06/12/2026
Children’s Council's Incubator and Instructional Coaches Team recently attended the Count Play Explore (CPE) Institute in Fresno, joining partners across California to celebrate and strengthen early childhood STEAM learning. CPE is a statewide initiative that supports early educators in building confidence and skills to engage young children in STEAM through hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences.
We were proud to showcase the work of our CPE cohort participants, especially Family Child Care (FCC) and Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) educators, who have been bringing STEAM concepts into their programs through hands-on exploration, inquiry and joyful learning. We also had the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning, where we explored creative STEAM experiences, experimented with materials and embraced the power of play and inquiry as learners ourselves.
Beatrice Gibson, Children’s Council’s Lead Instructional Coach, joined a panel discussion to share insights on supporting sustainable STEAM learning in family child care settings. We believe STEAM is important in early childhood because young children are natural explorers and problem-solvers. Through everyday curiosity and hands-on learning, educators help children build creativity, confidence and critical thinking skills.
Thank you to our educators for creating meaningful learning experiences for children and families!
