Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math (STEAM) for early learners
(773)717-4290
OUR CURRICULUM
Little Makers Daycare uses the principles of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) to give curious young minds a head start in preparing for education and career success in a future increasingly dominated by STEAM.
Science
Infants
Investigating and observing the world through the 5 senses and informal play. (Textures, sounds…)
- Talk
- Read
- Explore
Pre-Toddlers
-Investigating the world through play and informal testing.
-Starting to ask questions
Toddlers
-Investigating the world through play and asking more complex testing.
-Testing questions
Preschoolers
-Investigating the world through play and more complex testing and becoming more explicit with the scientific method. -Children are able to draw conclusions from experience
See how STEAM works for young learners:
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Science
Technology
Infants
-Experiencing and beginning to manipulate basic tools (bells, sticks, wheels).
-Observing more complex tools (cars on ramps…)
Pre-Toddlers
Manipulate simple tools to begin generating desired responses.
Toddlers
Identify multiple uses of tools or the uses of different tools and understanding the effects.
Preschoolers
Begin to use more complex tools and use tools more precisely to generate more complex results
See how STEAM works for young learners:
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Technology
Engineering
Infants
Using problem solving to get around obstacles and/or to get to interests.
Pre-Toddlers
Begin simple building with different materials (cups, soft bricks…)
Toddlers
-More complex building with different materials. Observe the effects of different materials and select the best for the purpose.
-Tinker Tubs
Preschoolers
-More complex building with different materials. Observe the effects of different materials and select the best to solve specific problems
-Tinker Tubs
See how STEAM works for young learners:
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Engineering
Art
Pre-Toddlers
Create art and music with simple mediums
Infants
Listening to manipulating instruments, viewing different colors and pictures, experiencing different (safe) mediums.
Toddlers
-Create with patterns
-Play based make-believe and acting
-Open ended art allows child to find new ways of self-expression
Preschoolers
-Pretend play to innovate solutions with existing materials.
-Express self in drawings before words.
See how STEAM works for young learners:
Math
Infants
Recognize familiar people, schedule, and toys. Beginning to experience the different properties of shapes, Spatial understanding/control of body parts
Pre-Toddlers
Recognizing similar amounts, sorting (more or less). Informal play.
Toddlers
Patterns and numbers. Counting
Preschoolers
Beginning more specific and accurate. Using the symbolic representation of numbers (1,2…) to represent problems, understand relationships among patterns, numbers, and shapes.
See how STEAM works for young learners:
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Math
Multi-Age Learning
Early childhood education has its roots in the family and can be effectively modeled like a family with multi-aged siblings learning and playing together. With using multi-age learning we combat the age isolation seen in many daycare and school settings (and in changing family and childcare dynamics) Children in multi-age groupings take on different roles that they are familiar with like leadership and support roles. Children learn by watching other create and build off of one another’s ideas more frequently where different ideas are more common in multi-age settings.
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Through this, older children can develop leadership and social skills through practice empathizing with younger children and younger children are exposed to more complex thinking and opportunities for practice.
