When you wonder about investing in your child’s future, how far ahead are you thinking? Do you believe that there’s a right time to properly invest in their learning skills? We’re here to tell you that it’s never too early to engage your child in the beautiful experience of learning, and this is what STEAM education is all about.
How can STEAM education be incorporated in your daily life? How do children benefit from it? We’ve prepared a quick guide to help you navigate on the topic and make the best choices considering your children’s development and future happiness.
What is STEAM Education About?
A STEAM-based education refers to using this educational methodology as a guideline. STEAM is about combining different fields of knowledge (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) in order to provide children with repertoire that will help in their educational and professional development.
When parents and educators go for STEAM education, they are teaching children how to grow technical and emotional skills.
Also, children learn to interact with knowledge spheres that have quite a bad reputation of being too hard to learn – such as Engineering, Tech and Math.
When children are not afraid of learning, and actually develop a healthy relationship with it, it means more opportunities for them in the future.
Benefits of STEAM Education
- Children that grow from STEAM education have more career opportunities.
- They are more likely to have healthier relationships with people around them. Also, they learn to regulate their emotions.
- They have higher chances of not suffering from a poor self-esteem, which can lead to problems like depression, anxiety, and even drug abuse.
- Other benefits: increased life-solving skills, critical thinking, more creativity, more open to socialization.
Implementing STEAM in Early Childhood Education
The first steps towards implementing STEAM rely on recognizing the importance of integrated learning. Simply put, it means that there are more ways to educate than sitting children in a classroom and making them learn passively.
Parts of STEAM education is about really connecting children with an active and dynamic learning experience.
Integrated Knowledge
Think about creative ways to combine different sources of learning. When you invest in the STEAM learning model, you’ll see that children can learn about chemistry and math in a single experiment!
Embracing the Model
If parents believe in the STEAM education model, it’s only natural they will look for facilities that apply it.
When looking for daycares or preschools for children, parents should ask what are the educational methodologies implemented by the facility, and how do they ensure that instructors are always up to date with these.
Capacitated Instructors
Speaking of instructors, it’s so important to trust the staff that participate in your child’s education.
While selecting the facility your child will enroll in, ask questions on how teachers apply the methodology. If possible, spend some time at the daycare and see how educators interact, challenge and encourage students to experiment.
Adapted Facilities
Colors, textures, sounds, smells: these are all stimuli used to help children create a diversified learning experience.
This effort is so important because it incites children to think, apprehend, and ask questions about what is going on. It helps to create repertoire and foster their imagination.
Keep in mind that these stimuli can be part of children’s routine not only at daycare, but also at home. It can actually nurture great opportunities for family time!
Impact of STEAM Education on Future Success
We understand that parents are always thinking about their children’s future, especially during that time in which the efforts you make today can have a long lasting impact.
This is also true when it comes to STEAM education. Even the U.S. Department of Education points out STEAM as a tool to help children prepare for the “21st century career readiness and global competitiveness”.
Taking into consideration all the benefits we’ve listed, we understand children’s education based on the STEAM methodology will triumph in their future due to their emotional intelligence, their technical skills, and more openness to collaboration.
Are you interested in seeing what STEAM education looks like in practice? You and your family are most welcome to visit one of AEA’s units across the country. Find the nearest and book a tour!
