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Reproduction of the Parliament Building, made of blocks

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I chose this photo because I put a lot of thought into the choice and placement of each block. A major question I asked myself while creating the construct was, "How can I mimic this part?" I deconstructed parts and shifted blocks multiple times before I was happy with the result. I had a great feeling of accomplishment upon completing the structure.

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Reproduction of the Parliament Building, made of blocks

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Printed picture of the Parliament Building

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When I saw the assignment, I immediately started thinking about where to begin and how I could try to replicate some of the details in the picture. I decided that trying to be overly exact would hamper both my enjoyment of the activity and my ability to complete it.

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A tin-foil boat designed to test the limit of how many pennies can be held.

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I worked with Nick on this. Nick started with a question; Can we build a boat that will hold all the coins at the table and still float? Once the foil boat was set up, me and nick both filled it with pennies. We were able to put 296 pennies in it before it sank.

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A tin-foil boat designed to test the limit of how many pennies can be held.

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A blue stone viewed through a refracting lens

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I have always loved looking at gems and stones. Every stone is unique and so interesting to look at. there were several eyepieces with different lenses. I really enjoyed seeing the different patterns that were created.

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A blue stone viewed through a refracting lens

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blocks stood on end, organized by number of blocks

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This was a simple activity to place the blocks on each. I decided to challenge myself by rolling the dice to determine how many blocks I put down each time. Doing so made the activity more engaging for me.

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blocks stood on end, organized by number of blocks

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Bears arranged on 5 sticks and three cups

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While I found the task simple, I enjoyed making rainbows on the first two sticks. I was able to get 57 bears in total on the sticks.

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Bears arranged on 5 sticks and three cups

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The cover of the children's book, Frog's Lunch.

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Story walks are a great way for children to interact with a story while getting some physical play. The pictured story, Frog's Lunch, was a fun story walk as it also tests knowledge.

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The cover of the children's book, Frog's Lunch.

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The nature walk was fun because of the different pictures we had to take. This magnolia bud was very fuzzy and I loved how this, and other pictures turned out really good.

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This plant is called a burning bush. I took this picture because I loved the vibrant colour surrounded by the white snow.

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This is a fun way to engage with nature walks. Scavenger hunts aid the development of curiosity and focus. The magnolia bud and burning bush were both on the pictured hunt.

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4. Think of three (3) different experiences you enjoyed the most. Explain how these STEM experiences support play and inquiry-based learning. Provide three (3) examples. Examples must be from different workshops.

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4. Think of three (3) different experiences you enjoyed the most. Explain how these STEM experiences support play and inquiry-based learning. Provide three (3) examples. Examples must be from different workshops.

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My three favourite experiences were; making the block recreation of the parliament building, teaching everyone to play Old Maid, and counting the pennies into the foil boat with Nick. The block activity forced me to pick which details I wanted to recreate using the limited resources I had available, making me utilize critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Old Maid is a basic game that requires the ability to recognise matching pairs. As I was the one to explain the rules to others, it required me to use common vocabulary and appropriate tone. The foil boat activity engaged mine and Nicks curiosity into how much the boat Nick made could hold and tested our ability to count higher numbers.

All three activities were engaged because of interest in the material allowed easy play and inquiry.

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7. How do you envision your role as the educator in supporting children’s STEM learning? How will you support children’s curiosity? Problem Solving? Critical thinking? Questions? Provide three (3) examples.

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7. How do you envision your role as the educator in supporting children’s STEM learning? How will you support children’s curiosity? Problem Solving? Critical thinking? Questions? Provide three (3) examples.

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my role as an educator is to guide children's experience and assist where needed or asked for. One of the best ways to do this is to make activities and experiences available and model them to pique interest and curiosity. this can be done by asking children what might happen next in an experiment, what they think should go next in a pattern or series, or what they want to do in an activity.

In my first placement, I worked with a child to complete some pixel art using a kit containing a grid and foam cubes. I let the child dictate how he wanted to interact with the toy and he decided, for the most part, he would direct where I would place the cubes on the grid. Mostly, he used the accompanying booklet to have me place foam blocks by coordinates to create a picture. However, he also directed me to place foam blocks to recreate characters from the show "Numberblocks".

Also at my placement, I observed as children played with some magnetic sorting/pattern toys. I often assisted by asking them questions like "what do you think goes next?" and "do you know what this number is?".

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6. Explain how your learning throughout the workshops/class content connects with the foundations of learning. Provide an example for each foundation. Examples must be from different workshops.

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6. Explain how your learning throughout the workshops/class content connects with the foundations of learning. Provide an example for each foundation. Examples must be from different workshops.

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Belonging:

Showing interest in a child's activities and interests is a great way to develop their sense of belonging. In the engineering workshop, I was interested in and encouraged Nick's inquiry into how many pennies his boat could hold.

Well-Being:

A child's sense of well-being can be encouraged by giving them support, whether by helping them, encouraging them, or letting them try or complete a task or activity on their own. In the second math workshop, one of my peers complimented my folding, which encouraged me to try more.

Engagement:

A child when given the choice to pick the activity they want to participate is more likely to feel a sense of engagement with the activity. In the nature walk, the scavenger hunt gave me a task to complete with various goals set up. Every time I found something on the list, I got more excited to find the next thing.

Expression:

Allowing children to speak about their favourite activities encourages their sense of expression. In the first math workshop, I asked to play old maid. instead of people just saying no because they didn't know or remember the rules, I was asked to explain them before we played. they encouraged me to do and ended up enjoying the game.