** Part 1 or 2 can be taken in any order **

STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Activities involving these fields have a significant impact on kids. 

It might look like your kids are just playing, but they are doing so much more. Look closely, and you will see the design process in motion. You will see critical thinking skills in action, and you will notice problem-solving at its finest.  When kids play, they learn about the world around them!

In this Flex class, each week, on Monday mornings, I will be posting an ABC STEAM Challenge (on the classroom wall) that correlates with a letter of the alphabet. (Example week one: Letter Aa: Create an ANT that can stand on six legs) There will be a PDF sheet (with pictures) to encourage brainstorming and design drawings for each challenge. This sheet will walk you step-by-step through the Engineering Design Process. There will also be a PDF sheet to create a journal with and record their final process and give details on what they learned worked and didn't work. 

I will provide suggestions for common materials around the home to use, but this is where your child can use their critical thinking skills to develop their ideas too! Completed challenges are to be posted in the classroom by each Friday to receive individual feedback from the teacher and other students in the class. 

As a flex class, we want to feel connected as a team! We will do this in a few ways. We will start by voting on a team name. I will also be posting classroom wall posts for questions and updates on how you are progressing in your challenge. These posts will be a great place to brainstorm with myself and the other students in the class. You will also be able to post photos and videos of your progress. I can/will share pictures of my projects to help with brainstorming ideas. Students are to comment on classroom posts at least once a week; however, they will be encouraged to interact with as many posts as possible.

We will also be viewing and discussing a couple of videos describing the engineering process, the science behind a few of the challenges, and the different types of engineers. 

I will regularly announce a time where I will open the live classroom; at that time, anybody available is welcome to jump on, share what they are working on, ask questions, brainstorm with others, etc...  This is strictly an OPTIONAL time. Participating in these live video classes will not be necessary to enjoy or participate fully in this class. 

We will have a particular post during the last week of class to share our favorite challenge from the class. I will ask for a short video to be posted from each student, explaining the challenge they chose, what they learned from it, and why it was their favorite.

If your student requires any assistance with their challenges, I will regularly be available throughout the week, by message and video in the classroom, 7 am - 10 pm PST. 

We will make it through the 13 challenges in this 13-week section. 
Week 1 - Letter N Challenge
Week 2 - Letter O Challenge
Week 3- Letter P Challenge
Week 4 - Letter Q Challenge
Week 5 - Letter R Challenge
Week 6 - Letter S Challenge
Week 7 - Letter T Challenge
Week 8 - Letter U Challenge
Week 9 - Letter V Challenge
Week 10 - Letter W Challenge
Week 11 - Letter X Challenge
Week 12 - Letter Y Challenge
Week 13 - Letter Z Challenge