If you put lots of good ingredients in a pot of boiling water, you will soon be treated to some savory aromas rising up in the...steam! And so it goes with STEAM centers in kindergarten: if you put out a lot of interesting materials, you will soon be delighted by the creativity that arises in your classroom!
I developed STEAM centers for my classroom the summer of 2016 for several reasons. I had been reading how STEM and STEAM education is gaining traction in the U.S. It seems that we need to work harder at being innovative to restore our economic standing in the world. Science, technology, engineering and math are undeniably linked to 21st century innovation. And art and design are also valued skills, whether or not they are intrinsic to STEM. In one study out of the University of Florida, 93% of Americans said art education was important. You can read more here.
For me, the choice of STEAM vs. STEM was an easy one because a kindergarten art center is a sure hit...and because I needed 5 centers to accommodate a full classroom. The other reasons I developed STEAM centers for my classroom were to bring back play in kindergarten, and to happily occupy 4/5 of the students so that I could focus on math skills with a small group.
So, here are what each of my STEAM centers look like in kindergarten.
Our Science center definitely took the most thought and planning. I knew that I wanted each center to be self-sustaining. In other words, I didn't want to spend time updating the centers and changing materials. So, a fish tank would provide that focus in the Science Center. The students could observe it and record what they observed each time they visited it. I could vary their observations from time to time with directions like, "Draw only the living things in the aquarium" or " Draw just one fish in the aquarium and label its body parts." They could keep all of their scientific records in journals made of plastic sleeves held together with ring clips. I had just one little problem: I didn't have a fish tank! Fortunately, the PTO in our district offers a teacher grant program and I requested $250 for the aquarium kit and the fish. These funds covered all my expenses for the year. This year, I'm requesting another $100 for replacement filters and, inevitably, fish. I love this Science Center almost as much as the kindergarteners do! When I retire in May 2018, I will compile the templates for all the pages in the journal and offer the complete booklet on TpT. For now, take a peek at the beginning of one student's journal:
In the Engineering center, the students have a choice of a variety of construction materials: Duplos, Legos, Magna-tiles, Bristle Blocks, Lincoln Logs, etc. Last year, some of my kindergarten colleagues worked together to write another grant to the generous PTO in our district. Each classroom was awarded approximately $175 to purchase these materials. At the beginning of the year, I let the children simply build whatever they imagine. By mid-year, I ask them to take a clipboard and a paper and draw their design first, just as real engineers do.
I like to keep the Art center very open-ended. At the beginning of the year, I only put out paper, crayons, colored pencils, markers, glue sticks, and scissors. As the year progresses, I add other materials. For example, when we learn about force and motion, I'll include paper fasteners (brads) so the children can create moveable art. When we learn about 3D objects, I'll put out boxes and paper tubes. Sometimes a student will be inspired by a science lesson and create something on their own as the cute little girl with the braids did the other day. She was excited to see what happened to construction paper when we taped a cut-out on it and left it in the window for a week. So, she created something like it in the Art Center.
Math
The Math center is where I can work with an individual student or two students in assessment, intervention, or enrichment mode. While I work with one or two students, the other 2-3 students in that center play one or more of the math games from our curriculum. If there is an odd number of students, then Math Monkey becomes the odd one out's math partner. Math Monkey is a huge hit with kindergarteners!
I made a management board for our STEAM centers. I ordered the clipart from Etsy but see it is no longer available. Students rotate through the centers over the course of 5 days. I once read that the ideal timeframe for a kindergarten center is 13 minutes so I set the timer for 13 minutes. I allot 20 minutes for STEAM to include set-up and clean-up. Here is a picture of my management board:
I hope you consider creating these centers in your kindergarten classroom. STEAM is a blast!
