STEM and Construction Play in EC Ft. Ann Gadzikowski
Ann Gadzikowski
Meet our guest
Ann Gadzikowski is a long-time educator, a consultant for EC organizations, and author of many books including Young Architects at Play: STEM Activities for Young Children and most recently, Creating a Beautiful Mess: Ten Essential Play Experiences for a Joyous Childhood. She is the author of curriculum books, teaching guides, classroom readers, and numerous publications for parents of young children. Ann’s work with children embraces both the arts and the sciences, which is clearly her passion. Her current role is the Director of Early Learning at Encyclopædia Britannica. Ann’s rich experience with children and teachers alike makes her classroom suggestions and expertise relatable and so good!
To find out more about Ann and her work, visit her website at http://anngadzikowski.com/
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““Construction play must be three things: tangible, physical, and three-dimensional.””
Teacher Takeaways
STEM and Construction Play
Construction play is putting things together in an open-ended, 3-D manner.
Offer blocks/construction materials each day and encourage all to visit and explore (at some point, not each day).
STEM skills at work during construction play:
Science: physics: examples in block play, gravity, force, motion, weight (of the blocks)- all play a role in children exploring with blocks and construction materials.
Technology: robots, coding that can be added to construction materials
Engineering: includes architecture and elements such as symmetry, balance. Engineering is connected to how things are applied in real life. Think: how can we bring meaning into their play? There is an immediate sense of meaning for kids with you point out the architecture where you live and connect it to real life.
Math: Unit blocks, fractions (how blocks fit together), ratios, geometry: tangible, physical block play is connected to many math concepts.
STEM play has important social/emotional learning built into it: reconstruction, destruction, respect for materials and others.
Suggestions for construction play materials: wooden blocks, Legos/Duplos, Magnatiles, cardboard, PVC pipes, terra cotta bricks. Note: make a new experience by taking materials outside and adding sticks!
Language to use during construction play and extend provocations:
“Want to build a house for your ____?”
“Let’s try building a _____(roof, garage, etc…)
Keep in mind to highlight the dilemma instead of solving it for children.
Resources
Referenced in the Interview
