We’ve been very excited to roll out our new online professional development offerings over the past few months—we’ve conducted webinars about habits of mind and engineering in out-of-school time and we’ve had some amazing discussions with educators around the country about STEM integration and ELA connections. Now, we’re ready to take online PD to the next level with the very first online workshop series this summer. We’re looking for a small group of highly motivated teachers to help us pilot test this new experience. If you are selected, you’ll receive a scholarship that includes:

• three online professional development sessions
• an EiE teacher guide of your choice
• the EiE materials kit for the unit
• a classroom set of 24 storybooks for the unit
• a $150 stipend for your feedback about the experience

One of the EiE staff’s favorite classroom engineering moments from our video entry to the NSF 2016 Video Showcase is when young engineer Max says to his classmate Charley, “Before this, I didn’t know Charley was a genius about this topic!” Charley responds, “I didn’t know I could even say that much or learn that much,” to the well-deserved compliment. This vignette perfectly illustrates one of the engineering habits of mind we hope all EiE learners develop: to see themselves as engineers and as problem solvers. In addition to engaging students like Charley and Max in engineering activities, we’ve learned that exposing them to positive role models they can identify with can also help accomplish this goal. So, in honor of Women’s History Month, we hope you’ll share these role models to inspire your own “genius” moments.

March is an exciting time here in Boston—the snow is melting, spring is nearly here, and we’re ready to hit the road for conference season! We love meeting EiE educators, answering your burning questions, and finding out about the amazing things you’re doing in your own classrooms or districts. And when you come visit us at a conference, you’re guaranteed to have fun and learn something new. Find our booths to check out our new materials kits or ask us about a new project you’re excited about (like early childhood engineering or digital storybooks). And visit our hands-on sessions, where you’ll get the chance to get your hands dirty and dive deep into some of our tried-and-true (and brand new) engineering design challenges. Check out our spring schedule to find out where and when we’ll be in your area, and let us know if we’ll see you there!

Have you tried our afterschool curricula, Engineering Adventures and Engineering Everywhere? These out-of-school-time (OST) units challenge kids to solve real-world problems using the engineering design process. Educators are always welcome to download these units for free and source the materials, but we also offer printed binders and materials kits in our store for easy implementation. Check out the two newest units available to purchase—Music to My Ears: An Acoustical Engineering Challenge and Growing Up: Engineering Vertical Farms.

When our son was three, he would spend hours playing with wooden blocks, making a highway for toy cars, a pen for toy animals, or just the highest tower he could stack. We didn’t think of it this way, but he was engineering.

Early childhood educators have always recognized how building with blocks (and similar hands-on activities) help children develop motor skills while at the same time exercising their creativity. But these activities can also be framed as authentic engineering. That’s something the EiE curriculum team is working on right now: a framework for preschool engineering.

Want to see what a sample lesson from our preschool engineering curriculum Wee Engineer looks like?