“I’ve got some acorns and some water!" announces five-year-old Gabriela, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Who wants to make potions with me?” “What’s a potion?” asks Amara as she jumps off of her swing and heads over to see what Gabriela has in mind. “You mix things up, like a recipe,” Gabriela explains. “Sometimes the […]

“Will you read this first?” Rowan pleads as she moves The Most Magnificent Maker's A to Z to the top of the pile of books that the children have chosen for their morning story time session. "It's my favorite." I love that book," agrees Josephine. "Her dog always helps her." “She reminds me of us,” […]

At the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference in November 2024, our own David Banzer, PhD—a postdoctoral fellow at the UIC College of Education—presented Connecting the E and M in STEM: Supporting Early Mathematics through Engineering Design. This hands-on breakout session highlighted the importance of incorporating engineering concepts and activities into […]

"Can I slide to the bottom of the hill instead of walking down the steps?" asks four-year-old Micah, who is bundled up in winter gear from head to toe. It’s a late Thursday afternoon, and I'm already feeling the weight of the day. My body and brain are on autopilot. There’s no good reason for […]

"Get ready . . . there's a big crash coming! I know this voice. It’s coming from four-year-old James, and it's the voice of an early engineering explorer about to attempt something slightly risky and, most likely, destructive. "Come on, James, DO it!" commands Nora, giggling with excitement and anticipation.  "Ready . . .? " […]

"Look at my foil people!" six-year-old Mariah exclaims as she happily scrunches sheets of aluminum foil into a foil family with a giant dad, a mid-sized mom, and a tiny child. "That's cool! says five-year-old Ali. "How'd you do that?" "It's so easy!" Mariah declares, her eyes sparkling. "Let me show you." Children are natural-born […]

”If the squirrel comes down from the tree this way, we can trap him under here!" exclaims six-year-old Elliott. The playground equipment sits empty as Elliott, Harper, and their fellow "squirrel trappers" gather at the base of a towering oak tree in our neighborhood park.  The children have long been captivated by this venerable old […]

It all began with a concert ticket. More specifically, a ticket to a concert on the Ben Folds Paper Airplane Request Tour 2024. During these concerts, Ben Folds—an Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter-composer—encourages fans in the audience to send their song requests to the stage via paper airplanes. To ensure that the planes carrying my song requests would […]

“Would it be okay if I took this sunflower apart?" asks Mia, pointing to a vase of week-old cut flowers. "It's kind of droopy anyway." “Sure," I respond, remembering that Mia is our "Concoction Queen" with a penchant for creating potions packed with flower petals. "Are you going to make another one of your magic […]

“If you wiggle your hands like this, you can make lots and lots of bubbles!" exclaims Hudson. "Watch!” Piper and Hudson are elbow deep in a tub of water, splashing about happily as they investigate cause and effect in a moment of playful learning.  Science begins with curiosity, which leads to discovery and exploration. Learning science […]