Schools may be closed for summer, but learning takes place year-round especially when you combine fun tasks and the willingness of little children to imagine – just imagine. And that is just what happened in Rochester when a STEM program was launched.
STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math, is a system that combines those core elements through an interdisciplinary experience. Web-based platforms that discuss STEM use such language as “cohesive learning paradigm” to describe the teaching system. But during the week of June 20-24 as the Plumb Library in Rochester hosted five one-hour STEM sessions for kids ages 3 to 6, it was clear that fun was also part of the process.
As Lisa Fuller, aka Ms. Lisa, library assistant for children’s services, read a short story to the tykes in attendance at the June 24 gathering, the bunny in the box became the bunny in a ship, or rocket, or castle, or, well use your own imagination.
With their creative juices flowing, the children were then gathered into two groups. One group was assisted by junior helper Ella Charron, a fourth grader aged 9, and the other by junior helper Allison Winters, a fifth grader aged 10. The junior helpers guided the tiny STEM explorers as they employed their imagination and skills to create a “cold lava lamp” or a bridge structure using paper cups and Popsicle sticks. Each day, different experiments helped the children to see beyond the objects on the table to what those objects could become while asking them to count numbers, identify colors, read, or use age-appropriate tools.
Simple yet engaging aspects of the program included a beach ball covered with numbers to help the children with counting and math, using tools such as scissors to make name tags, and of course, laughter. Social interaction took place naturally as the children helped one another with cheerful encouragement. Though not an official part of the STEM system, that dynamic can’t be overlooked.
Fuller said that approximately 25 children from the Tri-Town area had participated in the program with some children attending everyday. “This was in partnership with ORR’s Early Childhood Program,” Fuller said.
While the children were clearly getting a great deal out of the program, it was also clear that the moms and dads who stood by watching and cheering on their small charges were enjoying the program as well.
The STEM activity was sponsored by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care’s Coordinated Family and Community Engagement.
By Marilou Newell
