A Maui program for preschool keiki and their families fosters early learning at home. The University of Hawai’i program focuses on science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics — or STEAM — topics. It provides preschoolers with themed books, interactive activities and family workbooks.
Last year, the program worked with 15 preschool classrooms on Maui to engage more than 100 ʻohana.
"The children love it. The parents feel more empowered to do science with their kids," said UH Mānoa Department of Physics and Astronomy instructor Chad Junkermeier.
He said the program, called the S.T.E.A.M. on the Bookshelf, is catered toward ʻohana learning.
“Families are busy, and time is extremely precious, and so we are meeting the families where they are already at," Junkermeier explained. "So they're going to the preschools and dropping the kids off. And so the kids pick up the materials from their preschool teacher and bring it home, and the families do it together. It's an opportunity for families to have a good experience with science in a way that they can manage with their family life.”
Along with hands-on learning opportunities, the program is designed to prepare young keiki for lifelong learning in science.
"We're just trying to get the kids familiar with some of these concepts and some of these vocabulary words, because they're things that will come up again and again as they grow older," Junkermeier said.
The program is currently on pause while it is redesigned and expanded. With the support of a mentoring grant from UH Mānoa, two undergraduate students will work with the team to include more curricula in physics, astronomy and engineering. Junkermeier hopes the program, with the help of additional funding, will be ready to roll out again this coming school year.
