natural resources", "cultivate children's awareness and ability of cooperative learning, and learn to express, communicate and share the process and results of exploration in various ways", so as to help children understand the close relationship between man and nature, develop an attitude of caring for the environment and nature, cultivate the spirit of cooperation with others, and cultivate a correct attitude of daring to express their own views and accepting others' views. This is not only a respect for science, but also a spirit and quality that people in modern civilized society must possess.