301: How Can We Transform Early Childhood Education with STEAM? With Susie Beghin

In this episode of Child Care Conversations, Kate and Carrie sit down with Susie Beghin, a passionate early childhood leader from Toronto. They chat about weaving STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) into preschool life—think block play as “engineering” and art projects inspired by real architecture! 

Susie shares her Four Pillars of Learning framework and offers clever tips for integrating literacy and science into every corner of the classroom. If you’re looking for friendly, practical ideas to spark curiosity and creativity in young learners, this episode is a treasure trove! 

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Transcript

Carrie Casey (00:47)
Welcome back to this childcare conversation. And today we're having a conversation with Susie Beguine and she wants to talk to you about making sure that the kids are getting some science, some technology, some engineering, some art, and maybe a little bit of math.

Susie Beghin (01:05)
Yeah

Kate Young (01:07)
Boy, that's a lot of letters. That's like, you

all kinds of stuff right there. And what's going to be great is that Susie's going to tell you as an owner how you can pull this, probably how you're already doing it. And what I love is it's also a way that you can start to go, hey, notice me, I'm doing something a little different. So with that, Susie, tell us a little bit about how you got started in early childcare. And we'll just kind of go from there.

Susie Beghin (01:35)
Sure. ⁓ Similar to your story, actually, I got started because I had a child. So yeah, that's how I got into it. I was in a whole other different field before I got into early learning. But then once my child came along, I really got interested in kids. And I always knew I was good with kids. I just didn't know that I was so passionate about until I got into it. And then, you know, just kind of snowballed from there. I opened a daycare and then a second one and then a third one.

Carrie Casey (01:42)
you

Susie Beghin (02:04)
⁓ and then, ⁓ you know, filled them all up and we have waiting lists for all of them. So I created my own program, my own curriculum called Four Pillars of Learning, which incorporates STEAM, those five wonderful letters. And I think that's really what differentiated us in terms of what we offer compared to the other daycares out there.

Kate Young (02:26)
Well, why don't we start with where are you located?

Susie Beghin (02:29)
Sure. So I'm in the Greater Toronto area in Canada and those are my three areas, my three daycares are located.

Carrie Casey (02:30)
You

Kate Young (02:41)
Awesome. Hey, that was like going.

Carrie Casey (02:42)
So you

keep yours close by each other. I know some people are like, no, no, no, I only want one that I can physically visit and the rest I want to have to, you know, like zoom.

Susie Beghin (02:52)
Yeah, well actually

they're like 10 minutes apart from each other so it's great because I can go in between them really quickly.

Kate Young (02:58)
Love that, love that. And so how did you find yourself in, like what was it about STEAM that made you go, ⁓ I want that. Like that is where my interests lie as an educational focus when it came to creating your programs.

Susie Beghin (03:20)
Yeah, well, I think maybe it's part of my personality too. I'm sort of a logical kind of person, right? So I always gravitated to like science and math. And so, you know, I was in technology in my previous career because I was, you know, I did IT consulting. And so that kind of, I think that was just kind of a little bit about who I was. And so I wanted to bring that into the early years because I noticed that we didn't have a huge focus on things like technology, science and math.

even engineering, right? And then of course, we bring in the arts because you you can't do any of those things without creativity. So I think that's how it all got started for me is that it just kind of it was my own background that I brought into the field. And I thought, why can't we be teaching these things at the earliest ages, like starting at infants?

Carrie Casey (04:09)
Well, and some of those things were super prevalent and then became less so, like it's an ebb and flow. Cause when I was a child in early childhood education, I had access to saws and hand drills and hammers and all kinds of engineering and simple machines. And I don't see a woodworking,

corner in very many centers anymore. We've gotten a bit scared of doing that kind of stuff. And I think we need to take some pages out of the Danish approach to early learning where they're like, no, no, kids need to take risks. Kids need to build huge structures to work at that engineering and the science of

Susie Beghin (04:43)
this.

Carrie Casey (05:02)
building a structure that is bigger than you, whether you're building it out of cardboard or you're building it out of unit blocks or whatever building tool, that kind of thing scares some teachers and scares some parents, but it's so valuable for the children to build something out of a monumental size, right? They get such a kick out of it.

