Young children are curious and motivated to explore their environment and learn about the world around them. They are captivated by the worm they notice wiggling through the soil or the pesky shadow behind them! Science investigations can take advantage of this curiosity and support children’s learning by making meaningful connections to their everyday lives. Early Science with Nico & NorⓇ was designed with these important goals in mind. The program includes a set of resources that aims to promote preschool STEM teaching and learning in both home and school. The resources were created through a collaborative design process that included families, teachers, curriculum designers, media developers, and researchers. This development process began by bringing together team members to brainstorm activity ideas that center the experiences of children and families, and that provide playful contexts to engage in science, math and engineering learning together. The goal was to intentionally design fun learning activities that are practical, easy to implement in everyday settings, and reflect families’ traditions and realities.
Through this collaborative partnership, parents shared different examples of common things they do at home with their children during which science, math and/or engineering could be promoted. One idea that really resonated with the team, for example, was about growing plants. Many families reported that although growing plants is a common activity within their homes, they often encountered challenges related to supporting and protecting the plants. Families talked about needing trellises to support tomato or bean plants and using different materials to protect plants from animals that may want to eat or damage the plants. Ultimately, these initial ideas suggested by parents inspired the design of a classroom activity (to create supports for a floppy tomato plant) and the premise for an eventual digital app, Berry Garden.
Once the full set of Early Science with Nico & NorⓇ resources were developed, researchers carried out a field study in New York, Massachusetts, California, and Virginia to understand how teachers and families used the resources to identify what affordances they have to support and promote STEM teaching and learning. From this study, the team learned that families engaged with the resources in different ways that best aligned with their preferences or interests. Some families liked the activities that were simple and could be done during common routines, such as the Roll or Slide activity. This activity invites families to send various kitchen or familiar household objects down a baking sheet (used as a ramp) to see which objects roll and which objects slide. Children can make predictions and observe how different objects move down the ramp, change the incline of the ramp, and count the number of items in each category.
"My daughter liked that it had a lot of objects and she liked to change the ramp. She ended up with three groups, some slide, some rolled, and some did both."
- A parent participant (discussing the Roll or Slide activity)
Participating family tried out the Roll and Slide activity at home.
Other families were motivated to extend the activities and try something new. For example, in Berry Garden, the digital resource mentioned above, children are invited to use different materials such as fences and nets to design solutions to protect the berries from being eaten by hungry bunnies. Many children found this game both engaging and productively challenging. One particular family shared that their child really liked this game and was so interested in the story of harvesting and protecting the strawberries, that they decided to visit a local strawberry farm to see what the gardens look like. Plus, they got to taste the delicious fresh strawberries! Additionally, many families were inspired to create an activity of their own that connected to the science ideas. While this was not a suggested activity in the resources, many families decided to plant seeds and watch them grow. Families who did this expressed that it was a fun learning opportunity and was familiar to many parents as they often already had some experience with planting seeds.
"[Child] really liked the planting activity. He planted one with his friend from school (also participating in the project) and one at home on his own, so he had two plants. They started to grow within 3-4 days, which was so fast. It was exciting to see the plants grow. [Child] learned so much about how the plant grows and how to take care of it."
- A parent participant
Families appreciated that the Early Science with Nico & NorⓇ resources created a platform for children to make connections between home and school learning. This connection promoted discussion about what children were exploring in both settings and strengthened the learning opportunities. Related to this affordance, the research team found that the children who engaged in science activities both at home and at school showed a significant difference in increased science learning compared to children who only did activities at school.
"I like how it’s not only at home, but it’s also at school so they’re learning the same and get to practice more and do it for a longer time. All together it goes hand in hand. I can see how she’s getting more knowledge that way."
- A parent participant
To learn more about the development of these preschool STEM resources and check out some activities, visit First8Studios.org. There you will find links to the Family Science Fun Guide and other digital resources/apps. You can also find more information about the program and the research on the Family flyer and Classroom flyer.
