Facilitator Resources
Building The Capacity Of Educators
Suites of resources on a range of early STEAM topics for facilitators and coaches to use in professional learning with educators.
Get to Know the CPE Resources
CPE offers resources that support STEAM family engagement experiences:
- Resources for use by facilitators or educators include guidance on interactive exhibits, Math Activity Take Home (M.A.T.H.) packs, and family STEAM events.
- Resources to be shared with families or educators include math- and STEAM-focused book guides, activities, “I’m Ready!” videos, and handouts on early math learning.
This section provides an overview of family engagement resources offered by CPE. The resources are also described in the CPE Family Engagement Resource Guide.
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Identify Ways to Use CPE Resources
There are many ways to offer STEAM learning experiences to families and community members, such as playful experiences, books, or community events. Let’s explore three examples of STEAM family engagement experiences that use CPE resources:
- Interactive exhibits
- M.A.T.H. packs
- Family STEAM events
Interactive Exhibits
CPE interactive exhibits are:
- playful, hands-on explorations of STEAM concepts and skills, allowing families to experiment for a few minutes or in more depth
- provided in early learning settings or community spaces
- engaging for a wide age span, from infants to adults
- accessible to families of children with disabilities
- set up for various time periods, such as one day, one month, or permanently
CPE interactive exhibit guides have:
- detailed descriptions of the exhibit purpose, ways to set up exhibits that support families’ exploration, and suggested space and materials
- examples of facilitation prompts to use with families while they explore the exhibits
- suggestions to adapt or extend the exhibit experiences
- lists of relevant books and materials to support children’s continued exploration of the topic area
Relevant CPE Family Engagement Resources
•Light and Shadow Play Interactive Exhibit
Observe: Light and Shadow Play Interactive Exhibit
These images show children, families, and educators exploring the Light and Shadow Play Interactive Exhibit. Take a minute to observe the images. Consider how interactive exhibits promote joy and create a sense of wonder around STEAM topics.
Think about ways interactive exhibits connect to the existing practices of families in your community. For example, the Light and Shadow Play Interactive Exhibit relates to ways that families use their hands to create shadow puppets.
Observe: Sensing Sand Interactive Exhibit
These images show children and families exploring the Sensing Sand Interactive Exhibit. Consider how families, learning settings, and community partners might contribute to exhibits. For example, a family who works in landscaping might provide sand for the Sensing Sand Interactive Exhibit.
Observe: Vertical Wind Tube Interactive Exhibit
These images show children, families, and educators exploring the Vertical Wind Tube Interactive Exhibit. This exhibit may remind families of building kites (“papalotes” in Spanish) with sticks, plastic bags, and yarn with their elders.
Consider who could offer materials or expertise to set up and maintain the exhibit. For example, one school district invited families with building experience to help construct the wind tube as part of the Vertical Wind Tube Interactive Exhibit.
Planning Interactive Exhibits with Community Partners
Bringing STEAM learning experiences to public spaces engages families and community members. Consider your role in planning, installing, and facilitating the training for the interactive exhibits.
Identify a community partner.
- Consider which community partners might support STEAM learning experiences. Reflect on existing relationships that community partners have with the families and learning settings that your agency serves.
- Dedicate time to build trusting relationships with community partners.
- Identify a main point of contact for the exhibit planning process.
Learn about the existing site
- Discuss options for exhibits and sites with your community partners. Learn about and plan for any unique considerations.
- Find ways to connect exhibits to events already offered by the community partner. For example, a library may invite families to a STEAM story time followed by a facilitated exploration of an exhibit.
- Consider how materials for exhibits are gathered, stored, and shared. For example, some libraries use a lending process to share exhibit materials with various local library branches.
Understand costs and leverage partnerships.
- Plan for the costs of the initial materials and upkeep for exhibits. One agency and community partner substituted paper for scarves in the Vertical Wind Tube Interactive Exhibit to save on costs.
- Consider when materials might need to be replaced and how materials are kept clean.
- Provide extra materials that families can take home to continue STEAM learning.
Offer training.
- Identify who can provide guidance, encouragement, or support to those engaging with the exhibit. Deliver any necessary training, such as how to work the exhibit and ways to support children’s STEAM learning. If the site changes, offer training to any new staff facilitating the exhibit.
- Provide copies of the interactive exhibit guide to the site staff. Review instructions on how to use any technology or equipment involved.
- Highlight the connections between the exhibit and STEAM topics. Share key math and science vocabulary and suggest open-ended prompts that spark curiosity.
Communicate safety issues.
- Position exhibits held at wildlife centers or farms away from animals to prevent small or edible items from entering the enclosures.
- Ensure exhibits held outdoors have a structure that provides weather protection.
- Consider a plan to keep the installation site clean, given the many materials used in the interactive exhibits.
- Choose materials appropriately sized for participating children. Avoid small choking hazards for infants and toddlers and include manipulatives that can be easily grasped by children with motor delays or disabilities.
Reflect:
- How can your agency engage families and community members in planning interactive exhibits?
- What ideas for different interactive exhibits do you have, including those that reflect your community’s cultural context?
What is in a M.A.T.H. Pack?
M.A.T.H. packs were designed to promote interactive reading experiences that support young children’s math learning. M.A.T.H. packs include a children’s book, the related CPE book guide and activities, and materials needed for the activities. In your local context, consider how M.A.T.H. packs may be focused on math or other STEAM topics. M.A.T.H. or STEAM packs can be co-created by families to strengthen the connection to families’ everyday learning.
Children’s Book
Consider books that represent the experiences of the families and communities that your agency serves. Make M.A.T.H. packs available in families’ home languages whenever possible.