Susie Beghin (05:26)
And you know, I'm glad that you call it engineering because a lot of people are doing engineering, but not realizing it. They call it block play, right? They have usually a block center in their classroom somewhere and they don't know that it's engineering skills that they're building. But you know, when you use that bigger word, instead of calling it block play and you call it engineering, parents see it differently. They see that there's high level thinking going on here. It's not just

stacking one block on top of another, which is important, but it's more than that. Like there's issues of stability and balance and you know, so so many things happen when you're building. And like I said, classrooms are already doing this, even, you know, starting at infants, they're putting one block on top of another. That's engineering. And sometimes we just have to change our terminology, right? And really see it as higher level thinking and understand what's really going on beyond that block play, right?

So I'm glad that you called it engineering. That's amazing.

Carrie Casey (06:24)
Yeah. Well,

mean, unit blocks were designed for children by an architect. Like Frobel was an architect and the works he created for the infant room, for the infants and for, I can't remember what he called toddlers. He had a weird name for them that wasn't toddlers, but he had like different stages of works and the preschool and elementary age, he was like, you guys need unit blocks. We need arches. We need.

you know, all of that stuff because he was an architect and he knew that children needed to understand the basics of engineering in order to know what was safe and what wasn't safe because kids were going to build stuff anyway. Let's give them some tools to learn that stuff at a kind of not quite instinctive level. But if you've built with those arches enough times in the block center, you eventually figure out I have to have both of them.

for it to stand up, I can't just have one.

Kate Young (07:26)
Well, I think one of the things that is exciting and hopefully ⁓ folks who are listening will go, I want to know more, is that, you know, understanding the vocabulary, understanding the nomenclature ⁓ does so much when increasing your professionalism and the professionalism of your curriculum and of your educators in your program. So,

If you are listening and you're going, okay, well, I don't come from that background, know, blocks or blocks to me, you know, whatever, you know, that kind of thing, you know, do your own research. You can use, you know, curriculum. I am absolutely sure that in the show notes, Susie will have some resources for us that we'll be able to share with you. But when I started in...

out of school time or school age care a really, really long time ago. One of the things that I made a huge deal out of when working with educators was making sure that they had the engineering nomenclature and that they understood, you know,

everything that was happening, even if you're using, if steam is maybe more, maybe you're more of the A than the E, ⁓ or maybe you're more in the science, using the actual nomenclature, even when it's little things like a little bit of a making a volcano that explodes and you're using vinegar and baking soda, using the actual nomenclature.

using the scientific names. My favorite was giving kids actual beakers and letting them actually pour vinegar and baking soda using the actual science lab equipment, regardless of their age. Like they didn't need to be afraid of this stuff. So ⁓ I love that we are taking that vocabulary component and that perspective because like you said, we're already doing it.

Let's call a spade a spade, right? So let's make sure that we can ⁓ Elevate the the educator in the room so that the educator Knows that nomenclature. What are you calling? You know, whether it's arches whether it's you know principles like, know engineering ⁓ As far like you said before building those foundations ⁓ And some of that so what are some of your favorite?

resources that owners can share with their educators. What might be some some tips or I know Carrie's got her favorite educator.

Educator educators.

Susie Beghin (10:20)
In terms of resources, would say, ⁓ you know, I think that STEAM learning really is an integrated approach to learning, right? So it's not just science by itself. It's not just math by itself or engineering by itself. It's everything together.

Carrie Casey (10:21)
Mentors, how about educational mentors?

Kate Young (10:24)
Thank you. I'm like going, I'm looking for

a word and I'm not coming up with it.

