ROCKINGANDROLLING
Try It
› Look over the learning materials in your setting. What items do you already have that could be used in new ways for early STEM inquiry? What materials and experiences are PIOV?
› Consider modifying your daily schedule so that children have extended periods of play with open-ended materials. Try this for a week, and watch what happens. Do you notice a change in children’ s engagement and learning?
› Gather a variety of open-ended materials. Select items that allow all children to participate in a way that is meaningful to them. Observe and document what you see and hear.
› When you are developing plans, ask yourself,“ What is in this activity that children can figure out?” If you cannot answer the question, refine and redesign the experience so that children are challenged to figure something out.
› What materials do you add to your sensory or water table? Have you considered containers with holes? Start saving and adding some transparent containers( ketchup bottles, liquid soap containers, shampoo bottles, squeeze bottles, plastic spice jars). What do the toddlers do with the new containers? What do they notice about water movement? What else will they discover?
Think About It
› In your opinion, how does inquiry learning for STEM reflect young children’ s developmental abilities? How does it align with your beliefs about STEM in the earliest years?
› Think about some early STEM experiences that you may have participated in or that you have introduced in your setting. Did the experiences include all the elements of PIOV( producible, immediate, observable, variable)? If not, how could you adjust them?
› What are some strategies you can use to include inquiry learning opportunities throughout the day? Where could you find STEM within your setting’ s daily routines and materials?
Rocking and Rolling is written by infant and toddler specialists and contributed by ZERO TO THREE, a nonprofit organization working to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers by translating research and knowledge into a range of practical tools and resources for use by the adults who influence the lives of young children. before introducing them to children can prepare educators to anticipate what children might do, what questions they might have, and what additional materials might be added over time to enhance the STEM experience( Lewin-Benham 2023).
When educators use their observations of young children’ s actions to plan and implement developmentally appropriate STEM investigations, infants and toddlers demonstrate sustained attention, take action to solve complex problems they have created for themselves, and work to communicate what they have discovered. This is inquiry learning and teaching!
92 Young Children
Summer 2025