Becoming change makers with science, technology and creativity

Science, technology and creativity frequently go hand in hand. From medicine to smart devices and space travel, science, technology and creativity are behind the most amazing advancements the world has ever seen. Science Week is taking place from the 11th – 19th of August and this year’s theme is Game Changers and Change Makers. The theme inspired us to want to discuss how we can foster excitement in children for making a positive change in the world using science, technology and of course creativity.

Defining science and technology

In today’s tech-focused world, you’ve probably come across the term STEM. Or perhaps another variation like STEAM. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and maths. STEAM adds art into the mix.

Science and technology, or STEM, are a cornerstone of today’s learning and involve a holistic approach

For children to understand scientific terms, it’s important that we get hands-on and really show them. For many children, science is like a magic show so it’s a lot of fun too! Further in this blog, we’ll look at some great science experiments to try in child care centres and pre-school settings.
“For young learners, science is just an extension of their everyday world. We don’t have to teach young children how to wonder, discover, and explore through play because they do it naturally.” -Steve Spangler

Adding in creativity

Creativity is so unique to each of us. Each child can have a unique perspective, idea or approach and when you apply creativity to the power of science and technology, that’s where the magic happens. Science and technology can trigger creativity in children as it encourages them to observe and question what is happening while wondering ‘what if I do it this way’ or ‘what would happen if we changed this to that’?

Experiments to try

Magnet play: Fill a clear container with a range of objects that are metal such as paperclips along with some non-metal things like coloured beads for example. Use magnets along the outside of the jar to watch the magnetic magic happen!

Make oobleck:

Floaters and sinkers: Simple and fun, you just need a big tub of water and a range of different objects, some that will sink and some that will float. Get children to predict before testing and sort the floating objects from the sinking objects, discussing as you go!

Future-proof education

Today’s children truly are tomorrow’s game changers and change makers. In your class, you might have the next Elon Musk or Stephen Hawking! The beauty of the future we are building through technological advancements is that it encourages today’s children to become thinkers, doers and entrepreneurs, not just workers.

Let’s get children thinking about the world in an innovative way now, applying their creativity to the infinite possibility and power of science and technology.

If you do any excellent science and tech activities with children that you’d be happy to share with other educators, please let us know or share via Facebook!

Celebrate Easter with Creativity, Music & Nature

Celebrate Easter

Easter is fast approaching and for many centres that means lots of children getting excited about the Easter bunny visiting! If you celebrate Easter in early childhood, this blog has plenty of ideas for you.

As Easter’s dates are not fixed, it can be a trickier one to keep track of. Here are the dates at a glance for you to remember for Easter 2017:

Easter Dates 2017

Good Friday (public holiday): April 14
Easter Sunday: April 16
Easter Monday (public holiday): April 17

Does your centre celebrate Easter? If so, we have some fun ways to get children involved in Easter while enhancing their wellbeing at the same time.

Celebrate Easter with Creativity

Creativity is essential for children to express themselves – and Easter is a great opportunity to try some new creative ecperiences.

Decorate eggs

Decorate real eggs (Traditional) 

Create Easter hats

Easter colouring printables

Make Easter baskets

Celebrate Easter in Nature

A classic Easter egg hunt is always a favourite for children, so why not take it outside and get children exploring the garden while their hunting for their special treat?!

If you would prefer to avoid giving children chocolate eggs, no problem. Try an Easter treasure hunt by hiding a selection of Easter-related objects around outside, then create a checklist for children to tick off when they find the items. You could even have children create or decorate items for this experience.

Celebrate Easter with Music

No celebration is complete for Bonkers Beat until we’ve incorporated some musical fun!

Click here to access our special Easter song ‘Easter Bunny’! You can watch the video to learn the actions and download and print the words if needed.

The Purpose of Play in Early Childhood

play-based learning

When we try to think of something happy, children playing is often one of the first things that comes to mind. The simple idea of children playing and laughing epitomises joy. That’s pretty powerful. Even more than just happiness, play and play-based learning are essential to any early childhood pedagogy. Let’s go back to basics and explore.

What is ‘play’?

To get us started with our discussion on the topic, let’s look at the meaning of the word play.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines play as: recreational activity; especially the spontaneous activity of children.

Look up play in the Oxford Dictionary and is says: Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.

Adding to the above, there are several definitions that expand on the above. Early Childhood Australia (ECA) outlines some of these various meanings for us:

-pleasurable-play is an enjoyable and pleasurable activity. Play sometimes includes frustrations, challenges and fears; however enjoyment is a key feature

-symbolic-play is often pretend, it has a ‘what if?’ quality. The play has meaning to the player that is often not evident to the educator

-active-play requires action, either physical, verbal or mental engagement with materials, people, ideas or the environment

-voluntary-play is freely chosen. However, players can also be invited or prompted to play

-process oriented-play is a means unto itself and players may not have an end or goal in sight

What is play-based learning?

Play-based learning is just that – learning that is based in play. But let’s not oversimplify it as it is a research-based approach that has a lot of thought behind it.

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia describes play-based learning as “a context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they engage actively with people, objects and representations”.

The benefits of play-based learning

We love that play-based learning works with children’s interests while opening children up to a range of learning experiences.

These learning experiences can be related to so many areas of importance, including:

-Wellbeing

-Relationships with others

-Negotiation and conflict resolution

-Problem solving

-Curiosity

-Creativity

The benefits of play-based learning have been studied extensively, with many researchers finding that children learn best in child-directed settings accompanied by adults.

Of course, it’s up to educators to gently direct children’s play by providing stimuli and activities that will bring about the intended learning. This is where intentional teaching is so important. That is, educators being purposeful and thoughtful about how a centre’s program and learning outcomes are approached.

Let’s not forget about documentation either. Documentation is a vital element of play-based learning and in fact all learning within an early childhood setting if we are to have any chance of meaningful reflection about our curriculum and learning outcomes.

Creating positive early childhood programs

-A play-based approach is best for optimal learning

-Your play program should be child-led by educator-guided and well planned

-Provide children with an early childhood program that takes a holistic approach

-Focus on the learning outcomes and intentional teaching in all that you do as an educator

-Learning – and especially play-based learning – should always be fun so keep it light and enjoyable

-Don’t forget about documentation and following each child’s unique learning journey through play

 

 

 

 

 

People photograph designed by Pressfoto – Freepik.com

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