SEEDS: Supporting Early Engagement and Development in STEM

Young children are natural born explorers – they approach the world with a sense of wonder and curiosity. If you are a parent or caregiver of young children, you probably know this to be true based on the number of questions your 3 year old asks you per day.No matter how bad the urge is to hush your child’s question asking, it is important to understand that this kind of curious, explorative, and sometimes imaginative thinking is a GREAT thing. This type of thinking is the basis for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning – learning that will help your child be prepared for success in Kindergarten and beyond.

SEEDS (Supporting Early Engagement and Development in STEM)

SEEDS is a program brought to Lane County by the Foundation for Family Science and Engineering that makes it easy for people interacting with young children to support children’s early engagement and development in STEM.One of the tools for parents that the SEEDS program has created is called, “Family STEM Explorations.” These explorations are fun and easy activities to do with your children that contain easily accessible and affordable materials. Check this one out!

What to Do:

Bouncing Ball – Drop your ball on the floor.• Does your ball bounce? How high?• Can you make the ball bounce higher or lower?• How many times does it bounce before stopping?• What happens when you drop it on different surfaces?• Try the carpet, sidewalk, grass, etc.

Bowling Ball – Set up a number of objects such as toilet paper tubes or empty plastic bottles at one end of a table or down a hallway. Roll a ball towards the objects.• How many objects can you knock over in one roll?• What happens when you set up the objects in a different way?

Questions to Explore Together• Is the ball the same or different from another ball?• Do they bounce or roll the same way?• What else do we want to know about the ball?

This activity is a great example of an easy way to turn everyday items around your house into a vessel for STEM learning. After trying out this activity, we hope you get creative and think of your own ways to incorporate STEM learning in your home. And remember, science is everywhere!

SEEDS in Schools

So far the SEEDS program is doing great things at two school districts (Marcola and McKenzie) here in Lane County. These districts are doing things like hosting STEM family event nights, finding ways to get Family STEM Explorations to parents, incorporating STEM learning into daily classroom activities, providing children with STEM themed books, and much more.For more information about SEEDS, or access to more SEEDS tools, please contact these participating district’s Family Resource Centers, or the Foundation for Family Science & Engineering:McKenzie Family Resource CenterMcKenzie School District51187 Blue River Drive, Finn Rock 97488Phone: (541) 822-1110 or (541) 822-1108Marcola Family Resource CenterMarcola Elementary92550 School House St., Marcola 97454Phone: (541) 933-2411 x1216Foundation for Family Science & Engineering4614 SW Kelly Avenue, Suite 100Portland, OR 97239 / (503) 245-2102www.familyscienceandengineering.org