Steam Engines Learning Company teaches engaging, evidence-backed S.T.E.A.M.-based art classes, so you can feel confident in your little one’s future. These classes require guardian attendance and participation which helps strengthen the bonds between children and their grown-ups. Some classes might need a grown-up’s suggestion or extra hands to work on their child’s project, while others might just need you to watch and encourage your child’s creativity!
Classes are 40 minutes long, and begin with simple coloring for the first 10 minutes. This gives little ones some time to warm up to the new environment and new faces around them. Next, we work on our fist craft of the day and learn the S.T.E.A.M. principle it focuses on. Then, we’ll take a story time “brain break,” where children can hear a story with the option to color while they listen. After that we complete our second craft and, as children are ready to leave, they get a fun purple stamp on their hands.
Teacher Erica has six years of experience working in children’s enrichment, and has taught classes for newborns through twelve-year-olds. She began teaching babies and toddlers at the same play space that she visited as a child, where an amazing group of experienced art, music, gym, SpEd, and reading teachers taught her about early childhood education. This is where she learned that while these activities are fun for children and their families, they’re an incredibly important part of a child’s physical and mental development. Since then, her passion for teaching recreational classes has only grown deeper, as she’s seen the positive effect these classes have on children, families, and communities.
S.T.E.A.M. stands for science, tools/ technology, engineering, arts and math. Keep reading to learn why S.T.E.A.M. based activities are so important and how they are integrated into these classes.
S. These lessons meet children where they are developmentally. We support our budding scientists by focusing on comparative thinking, such as noting paints that are lighter, darker, or brighter than each other, or strings that are longer, shorter, scratchier, softer, thinner or thicker than one another.
T. The T in S.T.E.A.M. typically stands for “technology,” but Steam Engines Learning Co. chooses not to include technology in these art lesson plans, allowing parents to use screen time as a tool at home without the worry of overuse.
Steam Engines Learning Co. uses “tools” in place of “technology.” Around 24-30 months old, according to findings by the American Association of Pediatrics, is when children begin using tools to solve a problem or complete a task (such as using a stool to reach something, or using a spoon to feed themselves). We use tools such as eyedroppers and tongs, in order to complement and help fine-tune these new skills.
E. The age-appropriate engineering concept that we work with in class is the idea that everything is made of basic shapes. A project based around this concept will start with children being shown an example of what we’ll be making, and asked to point out the shapes they see. Next, they’ll get glue, some pre-cut shapes, and a piece of construction paper to glue the shapes down to. Explaining to children where each shape goes to make a particular image supports their ability to understand spatial relations between objects.
A. The A stands for art! It’s a method for getting the S.T.E.M. concepts into little-guys’ little brains- and a great one at that. It’s said that children who are actively engaged in what they’re learning (rather than only hearing or reading about it) have an easier time understanding and remembering the concepts.
M. Math is included in Steam Engines Learning Co.’s lesson plans through the use of patterns, symmetry, and quantity. According to this article by The Education Hub, a child’s understanding of these concepts in their early years can affect their math abilities later in life- up to 11-years-old. In class, we might paint a half of a shape and fold it over the unpainted half to make both sides match, decorate an animal with stripes, or decorate trees with a certain amount of branches, leaves, and flowers.