Susie Beghin (10:48)
So once you really understand that concept of STEAM being like an architect, you mentioned the architect profession, right? Like when you're an architect, you're not just doing engineering, you're doing engineering and design at the same time. So you're incorporating art and engineering concepts. You're also doing science and math and technology when you're using the tools to create your designs. So it's really an integrated approach where everything comes together and you're not separating it in silos.

and saying, I'm doing science right now, I'm doing math right now. Math is incorporated into everything that you do. I always say when we teach math, we don't want to make it a math lesson. Math is part of us singing songs, right? Math is part of ⁓ me in the dramatic area, you know, with a cash register. So when you look at STEAM as kind of like that integrated approach where you're doing multiple subjects at the same time, it's kind of like that architect. don't...

break down, okay, I'm going to do the science component right now. No, they do it all in one and same with play. When children are playing, they're not saying I'm doing science or math right now. They're just playing and they're doing all those things simultaneously and when you do activities and when you have your curriculum and your program, you can structure it that way that you you're getting multiple learning and this is the benefit to parents is that when you teach them what you're doing because you're going to talk about it.

and you're going to show them what you do, they'll be amazed. They'll really be amazed at what you're doing and how you're doing it. And just by, like you said, the vocabulary, changing how you describe what you're doing and seeing all those components together really will elevate your program. And as far as resources, back to the original question. ⁓

Kate Young (12:40)
okay sometimes I forget what I asked and why I asked it so

thank you for a good my going this has been great ⁓ yeah I forgot I asked that question

Carrie Casey (12:48)
You

Susie Beghin (12:49)
I'm going to give myself a plug there for resources. I do lots of training on this. I teach about how to teach STEAM and incorporate it into your own philosophy of learning and your own curriculum. So you don't have to go out and buy any new curriculum. You can incorporate into whatever you're already doing. And like I said, you're probably already doing it. You're just figuring out how do I tell people about it and how do I make it a little bit more intentional maybe.

And so there's that, there's my book as well, of course, is another resource where I talk all about it. So.

Kate Young (13:15)
well, that's awesome.

I'm glad you eventually got there, because I was like, no, she's got a secret. She does. I know she does. saw it. So no, same with.

Carrie Casey (13:21)
Well, okay.

Susie Beghin (13:28)
Hahaha

Carrie Casey (13:31)
Well, and I wanted

you to, no, I want her to talk about the four pillars of her curriculum also. I wanna make sure we talk about that also.

Susie Beghin (13:38)
sure.

Kate Young (13:38)
Okay?

Susie Beghin (13:41)
So when I created my curriculum, I was looking at a lot of different models out there and there was not one that specifically sat with me really well. So I was like, I got to create my own. And so I took a little bit from everywhere, right? Like I took a little bit of Montessori, I took a little bit of Reggio. Well, I took a lot of Reggio because I really liked that. And I took a little bit of, you know, a little bit of from everywhere. And I said, okay, I want to create something that parents will resonate with and that they can understand.

Kate Young (14:02)
you

Susie Beghin (14:10)
⁓ and that I can explain to them. So I thought of these four pillars and these four pillars kind of hold up the foundation, right? And so the first pillar is language and literacy because you can't do anything if you don't have language and literacy, right? You have to learn that before you can learn anything else. You have to be able to communicate before you can learn any other ⁓ subject, right? So language and literacy to me was first pillar. Second pillar was the STEAM skills because STEAM, which incorporates that science, technology, engineering, art and math.

That really is the digital age learning, right? Like this is what our kids today will need tomorrow to do their jobs. They need their creativity, they need innovative thinking, they need critical thinking, they get all that with STEAM. Then the third pillar is physical activity and nutrition because I know that healthy body, healthy mind, right? So you have to work on your body through physical activity and nutrition to be able to learn, right? Just puts you in a good frame of mind for learning.

And then the fourth one is what I call mindful awareness, but it's basically social emotional skills, learning how to regulate, right? So if you take all of that, all those four pillars, you really have a holistic approach to learning that incorporates every part of that child. So that was what my four pillars is all about.

Carrie Casey (15:25)
mean, it sounds to me like you got all the big elements and you didn't do it by setting up a math center and setting up a writing center. You just did it by incorporating all of the activities throughout the day. I feel so sad for those math centers. They're so lonely. Nobody ever goes over to the math center. But if you give kids access to a ruler, they will measure all kinds of things.

Susie Beghin (15:45)
Yes.

for

sure. Like measuring tapes and rulers in the engineering area or block area, whatever you call it, ⁓ definitely is a must because they're going to measure their structures. Like they love the measuring tape. It's one of the most favorite things in the classroom. And it's math.

