The "A" in STEAM PreSchool, Kindergarten &1st

The Country School's STEAM program for young learners is designed with a unique twist; it is first literature based and then infused with "STEAM".  When people see the "A" in STEAM they often think of the visual arts but there is so much more.  Art includes: literature, music, sculpture, architecture, dance, photography, digital, performing arts;  the list goes on and on.  This is evident in our classrooms, hallways and all over The Country School campus.

    

           

                 I love this quote from author Lisa Marder 

"There is no one universal definition of art but there is general consensus that art is the conscious creation of something beautiful or meaningful using skill and imagination."

Our STEAM objective at TCS is to invoke the imagination of each child through their senses, eliciting curiosity, wonder, involvement and passion for the world around them.

Our recent kindergarten study of The Three Little Pigs provides a great example of this.

We read, watched, listened to, acted out, and retold every version of The Three Little Pigs that we could get our hands on.  We then explored the angles of architecture in building throughout the world.  We also learned about the wide variety of materials and styles used to construct houses and buildings in the past, present and potential future.

Meanwhile, we got busy ourselves with three separate engineering challenges which brought math to the table in many ways.  Given specific guidelines and materials: we counted, measured, weighed, graphed, sorted, scaled, planned and eventually created homes for each of our own three pigs.  As a result of the Big Bad Wolf's fury, our effective engineers built and rebuilt.

The first little house was built with straw, paper and very little instruction or guidelines.   

                            

The second little house included an exploration of  shapes including polygons: triangles, squares and rectangles to increase the strength of the structures. These structures proved to be a challenge for the Big Bad Wolf.

                 

The third little house was the greatest challenge.  Building on their prior knowledge and building experience, the children used frosting and sugar cubes to engineer and create a "wolf proof" house.  Builders were exposed to videos of step by step igloo building as well as historic architectural styles in preparation for the challenge.

On a cold, unassuming and quiet Friday afternoon, The BIG BAD WOLF came to reek havoc at The Country School.

As you can imagine, only a few strong buildings survived the wrath of THE BIG BAD WOLF!

                             

         

Students were then able to redesign, make alterations and fine tune their houses.  As any good engineer does.  They then designed a small village for the three houses.

Finally, after learning about what worked and what did not work the children made a blueprint for the Ultimate Pig House.  The students were challenged to build a safe place for all three pigs to live happily ever after.  They chose from a large buffet of building materials and got to work.

Preschool Update:

While learning about hibernation and what animals do in the winter, 

the PreSchool made bears and created a cave for them to torpor in.

Check out our budding engineers!

First Grade Update:

First graders have been learning about animals in winter and what they do to survive.  Each student chose and animal to research.  They then created a model representation of their animal along with the habitat they would winter in. The students got so "into" this project we had to extend the time frame.