FISHERS — A Fishers daycare center is teaching engineering concepts to kids at a young age.
The new program at the Learning Experience is called “Little Engineers” and tailors lessons from infants to kindergartners. The idea is that kids are already using engineering concepts on their own, but this bring it into the classroom.
“It doesn’t have to be construction engineering," said Ms. Katiin, who teachers twaddlers ages 2-2.5. "It’s just basic stuff so like a coffee maker, cell phone or your car, it’s just basic life skills that they’re going to have to know for the future."
“They're practicing fine motor skills, they're recognizing shapes, colors, even getting familiar with numbers,” said Marlin Sanchez, a teacher.
Some of the lessons and activities include:
- Infants playing with stacking/nesting cups, textured balls and rings to increase their hand-eye coordination
- Toddlers zipping, buckling, using velcro, buttoning, and more to develop problem-solving skills
- Preschoolers using a toy toolbox and exploring how to use tools like hammers, wrenches, and screwdrivers to secure nails and bolts
- Kindergartners learning how to code and working with their teacher to move a small, programmable floor robot across the classroom
"It just teaches them how to problem solve, how to work with their friends, how to basically come up with do we think this will work and how. Skills they can use at any age” said Angelique Williams a teacher.
