As educators working in Preschool and or Montessori’s and parents of toddlers and preschoolers we are always looking for the newest and best most innovative, and helpful environments, learning tools, and methods to provide our children. STEAM—an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics is a trending subject in early childhood education gaining a lot of attention for its many benefits to early childhood education. While each of these subjects alone is also very important and helpful to young learners, when they are combined together in projects and activities the benefits for learning are even greater.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

STEAM projects often present a problem or challenge that requires problem solving to present a solution. When children engage in activities such as this, that require them to hypothesize, test theories, and adjust ideas and solutions, they inadvertently gain critical thinking skills. For example, if they’re given the task of building a bridge with specific, materials in limited quantities, teachers will guide children to collaborate and discuss, create and test out their plan, and pivot their ideas based on how functional their bridge fairs. The experience of trial and error and communication within their peer group has immense effects on their learning.

Fostering Curiosity and Creativity

Preschoolers are very curious by nature, and STEAM education capitalizes on this. By offering children hands-on science experiments, creative arts, and problem-solving activities, we create a space for learning that nurtures their innate desire to explore, seek additional information, hypothesize, learn, and grow their knowledge! Whether it’s mixing solutions to see what they will do, coding problems on an iPad, or problem solving a building challenge, STEAM encourages children to ask more questions and compute that information to find solutions, fueling their creativity as they work cooperatively or on their own.

Encouraging Collaboration and Commnication

Many STEAM projects/challenges are designed to be collaborative, allowing children to work in peer groups. Teamwork like this fosters improved communication skills, such as sharing, cooperatively discussing methods and, and learning to work cooperatively with others. Through collaborative activities, children not only learn how to better communicate their thoughts but also how to respect different ideas, building empathy and teamwork.

Building Confidence and Resilience

When preschoolers engage in STEAM activities, they often encounter problems and setbacks, for example their bridge collapses, or they are unable to build the structure they envisioned. These experiences give children opportunities to regroup, pivot and try again which teaches resilience, encouraging them to try again, learn from their mistakes, and ultimately succeed. It also encourages collaboration between the children, encouragement, and opportunities for teachable moments with specific guidance from teachers. As children overcome these learning challenges, they build confidence in their own abilities, fostering a growth mindset that will benefit them in all areas of life.

Integrating Learning Across Disciplines

STEAM breaks down the traditional barriers between subjects, bringing early childhood education curriculum to new heights combining art/math/science and technology in various combinations. Providing preschoolers with an outlet to combine analytical skills, creativity, problem solving, and technology as well. A typical STEAM activity might look like having a classroom read The Three Little Pigs, then create their own “house” for their little pig with limited materials. Children would then discuss and create their own plan, build and or decorate their house and then test out whose house will withstand the “wolf”. Other projects may be a gravity art project where we learn about the effects of gravity/science concepts and how they work with the paint and art creatively. This integration helps children see connections between different areas of knowledge, promoting a more cohesive understanding of the world around them.

Making Learning Fun

One of the most important aspects of STEAM, and our favorite- is how fun it can make teaching and learning with little ones! By mixing creativity and play into educational activities and learning challenges, preschoolers remain engaged and motivated having fun as they solve problems and learn. What serves as a classroom activity just feels like play amongst the children. In an atmosphere that presents learning in this way children grow to associate learning with flexibility, socialization, and enjoyment with peers leading to a more positive attitude toward learning.

Overall, incorporating STEAM into preschool or Montessori curriculum is not just an educational trend; it is an innovative, and vital approach to nurturing well-rounded, innovative, lifelong critical thinkers. By fostering our children’s critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, collaboration skills, and resilience, we prepare our youngest learners for a future filled with possibilities.