S.T.E.A.M- Early Years Reception Class-By Mrs Harwood
*S.T.E.A.M stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math
This year I have introduced to the timetable a dedicated time for Steam in Early Years. Which is discovery through self directed play and discussions between the children, rather than directed teaching by me. We have had activities such as one on different kinds of rocks, where we looked at them closely through magnifying glasses and felt the difference in weight and texture. The children asked lots of questions about where I found them and we looked at a world map to find the countries that they came from.
The children then decided that what they wanted to do with them was build a home for the class dinosaurs so they made a mini world and acted out volcano eruptions and the discovery of ‘diamonds’.(pretend ones I hasten to add!) This was an ongoing activity of which they liked to revisit during the day.
We have also solved the mystery of ‘Where does popcorn come from?’ This was a frequently asked question so I decided to let them discover that corn grows in on a husk and is beneath leaves that they could peel off and explore. We looked at the growing cycle and then made popcorn.
The next activity was how to build a ramp for shooting cars down. I gave them different construction material and a piece of cardboard or wood as a ramp and let them workout how to go about it. This really promotes the ability to problem solve; they try things out and rethink ideas that perhaps need modifying. It’s also fun!
Regards,
Mrs Harwood