Published October 11, 2022
Additional Getting an Early Start with Growing Hands, Minds, and Hearts articles:
ABCs, 123s, stories, and play are the
foundation of early-learning programs.
Often the lessons and activities are hands
on, allowing the littlest learners to feel,
experience, and apply information. The
inclusion of STEM/STEAM/STREAM learning
experiences can be an integral expansion of
their knowledge and skill acquisition. In fact,
early learning and STEM/STEAM/STREAM?
Well, the two go hand in hand.
“Hands-on STEM/STEAM/STREAM learning
experiences are important in early childhood
education as they help build vocabulary,
communication, reflection, problem-solving,
and critical-thinking skills that help with
executive functioning, all needed later in life
to succeed later in the workplace,” says Gena
Puckett, education and training specialist for the
Graduate Center for the Study of Early Learning
(GCSEL) at the University of Mississippi.
Puckett has an extensive background
in early childhood education, having also
worked as a teacher and director for a Head
Start program and with Partners for Quality
Child Care, Leaders In Literacy, and the Early
Childhood Institute. She has held her current
position at GCSEL since 2016.
The GCSEL at the University of Mississippi
supports early childhood education across
the state through a number of programs and
efforts. Their research team and pre-K specialists
provide information and guidance on, among
other things, child development, education,
and policy decisions, and they support the
staff of the on-campus Willie Price Early
Childhood Center, which serves 3- and 4-year-olds.
Through professional development and
classroom coaching, they work with the North
Mississippi Education Consortium to provide
professional development to area educators
and with students across the state studying to
become early childhood education teachers,
strengthening their knowledge and skills so as
to better prepare them for classroom teaching.
This effort of preparing incoming early-learning
educators is where they have most
recently connected with Pitsco Education.
GCSEL AND PITSCO: A PERFECT MATCH
At the 2022 Southern Early Childhood
Association Conference in Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina, Puckett met Pitsco Education
Advisor Ronnie Thomas, who was showcasing
products at the Pitsco booth alongside
colleague and Early Learning Channel
Manager Jake Rudisill. “Pitsco products
seemed to be a great and fun way to bring
STEM, STEAM, and STREAM into the classroom
for children,” said Puckett. “I believe the
children would love coding the robots and
watching how what they coded made the
robot move.” (It didn’t hurt that Thomas’s
gregarious personality and excitement for
Pitsco were also on display.)
Puckett invited Thomas to GCSEL to give an
overview of Pitsco’s early-learning products.
Thomas set up Pitsco’s line of Early-Learning Activity Bundles in different stations for
Puckett and five of her colleagues.
“We enjoyed learning about other items
that help children use critical-thinking,
reflection, and problem-solving skills through
some of the activities,” said Puckett, “and we
discovered different ways students could
communicate to someone how to move or
complete a task. (Using musical instruments
was a fun one!)”
The visit impressed the GCSEL staff so
much they purchased a number of the
early-learning products for use at the center
and beyond. “We are currently
putting the Pitsco products
in our North Mississippi
Child Care Resource
and Referral Center
to use during
trainings,”
Puckett
explained.
“We are also
allowing
teachers or
parents to
check the
materials out
to use in their
classrooms
or homes.”
The center is
using Bee-Bots®,
Blue-Bots®, and KUBO
for coding lessons and
Kitt, activity bundles, and
science items for STEM, STEAM, and
STREAM activities.
And, they have plans to build upon this
knowledge of new early-learning options. “We
wanted others to learn about STEM, STEAM,
STREAM products [in early learning] as well
as products to help children have fun while
learning coding, so asked Ronnie to come and
be part of a two-day, hands-on conference
we are putting together for childcare
professionals around the state,” Puckett said.
Thomas returned in July to participate in the
conference and had an incredible time with
“this awesome group of educators! I’m thrilled
that Pitsco can be part of their early childhood
education experiences.”
We couldn’t be more honored to be
partners in play and preparation in Mississippi.
We can’t wait to see what is ahead for
the youth in these communities and the
educators who are making every effort to
prepare them for the lives and world their
students will grow into.