Making and Tinkering with STEM: Solving Design Challenges with Young Children, Second Edition
National Association for the Education of Young Children (Verlag)
978-1-952331-42-8 (ISBN)
What could you create with a cardboard box? Can you build a troll-proof bridge for the three billy goats to cross? How might you change what your shadow looks like?
In the first edition of this bestselling book, author Cate Heroman made teaching and learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts more accessible and fun through the maker movement—a hands-on learning approach rooted in designing, building, and inventing things. Using picture books as the springboard, teachers challenge and delight children by inviting them to use everyday materials and tools to create solutions to problems faced by book characters.
This updated and expanded second edition features
A collection of 35 design challenges appropriate for children ages 3 through 8, including revised favorites and all-new additions
A list of 140 picture books that encourage STEM-rich exploration and reflect the diverse experiences, interests, and identities of young children
More foundational information for educators, including clearer connections among tinkering, making, and engineering; updated language that reflects current thinking about how children learn; and guidance on how to observe, document, and assess children’s learning during these experiences
A planning template to create your own design challenges (available online)
With this practical resource, you can build on the curiosity and creativity inherent in young children’s play to nurture meaningful STEM exploration and learning.
Cate Heroman is passionate about helping young children become confident, creative thinkers and problem solvers. With decades of experience as a teacher, consultant, author, and advocate, she has dedicated her career to fostering curiosity and hands-on exploration in young learners. Cate believes that STEM education begins in early childhood, when attitudes about learning and problem solving are first formed. By nurturing creativity and curiosity, she hopes to equip children with skills to tackle challenges we can’t yet imagine. As a founder of Knock Knock Children’s Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Cate helped shape its focus on early literacy and STEAM education for children from birth to age 8 and their families. She worked with staff, board members, and museum planners to apply best practices in early childhood education and early STEM, creating engaging, hands-on experiences. The museum, nationally recognized as a regional hub for maker-centered learning, serves as a charging station for playful, informal STEAM exploration. Through this initiative, Cate also supported regional school teams of educators in integrating tinkering, making, and engineering into their pre-K through third grade classrooms. Through her church, Cate volunteers in local classrooms, bringing STEAM-rich story times to young children. These experiences have deepened her understanding of how children of different ages think with their hands and allowed her to prototype and refine the design challenges in this book. Cate holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Louisiana State University. As a grandmother, she has found joy in watching her four grandchildren grow up discovering the excitement of making, tinkering, and exploring STEM—an enthusiasm instilled in them during their early years. She hopes to inspire educators to create spaces where children feel empowered to explore, create, and solve problems.
About the Author About the Contributing Editor
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part One: Setting the Stage
Chapter 1: Understanding Children and Their Families
Chapter 2: Creating a Learning Environment for Tinkering, Making, and Engineering
Chapter 3: Guiding, Observing, Documenting, and Assessing STEM Learning
Chapter 4: Moving from Foundations to Action with Design Challenges
Part Two: Design Challenges
Section One: Build It
Beautiful Buildings
Bug City
Build a Bridge
Build a Fort
Home Tweet Home
A House for the Three Little Pigs
The Just-Right Chair
Section Two: Move It
Float Your Boat
Launch It!
Marbles in Motion
Move Like an Animal
Spring into Action
Squirrel Shenanigans
Tower Power
Wind Wonders
Zany Chain Reactions
Section Three: Change It
Bubble Wand Magic
Color-Mixing Machine
Face It!
Giant Shadows
If the Shoe Fits
Instrument Engineer
Juice It!
Silly Sounds
Weaving Wonders
Section Four: Invent It
Box It!
Design a Bot
Frame Factory
Gizmos Galore
Help, It’s Stuck!
Invent a Thing
Pet Carrier
Playground Maker
Toy Workshop
What a Car!
Book List
References
Index
| Erscheinungsdatum | 30.10.2025 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | color figures, photos, and table |
| Verlagsort | Washington DC |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 254 x 203 mm |
| Themenwelt | Schulbuch / Wörterbuch |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Vorschulpädagogik | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-952331-42-0 / 1952331420 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-952331-42-8 / 9781952331428 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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