From Paige Gordon, Principal

One of my roles at Spark is as our school’s STEM coordinator, and I want to take a moment to share information about our school’s STEM Programming with our families.

Preschoolers in every classroom will be instructed in at least 5 units each year; these units of instruction represent the school’s comprehensive plan for high-quality, STEM-based inquiry, which are taught in all classrooms.  These 5 units of STEM are different than the previous year’s units so that children are being exposed to all our units of STEM over a 2-year cycle of learning. Additionally, there are small units of time (1 – 2 weeks) between units when students can study interest-based topics determined by the teacher based on student interests and emerging needs. 

We structure our preschool teaching staff into five collaborative teams, and together they collaboratively develop units of inquiry, integrating STEM principles, the Design Thinking Process, Creative Curriculum, Colorado Department of Education standards for preschool learning, the Colorado Early Learning & Developmental Guidelines, high-quality preschool environmental components, and the Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment objectives.  The five teams then share their planning tools, materials, templates, and resources with one another, with each team developing the unit even further than the previous team. 

During the first half of the school year, we will be focusing our STEM units and design challenges on these topics, in various orders, depending on your child’s teacher. We are seeking any experts from our parents, or connections our parents have, to support, extend, and enrich the learning opportunities with guest speakers, demonstrations, models, simulations, etc. while at school.  Please talk to your child’s teacher if you have ideas for any of these topics!

Here’s the year-long program of STEM for the ’23-’24 school year:

Sept 5 – Oct 6:

Ooh-Aah- Science: Ms. Mary, Ms. Marie, and Ms. Kelli

Lifecycles of Animals: Ms. Julia and Ms. Moira

Moving and Grooving–Dance and Fitness: Ms. Noreen and Ms. Kaylee

Transportation: Ms. Kiersten and Ms. Tori

Drama/Theater: Ms. Blair, Ms. Miranda, and Ms. Amy

Oct 23 – Dec 1:

Ooh-Aah- Science: Ms. Blair, Ms. Miranda, and Ms. Amy

Lifecycles of Animals: Ms. Mary, Ms. Marie, and Ms. Kelli

Moving and Grooving–Dance and Fitness: Ms. Kiersten and Ms. Tori

Transportation: Ms. Julia and Ms. Moira

Drama/Theater: Ms. Noreen and Ms. Kaylee

Dec 11 – Jan 26:

Ooh-Aah- Science: Ms. Noreen and Ms. Kaylee

Lifecycles of Animals: Ms. Blair, Ms. Miranda, and Ms. Amy

Moving and Grooving–Dance and Fitness: Ms. Julia and Ms. Moira

Transportation: Ms. Mary, Ms. Marie, and Ms. Kelli

Drama/Theater: Ms. Kiersten and Ms. Tori

Feb 12 – Mar 15:

Ooh-Aah- Science: Ms. Kiersten and Ms. Tori

Lifecycles of Animals: Ms. Noreen and Ms. Kaylee

Moving and Grooving–Dance and Fitness: Ms. Mary, Ms. Marie, and Ms. Kelli

Transportation: Ms. Blair, Ms. Miranda, and Ms. Amy

Drama/Theater: Ms. Julia and Ms. Moira

Apr 8 – May 10:

Ooh-Aah- Science: Ms. Julia and Ms. Moira

Lifecycles of Animals: Ms. Kiersten and Ms. Tori

Moving and Grooving–Dance and Fitness: Ms. Blair, Ms. Miranda, and Ms. Amy

Transportation: Ms. Noreen and Ms. Kaylee

Drama/Theater: Ms. Mary, Ms. Marie, and Ms. Kelli

Each time there is a new STEM unit, our staff will send out a family letter to communicate about the upcoming new unit. We are always looking for guest speakers and ways to enrich our STEM unit experiences — if you have ideas or experiences to share, please reach out to your child’s teacher.