Carrie Casey (16:10)
Absolutely.

Kate Young (16:10)
So

how do we have these conversations with those who want to... ⁓

going to go with the ones who decide that we have to have this specific thing to be a quality program. Because I think that one of the things that happens is owners, and at least we see it a lot ⁓ in Texas and the US, and I won't say it doesn't happen in other places across the country or even across other countries, but we get people who are regulatory or these people who are trying to tell you this is what a

you know, what your location should look like. Because I think that you brought up some good points and I know Carrie did when she said those math centers, right? And even like I see people pull out and they're like, we're going to do art time at this time. And I'm like, but what if I don't want to do art right then? What if I want to do art differently? What if I want to do my art with my science, right? How do we as early educators who are passionate, who have thoughts,

How do we help educate those who are ⁓ regulating that not all of us are going to fit in this nice little box and that sometimes even they have to think outside of the box a

Carrie Casey (17:21)
Those who-

Susie Beghin (17:29)
Yeah, I, you know, we're kind of lucky here where I am, which is in Ontario, we have something called, How Does Learning Happen? And so the government has come up with a document that says, How does learning happen? Like, it's a question, right? And the question, the answer to the question is, it happens through belonging, engagement, expression, and well-being.

And if you look at that and you look at my four pillars, you'll see similarities in that learning happens through educator involvement, right? And through real life experiences, hands-on experiences that children have ⁓ through play, right? It's simple. And so you don't need all of those little regulations that say you need to have this in this area or this in that area.

real learning happens that way. And maybe there needs to be some influence at a higher level to really, let's use the current research and say, how does learning happen? That's how they came up with the document is they went to psychologists, psychiatrists, educational consultants, experts, and all of that. And then they came up with this. It's just all about interactions and through play.

That's what learning is. And so as long as you're doing that in your center, it doesn't really matter what else is there. I mean, you have materials and stuff, but, you know, it's about that.

Kate Young (18:59)
So Carrie, you and I both know that we've seen, and where we are, those Montessori programs are the ones who get dinged the most because they don't fit the plastic curriculum bubble ⁓ that the check markers and the checklist folks are looking for. And so we have to sometimes work with those owners and those directors and managers and head of schools to help them.

educate the people with the list, right? And so, Carrie, what would you say to somebody who's listening, who's like, well, we do all of those and I agree with Susie, but I feel like I'm stuck because I have to have that lonely math center as a lonely math center. What might you say do give resource for those folks?

Carrie Casey (19:51)
So.

do things in ways that both serve the kids and make the person with the checklist happy. So instead of giving a table and calling it the math center, I label the basket math center that I've put in the building section of the classroom. And then on the picture, there is the measuring tape, there is the ruler.

⁓ and there is the measuring tape that you use for sewing. So those three things are all in there and a calculator because they do love a calculator even if they don't know what they're doing with it. And by putting those things in there and labeling it math center and putting it where children are naturally going to need those materials, then I have made the children happy and it's been helpful to.

Susie Beghin (20:28)
Yeah.

huh.

Carrie Casey (20:51)
their actual exploration and learning. And I've made the person with the checklist happy because it's labeled what they need to check off. And yeah, mean, figure out what works. Yeah.

Susie Beghin (21:01)
I love that. That is amazing. I would do that in all centers. Wouldn't that be wonderful if

Kate Young (21:05)
Well, one of the things.

Susie Beghin (21:08)
you had a basket that said art materials in your engineering area, or you had a basket that said science materials, right? And you could just say, you know, all those things that are requirements, have them as baskets, you know, in each of the areas so that you can cross mix them. Because that's where the real learning happens is when they mix.

Carrie Casey (21:22)
Yeah.

Kate Young (21:27)
Well, what I love is when you have really awesome space design. And so you're using your environmental design and you have things like Bach block. Anyway, that section of the, you have building and you have it next to what might be considered the dramatic play area because, you know, some of my favorite activities in,

Carrie Casey (21:41)
Building.

