Scientific inquiry is encouraged, too. "Children are actively involved in formulating hypotheses, designing experiments, collecting and organizing data and drawing their own conclusions." Even though children at the pre-operational stage are egocentric and view the world as if it were solely their own, they still probe for answers and explanations about what they smell, hear, taste, touch, and see. Scientific activities also allow the children to witness cause and effect scenarios that enable them to develop appropriate cognitive skills. Those skills develop naturally in conjunction with verbal and mathematical thinking skills.

The Bank Street Head Start program loosely follows Piaget's theory of early childhood development. Children gradually and naturally incorporate new objects, experiences, and ideas into their cognitive schemas: the process Piaget called assimilation. Children also accommodate their old schemas to suit their learning environment.

The Bank Street Head Start program, which serves children ages three and four, is apparently...
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