A recent blog post from Jennifer Sullivan at Adventures in Storytime (and Beyond) blog , addresses how we can create a STEM mindset in our early literacy programming and practices with young kids at the library.
I find her perspective especially valuable because in her career she was also a science education teacher and biomedical researcher. So when she writes about STEM, I always listen.
In this post she explores how to be successful with doing STEM with the very youngest kids. Jennifer writes: "As many of us know, "STEM" programming for school-aged kids and teens spread from the educational system to libraries a decade or so ago (although science and nature programs have been a part of library program for longer than that), and it should be no surprise that now it has trickled down into programming for preschoolers, toddlers, and even babies!
But, does this mean we are having toddlers do full-on chemistry experiments and microscopy as the images above might suggest? Absolutely not! For one, there is the obvious safety issues, for another many advanced STEM activities are not developmentally appropriate for younger children for other reasons. In fact, you do not have to have separate, official "STEM" programs at all in order to support STEM learning in young children! Many of the things we already do in storytime or other programs for the very young support STEM learning; we may just need to be more intentional about it and adjust our mindset."
Click here to read the full post. [Supporting STEM Learning in Young Children. Sullivan, Jennifer. Adventures in Storytime -and Beyond blog. February 25, 2024.]
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