Banana for Two (Plátano para dos in Spanish) by Ellen Meyer
Book Guide
CPE offers two types of book guides that support families and educators to engage in STEAM topics during and after reading:
- Discovering the Math Book Guides
- STEAM Explorers Book Guides
Book guides include conversation prompts, questions, key vocabulary, and connections to California foundations and standards.
Banana for Two (Plátano para dos in Spanish) by Ellen Meyer
Activity and Materials
Activity handouts offer ideas for playful, hands-on STEAM learning experiences for families that are related to the CPE book guides. Include the necessary materials to facilitate families’ exploration of these activities.
Consider ways to share additional CPE resources, such as generating a QR code. You can connect families to the CPE “I’m Ready!” videos or other online public resources, such as songs in families’ home languages.
Exploring Ones and Twos (Explorando uno y dos in Spanish)
Relevant CPE Family Engagement Resources
- Building M.A.T.H. Packs: Supporting Children’s Math Explorations at Home. A guide suggesting content and considerations for creating packs focused on math or other STEAM topics.
- Nurturing Early Math Minds: A Guide for Families. A handout describing the role of families in children’s math learning and ways to explore math in everyday, playful routines.
- Count Play Explore. A website for families and educators featuring book guides, activities, and “I’m Ready!” videos.
- Count Play Explore Issues. Handouts providing ideas for early math and science family engagement experiences in three areas—counting, playing, and exploring.
Observe: M.A.T.H. Packs
The demonstration site for CPE, the Lighthouse for Children Child Development Center, created a M.A.T.H. pack program. In this video, CPE partners, Barbara Daniel and Carolyn F. Pfister, describe how M.A.T.H. packs:
- support ways families engage children in math learning
- include books, activities, and other resources
- are checked out from early learning settings, libraries, or community partners
Reflect:
Consider the early learning settings that your agency works with.
- How can you offer a M.A.T.H. pack program in one or more of those settings?
- What CPE Family Engagement Resources would you include?
STEAM Packs: M.A.T.H. Packs
Family STEAM Events
Prioritize families’ strengths and interests.
- Co-create events with families, community members, and educators. For example, families may express interest in a robot-building challenge, a winter art exhibit, or a spring fair involving planting seeds and making predictions.
- Offer interactive exhibits before other events to discover what families enjoy doing together.
- Schedule events at times and locations that work well for families.
- Invite and respond to families’ feedback on events.
Families and children explore together.
- Encourage children to take the lead exploring playful, hands-on STEAM learning experiences while families offer support.
- Include a children’s book and a related CPE book guide at STEAM activity stations. For example, one agency offered a community STEAM event inspired by the children’s book Cook It! (¡A cocinar! in Spanish) by Georgie Birkett. The agency used the Cook It!(¡A cocinar! in Spanish) Discovering the Math Book Guide and the activity Pizza Time (¡Hora de pizza!in Spanish). After reading the book, families of preschool-aged children made pizzas, estimated (how much sauce), used fractions (when slicing cheese), and made predictions (how many pepperonis will fit on the pizza).
STEAM events leverage community resources.
- Explore partnerships and funding sources to support the event. For example, literacy grants may support the purchase of bilingual STEAM books and resources.
- Hold events in a community space such as a library, farmer’s market, or science discovery center. Events may be a STEAM night, science fair, game night, makers’ fair, or other community event.
- Begin events with a brief and engaging presentation (under 10 minutes) on the topic of focus. Presenters may be a family member, educator, or community member. One school district offered an in-depth presentation during an adult family member meeting on children’s STEAM learning. The school later offered a separate family engagement event featuring many different STEAM experiences.
Relevant CPE Family Engagement Resources
- Count Play Explore. A website for families and educators featuring book guides, activities, and “I’m Ready!” videos. The videos show families engaging in math and other STEAM topics as part of everyday routines.
- Family Engagement Events: Promoting Early Math and Science Skills. A guide describing the benefits of a family engagement event, the planning process, and STEAM-focused CPE resources.
Observe: Family STEAM Events
Family STEAM Event: Family Math Night
Family Math Night
CPE partners, Barbara Daniel and Carolyn F. Pfister, describe how Family Math Night:
- offers a presentation on supporting children’s early math learning
- includes playful, hands-on exploration of math and other STEAM topics
- engages a wide age-span
Family STEAM Event: Family Math Night
Family STEAM Event - Family Fun Day
Family Fun Day
Claudia Meza and Michelle Haaland, from Exceptional Parents Unlimited, describe how Family Fun Day:
- builds the interest and excitement of facilitators, educators, and families
- provides STEAM professional learning for facilitators and other early childhood professionals as part of the planning process
- invites community agencies to share resources
- offers playful STEAM learning experiences
Family STEAM Event - Family Fun Day
Family STEAM Event: Melanated Math Moments
Melanated Math Moments
Ni McCovery, from BANANAS, describes how Melanated Math Moments:
- focuses on the joyful STEAM learning of families and educators
- includes a variety of hands-on learning stations
- invites community agencies to share resources
- offers math and science learning material for families to take home
Family STEAM Event: Melanated Math Moments
Reflect:
Consider ways that you might co-create a STEAM event with families. For example, you might invite families to lead the opening presentation or encourage them to facilitate event activities.
- What training might families need to feel confident in facilitating an activity?
- Who could your agency partner with to offer family STEAM events?
- What partners and funding sources might assist in sustaining family engagement in STEAM?
Ready to Plan a STEAM Family Engagement Experience?
Consider your responses in the My Journal resource:
- your observations of ways families engage children in playful, everyday STEAM learning
- your reflections on the CPE approach to family engagement
- CPE resources that you will use to support early STEAM family engagement
- community partners who you think will promote STEAM learning experiences
Record ideas about your agency’s family and community engagement efforts using the STEAM Family and Community Engagement Plan .
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