Play, Be, C

Building career awareness in EYFS

Overview

Play, Be, C is a free online resource, to help early years educators deliver high-quality STEM provision for children between 3 and 5 years old. Watch the video for a quick overview.

The resource is a set of ten units. Each unit is themed around a STEM career, chosen to reflect the world which surrounds your children.

For each career theme, we suggest a related story book, three adult-led activities, and three child-led provocation. Where appropriate there are at-home activities, and we’ve included notes about the science ideas children are likely to discuss and question.

Flexibility

Developed and tested in collaboration with early years practitioners, Play, Be, C is highly flexible: dip into the Units for quick activity ideas, or explore a Unit in detail over several weeks: whatever works for your setting.

Doing ‘the science’

Each Unit includes guides for practitioners to go with each activity, which offers simple but correct explanations of key concepts. We’ve also included vocabulary lists and prompts for further play. Using the resources will help develop consistency in approach across all adults in the Early Years setting.

Attributes

Each Unit incorporates a selection of five attributes: curious, collaborative, creative, observant, resilient.

Curious

If you are curious, you want to learn new things.

Collaborative

Collaborative people work together with others.

Creative

Creative people make new things and have original ideas.

Observant

If you are observant you are quick to see things, you are able to spot fine details, and you are good at paying attention.

Resilient

Resilient people can quickly recover from difficult or challenging situations.

These are attributes which are important for workers in the STEM sector, and also for children in early years. Through the activities children can identify or develop these attributes, and see how they already have some of the attributes needed for STEM careers.

Including adults

There are many adults other than the teacher working in EYFS settings who will all be key influencers, but may not have STEM qualifications or training. Play, Be, C provides an opportunity to include these adults, along with children’s families, in promoting STEM and STEM careers in EYFS and to ensure that gender (and all other) stereotyping is avoided during STEM interactions with children.

Free

Did we mention it’s free? The full resource is available through the Units links below and at the side of each page. You’re very welcome to explore, use everything you find useful, and return as often as you wish for further ideas.

Play, Be, C is a product of the NUSTEM outreach and research group at Northumbria University.

Units

Arborist

Arborists look after trees and make sure they are healthy. Arborists are sometimes called Tree Surgeons.

Observe and find out about the trees in your setting with activities for each season.

Children testing whether their models are windproof using a fan.

Civil Engineer

Civil engineers plan, build and manage big structures such as buildings, railways and bridges.

Develop and extend construction play with a focus on planning and problem solving.

Fluid Scientist

Fluid scientists are interested in what liquids and gases are like and how they move and behave.

Investigate bubbles by making them in different quantities and sizes.

Glaciologist

Glaciologists study glaciers – huge areas of ice found on mountains or near the North and South poles.

Investigate freezing and melting in a variety of ways.

Lighting Technician

Lighting technicians design the way lights are used in films, concerts and theatre, or to light up buildings, statues and bridges.

Make, use and explore resources to create light and shadow.

A child using magnetism to attach long screws to a magnet laid on a table.

Magnet Engineer

Magnet engineers design magnets or machines that use magnets.

Discover more about magnetism and how magnets can be used to push and pull.

Two children balancing a large number of small dinosaurs on rafts made of polystyrene and wood floating in a small water tray.

Marine Engineer

Marine engineers make and fix boats and ships, submarines, oil rigs and drilling equipment.

Explore floating, sinking and water displacement.

Child placing sun symbols on a weather map of Great Britain and Ireland.

Meteorologist

Meteorologists use measuring equipment and make forecasts of what the weather is going to be like.

Make and use equipment to observe, measure and record the weather.

Children using tweezers to put small pill-shaped shapes into a paper bag.

Pharmacist

Pharmacists prepare and give medicines to people who have a prescription.

Count, measure, sort and create patterns while making pills and medicines to dispense to customers.

Children using Cubetto tiles correctly in the programming board.

Robotics Engineer

Robotics engineers design, build and program machines to do jobs more easily than a human could.

Program simple robots and learn about giving and following directions.

Tell us how you’re using it!

We’d love to hear about your experiences with the Play, Be, C resource.

Used it? Loved it? Have suggestions for improvements? Drop us a line: nustem@northumbria.ac.uk.

Winner's banner for Educate North Awards

Play, Be, C won the STEM initiative Award at the Educate North Awards 2024.