The roots of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) go back to the early 2000s when the National Science Foundation (NSF) began adopting and advocating for an interdisciplinary methodology to learning. However, STEM-based education began gaining traction in the global education system in the last decade. The goal has always been to provide children with a holistic method of learning in which their cognitive abilities can be boosted to cope with challenging real-life situations.
STEM-based education has gained central importance, even for small children and toddlers. Preschool children learn about science by coming in contact with different shapes. Whether it’s a Lego cube or a circular apple, the structural understanding of STEM-based learning is applied across multiple domains.
As an evolution to STEM-based subjects, Mindnasium has found a novel inclusion of art in this interdisciplinary mix. Their enrichment classes for kids uniquely incorporate art, giving rise to the STEAM domain, where children benefit from artistic expressions within their interactive learning experience.
Incorporating Playful Activities
Coloring and painting are exciting ways to incorporate playful art into science and technology concepts. Filling colors with images of flowers, clouds, butterflies, elephants, tigers, pandas, and other objects such as stars and buildings captivates children’s imagination. Like clay and sand, playdough can be used to create objects of various sizes and shapes. Kids love using playdough and clay to build cars, sand castles, planes, boats, and animals like polar bears, fish, and giraffes.
Using playdough and color strokes is a beautiful way to strengthen the hand muscles of toddlers and young children, including molding, rolling, breaking, squishing, and breaking, which enhance fine motor movements.
Embrace Imagination
An exciting way to help preschoolers embrace imagination is by coloring storyboards and collage materials. At enrichment classes for kids at Nassau Country, children use paints, crayons, and colors to fill illustrative narratives linked to their favorite cartoon characters such as Cinderella, Mickey Mouse, Elsa, and Olaf from Frozen, pups from Paw Patrol, including Marshall, Skye, and Chase, Bugs Bunny, and Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. These activities help bring stories to life while stimulating young children’s imaginations.
Different Mediums to Aid Creativity
Geometric patterns are essential to STEM education, and filling colors adds an artistic element to the learning process. Sponge painting, finger painting, and objects such as leaves and patterned glass can aid creativity and inspiration in children. Children can also be given circular patterns such as circles, squares, triangles, checkerboards, stripes, and Kaleidoscope designs to understand the basics of shapes. Coloring geometric patterns provides a relaxing activity for preschoolers while fostering an appreciation for patterns, symmetry, and visual aesthetics.
Apply Technology To Learning
Drawing is a proven way to improve children’s hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. Various digital drawing pads can help preschoolers create their art and animated stories while strengthening their drawing skills by imitating shapes, objects, and environments within pictures. Children can also use Lazoo Art Box to turn doodles into creative things and animated stories. These applications, including Lego games, provide a captivating way to give children imaginative play using a digital environment.
Conclusion
Including art in STEM subjects provides a holistic way to make preschoolers more creative and curious about the world around them. Educators and parents should encourage children to learn from STEAM activities while using artists, engineers, and mathematicians as role models and inspiration to explore STEM subjects as they grow.