Overview
‘Play, Be, C’ units aims to help early year educators to develop and deliver a high-quality STEM provision for children between 3 and 5 years old. There are many adults other than the teacher working in EYFS settings who will all be key influencers but may not have the STEM qualifications or training. ‘Play, Be, C’ provides an opportunity to include these adults, along with 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.
Play, Be, C is a series of units, each based on a high quality STEM story book. The units include STEM related questions to go with the book, a STEM person with a related career and their attributes, instructions for three adult-led activities and three provocations related to the story and a STEM at home activity. The units also contain STEM guides for practitioners to go with each activity including correct explanations of concepts and vocabulary lists and questions and suggestions for developing play, extending STEM learning and promoting STEM attributes. Using Play, Be, C will help Early Year Educators to develop consistency in approach approach across all adults in their setting, in a non-intimidating, easy to access way.
Depending on your setting, you can use the units in different ways:
- Using all the activities from the unit over the space of a few weeks.
- Using the career poster and setting out the provocations for children to explore the activities independently.
- Using the career poster as part of a role play area to allow children to ‘try out’ the job represented in the poster as part of their free play.
Play, Be, C also incorporates five attributes: curious, collaborative, creative, observant, resilient
These are attributes which are important for people in the STEM careers, but which are also important 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.
Units
The Meteorologist
Meteorologists use measuring equipment and make forecasts of what the weather is going to be like.
Meteorologist are: Curious, Observant, Collaborative.
Glaciologist
Glaciologists studies glaciers – huge areas of ice found on mountains or near the North and South poles.
Glaciologists are: Curious, Observant, Resilient
Marine Engineer
Marine engineers make and fix boats and ships, submarines, oil rigs and drilling equipment.
Marine engineers are: Curious, Creative, Resilient.
Lighting Technician
Lighting technicians design the way lights are used in films, concerts and theatre or to light up buildings, statues and bridges.
Lighting technicians are: Observant, Creative, Collaborative.
Fluid Scientist
Fluid scientists are interested in what liquids and gases are like and how they move and behave.
Fluid scientists are: Curious, Observant, Resilient.
Robotics Engineer
Robotics engineers design, build and programme machines to do jobs more easily than a human could.
Robotics engineers are: Creative, Observant, Resilient.
Magnet Engineer
Magnet engineers design magnets or machines that use magnets.
Magnet engineers are: Curious, Creative, Observant.
Arborist
Arborists look after trees and make sure they are healthy. Arborists are sometimes called Tree surgeons.
Arborists are:Collaborative, Observant, Resilient.
Civil Engineer
Civil engineers plan, build and manage big structures such as buildings, railways and bridges.
Civil engineers are: Creative, Collaborative and Resilient.
Pharmacist
Pharmacists prepare and give medicines to people who have a prescription.
Pharmacists are: Creative, Curious, Observant