Dear Parents,

Each month students will present their monthly S.T.E.A.M. Projects to the community.  This assignment is for all kindergarten through sixth grade students, however it is open to the community, including preschool and homeschool families.  

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.  These monthly projects are a terrific way to connect to critical higher-level thinking processes between school and home.  Projects will vary to promote inductive (inventive) thinking skills that will result in a wide variety of end product designs, to deductive thinking skills that instruct students to create similar products using their choice of designs and materials.  As students construct their creations, they are encouraged to plan, test, and improve designs to the best of their ability.  
 
Project instructions will be simple and require nothing more than items around your home, such as paper goods, materials from nature, and basic crafting supplies.   Students may design and construct their project on his or her own, or with the assistance of family members.  Below are some guided questions that will help families stimulate higher-level STEAM thinking:  

« What can your project be used for?  What purpose does it serve?
« What problem could your project solve?
« How can you test your project to see how it works?
« How can you improve your project to make it better?

The monthly S.T.E.A.M. Family Project is in each child's B.E.E. Book, posted on the homepage of the school website, and on the shared google calendar.  

If your child will need any technology for the presentation, please make arrangements with Elizabeth or Elin two days prior.