STEM GAMES and STRATEGIES for CHILDREN

THINKING LIKE DaVINCI

Hello and welcome to today's blog. For those who haven't met me, I'm Enrique, the founder of the F.A.M.E. Foundation and a performing artist who's passion includes working directly with preschool children, their teachers and parents.

Recently, I presented at the state conference for Science teachers in Arizona with one of our partnering organizations, Arts Integration Solutions.  In the room were preK, elementary, middle and high school teachers.  What I shared with them, I'm now sharing with you.

SCIENCE!  ENGINEERING!  MATH!  Oh My!!!

Have you ever thought it would be so cool to help young children think scientifically, explore the world of engineering, and to have a desire to play with math?  I used to think about it that way and then I found ways of actually doing it!  The key is engaging children's desire to MOVE!

STEP 1

NOTE: Let each step happen over a period of time.  Perhaps over a day or two, a week or even more.  Rushing through these steps doesn't create as much depth of learning.

Show the children an image like the one below and ask them... 

WHAT DO THEY SEE?  Honor all the things they see and help them recognize:

• lines
• curves
• shapes

In a group on a carpeted area ask your children to become... 

a LINE!

• Ask them if they can make different kinds of lines.
• When the lines begin to move, and they will, playfully ask them to HOLD THE ENERGY of a LINE!
• If you've built enough community and trust in your classroom, ask the children to create lines in small groups of 3 or 4 children

STEP 2

Show the children an image like the one below and ask them...

WHAT DO THEY SEE?  Honor the various responses you receive and help them recognize:

• lines
• curves
• shapes

In a group ask the children to become... CURVES!

• Ask them to become curves in different ways, using different parts of their body.
• When the curves begin to move, and they will, playfully ask them to HOLD THE ENERGY of a CURVE!
• If you've built enough community and trust in your classroom, ask the children to create curves in small groups of 3 or 4 children

STEP 3

Show the children an image like the one below and ask them...

WHAT DO THEY SEE?  Honor the various responses you receive and help them recognize:

• lines
• curves
• shapes

In a group ask the children to become... SHAPES, like squares, circles and triangles!

• Ask them to become shapes in different ways, using different parts of their body.
• When the shapes begin to move, and they might, playfully ask them to HOLD THE ENERGY of their SHAPE!
• If you've built enough community and trust in your classroom, ask the children to create shapes in small groups of 3 or 4 children

STEP 4

In a group ask the children to become... SHAPES that MOVE!

Try this both individually and in groups.

Guide the children in exploring:

• What they call turning or spinning and an engineer or scientist might call "Rotate."
• What they call getting bigger and what the world of science may call "Expand."

In case you're being asked to connect your work with children to the early learning standards, here's some helpful information.  It is possible to do that and still honor the sense of organic play which we all know is not only appropriate, but also needed in our world of education.

Cheers!

Enrique

Academic Connections:

STEM Standards of Practice

Interpret and Communicate Information from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

• Apply appropriate domain-specific vocabulary when communicating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics content.

National Engineering Standards

• Students will understand that structures have more than one process, and more than one part.

• Students will be able to design an object (system) to meet specific needs (ways in which object can move and function).

Arts standard(s):

National Arts Education Association (The Kennedy Center)

Dance, Grade K - 4 (also applicable to PreK)

Standard 1 - students will be able to identify and demonstrate movement elements.

National Arts Education Association (The Kennedy Center)

Dance, Grade K - 4 (also applicable to PreK)

Standard 2 - students will understand choreographic principles, processes, and structures

Get MOVING!

Every so often, I take a day away from my day job as the counselor and character coach at Westwood-Bales Elementary School to go and give a workshop, keynote, or breakout session, and my emphasis is always on Singing, Dancing, Laughing, and Connecting.

Let's look at the dance part of that equation. Why dance? Physical activity actually awakens the brain and releases chemicals that magically open it up and prime it for learning. 

If you haven't read Brain Rules by John Medina or Spark by John Ratey, do yourselves a favor and check out these two books.

So how does that translate into the classroom with our little sprouts? Essentially, we've got to MOVE them all day long! Here are some resources to help make that happen. Do you know the song Tony Chestnut? I had my keynote participants in Alabama try it with me and I found that even grown-up brains are challenged by this one! Here's an cute clip that I found on You Tube, performed by the class of 2021:

Brain break books for purchase abound, but there are also free resources online for creative ways to fire the dendrites in your little learners. You'll want to bookmark the Energizing Brain Breaks blog and the Minds In Bloom site for some quick brain breaks. The Michigan Department of Health has this moving Brain Breaks site. Take a Shake Break with Pancake Manor and don't forget to let your brainiacs go bananas with Dr. Jean's Banana Dance! 

What are your favorite go-to strategies to ignite brain activity in your little learners? Leave a comment below! For more character-infused ideas, come on by The Corner on Character.