Understanding An Early Start to STEAM Education For Kids

 

STEM/STEAM Education and children

Not all skills are taught in schools, or taught in every school. The disparity between the education system and vital skills was already widening day by day; COVID-19 just pushed that even further. The longer the kids stay away from  school, greater are the chances of them ‘forgetting’ what they learned. How do you then keep up with the pace of this changing landscape? The question to ask ourselves is if there is a way to stay sane and not lose ourselves in the chaos?

Enter STEM/STEAM education is making waves across the world. Surprisingly though, when we questioned some parents, many of them were still clueless about it. STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and the newly added Arts or Astronomy) education develops foundational skills in children in addition to help them build grit and growth mindset for kids. We at the Inspirely Education strongly believe, introducing STEAM related education in early childhood could pay dividend to children for the rest of their life.

Covid-19 and K-12 students

The fast changing digitalization across industries have been already disrupting K-12 education system. And now COVID19 just widen that gap even further. The actual impact of this situation will only unfold with the time to come. Experts believe it is likely going to create a wider knowledge gap among students across grades.

The 15 months have drastically changed the world and relations we have with people and technology. Working professionals are upskilling and upgrading, adding feathers to their cap with certifications from a myriad of sources. Young children, on the other hand, do not seem to have this easy coming.

Origins of STEM/STEAM Education

STEM is not a new discipline. We can find its traces way back in the works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo who were key figures of the Renaissance. Da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer as Business Insider writes here.

If you are interested, explore Inspirely STEAM education after-school classes, camps & family events. All are virtual by keeping everyone safe at home. Since last three years, we have been helping children develop creative mindsets, grit, skill-building, and growth mindsets through our practical inquiry-based programs.

How do kids learn in a STEM/STEAM environment?

If your child asks you what sound is, if you search the answer on Google and tell them something like, “You know, dear, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid,” they would probably be confused. Instead, by using the STEAM approach, you would do a simple experiment to show your child the answer. By putting some rice on a pan sheet and holding it on a speaker, the rice would move due to the sound from your speaker and your kid would learn what sound is, in a fun and interactive way.

Where to find a STEM/STEAM program?

Although it sounds great, you might not have enough time and resources to teach your kids everything they need through the STEAM educational method at home. Therefore, finding a structured STEAM education provider could be a better option.

Most teachers at schools are fantastic in our opinion. However, many schools struggle to offer STEAM classes or for every child with proper attention because of the following most likely reasons.

• Teachers find it difficult to get resources and enough funding to integrate STEAM subjects into the classroom.
• class size also plays a big factor in effectively executing STEAM programs.
• There are also shortages of interested and talented teachers to find. And so, schools struggle to find and keep up such resources.

STEM/STEAM has been gaining momentum now, given the impetus on technology and innovation. Parents are realizing the importance of STEAM education in children's foundation years. To prepare the workforce for the future, STEAM skills are extremely essential to develop. Why not inculcate these learnings during the foundation years of a child? As a Canadian premier virtual STEAM education provider, our instructors know how to make learning fun which keeps children more engaged.