Susie Beghin (21:41)
Hahaha

Kate Young (21:54)
again it comes back to how we've educated our educators and do they understand what's happening? Do they understand the language? And that they go, okay so this morning I want you to imagine you're here, right? So maybe you're gonna go shopping this morning, maybe you're gonna do cooking this morning and you know if they can do those things and pull in everything from the entire room, why do we have to say that only the three of you get to do this in this space?

Why can't I have 12 kids who have decided they're going to start a restaurant and they're going to build the restaurant and they're going to design their menu and they're going to cook their food and they're going to make their food because they've got the art supplies and they've got the science materials and they've got some hats they can put on that they're going to feel like they're now a chef or whatever that role might be. we've seen

some great spaces that do that, but then I also see people do things like, I've got a building center and right next to it I'm gonna put the quiet space with the books. Like that don't make no sense. That's gonna, mean, that's gonna like, somebody's gonna start building with those books. They're gonna become little teepees for the little, you know, blocks to go, go play in.

Susie Beghin (23:01)
You

Carrie Casey (23:11)
Yeah.

I mean, if I were in charge of a preschool classroom, every preschool classroom, about 50 % of the preschool classroom would be building, ⁓ building supplies, building materials and art because your collection of old toilet paper rolls and old paper towel rolls can go in either one. Right. And having pictures and blueprints, you know, line drawings of the Taj Mahal at

Susie Beghin (23:31)
Yes.

Carrie Casey (23:40)
That's an art piece, right? So people can try to paint it or it's inspiration for the block center. And then we have clipboards with pencils attached. Just just glue the pencils onto a piece of yarn. Yeah, I don't understand why people. This is what we did back in the 80s, guys. You take the pencil, you put a piece of yarn on it, then you glue it and then you tie the other end to the clipboard. Then you're never losing your pencils. This is this is

Susie Beghin (23:51)
And you've got literacy there. You've got, you know, it's amazing. Yeah.

Carrie Casey (24:09)
old school and very helpful.

Susie Beghin (24:10)
And that's how you can put

literacy everywhere, right? I mean, you have like, you know, the written part where they can pretend to make drop marks or whatever stage they're at in their literacy, you know, printed, but then also reading, right? Like you have books related to that. So let's say I have an architectural magazine book there in the area so I can read or pretend to read or look at pictures of buildings, you know, in that area, or like you said, the menu in the dramatic area.

Carrie Casey (24:15)
Yeah!

Susie Beghin (24:39)
where you can write something, write the order. So amazing.

Kate Young (24:40)
Or, you know, and you can put hard

hats. Have some hard hats on the wall. Have some, you know, blueprints. mean, you don't have, mean.

Carrie Casey (24:51)
flashlights. And again, we put that in the basket and we call it the science center. And you put the cellophane and the rubber bands so that they can change the color. You can make, yeah, I.

Susie Beghin (24:53)
⁓

So many creative ideas.

Kate Young (25:04)
I think we could probably

have this discussion all day, but I am excited. Hopefully this conversation will get those of you who are listening to go, ⁓ I never thought about how my room arrangement should match my educational philosophy. And what's really great is that as you learn the vocabulary, as you change the nomenclature, when you're using it to describe your program, when you're sharing with the parents, you get to differentiate your program.

from the other programs in the community and you didn't do anything different other than maybe you got some baskets and instead of having one place for blocks, you now have blocks in three or four places or you have art and science in three or four places. And I just, absolutely love that. Susie, thank you so much for coming and having a conversation with us. ⁓

All of Suzy's resources will be in our show notes, ⁓ links to her website. Go find resources if you've got questions. ⁓ If you go to, do they have to go to Buzzsprout to get to the text desk? If you go.

Carrie Casey (26:16)
No, they

just, it's in the show notes. You just hit text the show.

Kate Young (26:21)
All right, so if you go into the show notes and you have questions for Susie, hit the, you know, text to the show and make sure you tell us that your question is for Susie. And it's even better if you also give us a way to contact you because otherwise it ends up just on an episode. And so we hope that you're listening. So, Carrie, what else do they need to do?

Carrie Casey (26:43)
and

Well, they need to join all the people from Edmonton who are listening to the show and share it with other people. And if you haven't already subscribed or followed the show on your podcast player, do that today and we will see you in a few days.