Preschool Steam - Busy Little Hands Early Learning Center

SCIENCE • TECHNOLOGY • ENGINEERING • ART • MATH

What is STEAM?

STEAM is about encouraging students to build knowledge about the world around them by observing, asking questions, and investigating.
We are preparing children to live in an unknown future world. By the time our children enter the workforce, most of the jobs that will be available don’t even exist today. STEAM activities give children the skills to be the innovators, creators, and makers of our future world.
“We can not always build the future for our youth but we can build our youth for the future.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

SCIENCE

Science is the process of learning and understanding the world around us. Experiments help scientists make observations, describe what they notice, and compare their results.

girl playing with butterfly at child care center

teacher with toddlers at child care center

TECHNOLOGY

Technology is about using tools that make jobs easier. Scissors, gears, wheels, and pulleys along with cameras and tablets are ways children can experience technology.

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ENGINEERING

Engineering is the process of building and designing. Engineering activities happen regularly as children play with blocks and learn about gravity, balance, motion, shapes, and problem-solving.

Children naturally think like engineers.

MATH

Math is the process of recognizing and understanding relationships in patterns, numbers, and shapes. We call this Mathematical Thinking. Sorting, puzzles, and counting are some of the ways children experience Math in early childhood.

THE ARTS

Music, theater, drama, dance, and visual art. Art makes learning visible and helps children communicate and express themselves. Open-ended process art allows children to experiment with ideas in new ways.

SENSORY PLAY

The five senses are the most basic way we explore, process, and understand information. Sensory exploration helps children make observations about the world around them by describing what they sense.

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The STEAM Experience

Instead of planning activities, we want to create an EXPIRIENCE that truly engages students and inspires them to be curious and ask questions.
Instead of teachers doing all of the work to prepare lessons, introduce them to students, and ask them to follow directions, STEAM experiences teach students to explore with a variety of tools and materials. Teachers can than tailor the experience around the student’s questions. This allows students to investigate their question through hands-on exploration and play.
Challenges and investigations need to be open-ended. This allows students to focus on the creative PROCESS of learning rather than the final PRODUCT.
“Give a man a fish and he will be full for a day, but teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry again.”

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