Microbio: Science, Nature and Ecological Thinking

The natural inclination of children towards discovery requires actions and everyday experiential contexts that can broaden their possibilities. In this regard, the National Guidelines for the Curriculum of the infant-toddler centre and preschool propose, among the fields of experience, the one related to "knowledge of the world", namely exploration, discovery, and the initial systematization of knowledge about the natural and artificial world. This field draws on symbolic systems that refer to all domains of scientific knowledge. It therefore becomes important for the curriculum of the infant-toddler centre and preschool, and even earlier that of infant-toddler services, to reflect on which contexts, strategies, and experiences can support children's introduction to scientific thinking. Over the course of educational experiences and learning pathways, this way of thinking can then find opportunities for further development and expansion within specific disciplines. This publication is addressed to all those who wish to understand how to introduce children to scientific and ecological thinking, offering a theoretical and methodological framework alongside a structured set of educational proposals for exploring scientific concepts.

The volume is edited by Sabrina Bonaccini, a pedagogist who for thirty years has been engaged in designing educational contexts that support children's potential, as well as in training, research, and innovation in the field of services for early childhood.