Some examples of incidental learning are:

Observing a spider while playing outside
Talking about the current weather conditions
Talking about what the children are seeing and feeling while playing in a sensory table

An example of incidental learning is:

When a child finds a bug in the classroom. You can discuss with the child to see if they can tell you what kind of bug it is. how many legs it has, and what they think the bug might eat.

Today as we watched out the window to do the weather chart we noticed it was changing from snow to rain and back again, we discussed why and how it goes from snow to water and back agian.

We were doing a messy project the other day and the children's table was covered with news paper. A few of them started banging on the paper, so I banged on a table that was not covered and asked them if they knew why the sounds might be different. They came up with some very interesting answers, everything from the color of the table to the fact that my hands were larger than theirs. It was definately an incidental learning experience.

We had a fun experience with chocolate kisses that had been left on the play table outside - they were very melted. We compared them to the ones in the bag inside that were hard. We talked about how heat makes some things melt like ice and icecream. We put the melted chocolate in the refrigerator and the kids were delighted when we checked it a bit later to find it had hardened again.

Incidental learning is always taking place in my classroom. The children will ask questions that are related to our theme for the week and this will then lead into educational moments that appear off the cuff and spontaneous to the teacher but all planned out according to the children. Our theme this week is about the 5 senses and we've been reading a lot of Eric Carle books. One of the educational moments we had today was when I asked the children to guess what type of art materials are used to create the pictures in the story. After finding out what type of paper is being used, the children created their own work of art using the thin paper and at the same time, creating a sense, whether it be the eyes, nose, mouth, etc as an art project. This wasn't planned out but the kids enjoyed it and learned something at the same time.

Perfect Incidental learning happens naturally, For instance my kids came across a large spider web and spider so as we watch the spider we talk about all the things we know about spiders and ask questions of things we want to know about them. That we can go and look up later to find out. Kids learn best this way and remember it longer.

Some examples of incidental learning would be;

While playing outside talk about the weather or how the leaves are falling.
Or as you're about to throw away something tell the children about reusing; such as a roll of paper towel can be made into an instrument.

This week I came across an example of Incidental Learning. During circle time we were discussing the weather, and the children said it was sunny outside. I asked them if it was hot or cold outside. Some said it was cold which it was, but a few said it was hot. They said it was hot because it was sunny. I explained to them that during the seasons (which we have been learning about also) of fall and winter, in out state the sun does not make it hot outside, but it does provide us with light during the day.

I would say that children playing in the sand box would be a great time to ask questions like: What would happen if we added water to the sand? or Why does the sand always flow through the spoon with holes in it? Other great ways to talk about science is when their class pet dies, when the weather changes outside, and when someone sees a rabbit or squirel playing outside. These are all great times to take advantage of to talk with the children about science.