Nature and outdoor contributes to the need for STEM skills development among children.
Children learn best from their surroundings and Nature compliments to this.
The need for exploring, observing, experimenting and finding is essential in building STEM skills among children. Early Childhood Educators must integrate STEM into the curriculum.
By using interdisciplinary approaches teachers can integrate STEM learning into the curriculum. We need to offer children unlimited opportunities in learning scientific concepts using Nature as the primary medium. When we allow students to ask questions, investigate their surroundings and find answers without giving out the answers we encourage inquiry based strategies of learning. Allowing children excellent opportunities that engages them to explore and make new findings in Nature and then engaging in conversations and interactions with peers, teachers and parents helps in learning. The key strategies in STEM learning with Nature are to ask great questions, increase children's natural curiosity by asking open-ended questions, and allow children to narrate their expressions. Children learn to experiment, explore, discover and find answers to their queries.