They said STEAM.
Build WHAT?
Has ANYONE seen the Kevin Costner Movie…
FIELD OF DREAMS?
Field of Dreams
On MY top 10 of ALL TIME GREATS!
Yes…I love baseball ( GO SF GIANTS! )
But
This is SOOOO much MORE!
It’s about never giving up.
Keep trying.
When others tell you that YOU are CRAZY…
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
I LOVE THAT!
SO How do I give my 6-year-old FIRSTIES
a chance to EXPLORE their dreams?
To “think OUTSIDE the BOX”?
To go the extra mile?
Recently, I have been exploring STEAM.
30 minutes of FREE PLAY???
NO.
I don’t call it that!
( Even if it makes my OCD heart skip a beat!)
STEAM!
Now…this is NOT your
“Teacher KICKS BACK while kids DO WHATEVER THEY WANT!”
This is a structured time of the week
( ANY DAY WILL WORK…
add this to your lesson plans)
where kids get “tools” to BUILD!
They make a PLAN, they put their plan into action,
they learn from failures and their successes, and they do it again!
During STEAM, I tell them they are building a city.
We brainstorm
(chart with pictures – Lots of EL students )
ALL of the things WE want
in a PERFECT city!
(They want LOTS of PARKS…grass…Ice cream stores…etc )
And then I group them into groups of 4.
I switch them each week.
I get out their “TOOLS”…
Toy Blocks for kids to build STEAM cities.
Blocks…Garage Sale & “FRIENDS” donations
MArshmallows and toothpicks for ENGINEERS!
Their FAVORITE!
Toothpicks & marshmallows.
Engineers in ACTION!
Math Blocks for STEAM
Math Blocks…Want to learn about “sides”, “corners”, “flats”, “rolls” ?
Use them!
Lincoln Logs for STEAM
Oldie but a goodie!
They LOVE to follow the picture DIAGRAMS!
Math Manipulatives to use for STEAM
Get out your MATH Manipulatives…and let them PLAY!
NO! Not “PLAY” 🙂 …BUILD!
Build a CITY!
Cubes for STEAM
CUBES!
Legos for STEAM
And the ALL TIME FAVORITE…..
LEGOS!
Giant TUB!
I ask Parents to donate a small baggie of their “extras” from home.
We add them to the tub!
I may need a LARGER tub! 🙂
And so… don’t forget.
If you want to encourage kids to DREAM BIG!
We have to let them do it!
Create, problem-solve, share, plan, explore. STEAM
I hope the future leaders of our country can do ALL of it!
(Better start teaching them HOW!)
And remember…you need to be a part of it also.
I do.
We do.
You do.
WOW!
Excuse me.
I have some “creating” to do with those legos!
MAYBE…We can read a book on building, BUILD IT, and then WRITE about it!
INTEGRATE!