My students need STEM materials, like KEVA planks and LEGO wheels, to help them explore the science, technology, engineering and math in our classroom.
Kids just want to have fun! Kindergarten students don't want worksheets and flashcards, they want their learning experiences to be fun and engaging at their developmental level. With the push of more difficult curriculum and learning standards in kindergarten, I am determined to keep our learning fun and active!
My students come to school with very diverse needs in their school readiness skills.
Some can't identify a number or a letter of the alphabet, while some begin Kindergarten with the experience of preschool and are ready to explore the curriculum at a deeper level. I have 25 students who are five and six-years-old in a full day kindergarten classroom. Our school is considered "high poverty" due to our large percentage students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.
My Project
Young children learn best when they are excited and interested about the learning in their classroom. My goals are to use these STEM resources to provide quality experiences with developmentally appropriate activities to stimulate the wide range of young learners in my classroom. We will have opportunities for creating models, design, implementation, and problem solving with these KEVA wooden planks, LEGO wheels and LEGO bricks to make vehicles.
They will be able to use these open ended resources to work together with their peers.
My students will now be able to collaboratively work together to problem solve how to build their LEGO car so it will go the farthest distance or how to use KEVA planks to build the strongest tower!
These hands-on materials will allow my students to explore concepts like force and motion, by providing opportunities to practice their design and problem solving skills.
I plan to use these STEM building tools to integrate more science and math into my curriculum in a way that is fun and inspiring for my students. The manipulatives, materials and activities provided by this project will allow for more successful learning experiences by providing my students with the meaningful and stimulating interactions they need during their critical stages of early concept development. I thank you in advance for your support of my kindergarten classroom and our learning.
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