4 peer responses due in 24 hours Each set of 2 has its own instructions  Guided Response: Read several of your peers’ responses. Then, collaborate with at least two of your peers by suggesting ways to get families involved in STEM either at home or in the school or center. Suggest at least three ideas your peers can use to link families to STEM. These can be activities, web resources, events, etc. Abigail’s post: Explain Your ideal STEM classroom My ideal STEM classroom will be based on a universal Pre K class at three to four-year-old children.  They will be showing a hands-on experience by doing the creative curriculum.  This innovative curriculum identifies goals in all areas of development, such as social, emotional, cognitive, and physical.  Children learn by touching, tasting, listening, smelling, and looking. Science STEM activity : Supplies used: Rocks, plastic pond animals or bath toys, craft foam, and water. We will fill a sand table or a large container with water. Gather plastic animals or bath toys that you might find in a pond. I found a few large rocks from the yard and cut Lily pads out of green craft foam, and then I would have the children arrange the items in the pond or set it up beforehand as a surprise. The lily pads made from craft foam float, so it is fun to put frogs or other animals on top of them. They will spend hours doing this, keeping children using their hands and fingers skills. Technology STEM activity :  Supplies used:  Camera, iPad, art supplies, tablets. We will do a photo scavenger hunt.  This activity is excellent to do indoors and outdoors.  Outdoors has more benefits because you have more space to hide things, but if the weather does not allow the children to do it outside, they can still do it inside.  For the scavenger hunt activity, I will ask the children to find school art supplies, and once they see the item, they can snap a picture from their pads, tablets, phone camera or any other camera.  The child with the most articles and photos gets the technology award of the week.      Engineering STEM activity: Supplies used:  Color confetti, empty bathroom tissue roll, glue, cardboards, kid-safe scissors, and aluminum foil. We will be doing a kaleidoscope.  Take a bathroom tissue empty roll and put two pieces of round shape cardboard and aluminum foil with slits at the end of the roll. Between the two round shape cardboards put some confetti in between and seal it with glue on the edges.  Once it is dry, look through the tube and turn the wheel, and you will see beautiful colors going in different directions. Math STEM activity: Supplies used: Timer, legos They will work in groups, and they will have large lego pieces.  They will start building, and I will set a timer.  They will be counting the number of legos that they will be using.  As they grab each lego, they will score. Whoever gets to 25 first is the winner.  The object is to learn how to count and to build great things. .

1. 4 peer responses due in 24 hours
Each set of 2 has its own instructions
Guided Response:
Read several of your peers’ responses. Then, collaborate with
at least two of your peers by suggesting ways to get families
involved in STEM either at home or in the school or center.
Suggest at least three ideas your peers can use to link families
to STEM. These can be activities, web resources, events, etc.
Abigail’s post:
Explain Your ideal STEM classroom
My ideal STEM classroom will be based on a universal Pre K
class at three to four-year-old children. They will be showing a
hands-on experience by doing the creative curriculum. This
innovative curriculum identifies goals in all areas of
development, such as social, emotional, cognitive, and physical.
Children learn by touching, tasting, listening, smelling, and
looking.
Science STEM activity :
Supplies used: Rocks, plastic pond animals or bath toys, craft
foam, and water.
We will fill a sand table or a large container with water. Gather
plastic animals or bath toys that you might find in a pond. I
found a few large rocks from the yard and cut Lily pads out of
green craft foam, and then I would have the children arrange the
items in the pond or set it up beforehand as a surprise. The lily

2. pads made from craft foam float, so it is fun to put frogs or
other animals on top of them. They will spend hours doing this,
keeping children using their hands and fingers skills.
Technology STEM activity :
Supplies used: Camera, iPad, art supplies, tablets.
We will do a photo scavenger hunt. This activity is excellent to
do indoors and outdoors. Outdoors has more benefits because
you have more space to hide things, but if the weather does not
allow the children to do it outside, they can still do it inside.
For the scavenger hunt activity, I will ask the children to find
school art supplies, and once they see the item, they can snap a
picture from their pads, tablets, phone camera or any other
camera. The child with the most articles and photos gets the
technology award of the week.
Engineering STEM activity:
Supplies used: Color confetti, empty bathroom tissue roll, glue,
cardboards, kid-safe scissors, and aluminum foil.
We will be doing a kaleidoscope. Take a bathroom tissue empty
roll and put two pieces of round shape cardboard and aluminum
foil with slits at the end of the roll. Between the two round
shape cardboards put some confetti in between and seal it with
glue on the edges. Once it is dry, look through the tube and
turn the wheel, and you will see beautiful colors going in
different directions.
Math STEM activity:
Supplies used: Timer, legos
They will work in groups, and they will have large lego pieces.

3. They will start building, and I will set a timer. They will be
counting the number of legos that they will be using. As they
grab each lego, they will score. Whoever gets to 25 first is the
winner. The object is to learn how to
count and to build great things.
A description of how your activity and or classroom is aligned
to standards
All the activities mentioned above aligns to the NAEYC
standards. The activities promote child development and
learning. The children develop good relationships among
themselves. I sit there and I observe , document and do
assessments as they work on their projects individually. They
connect with each other. They are also learning academically
and the students learn the importance of developmental
domains. By doing the activities, the children demonstrate
knowledgeable, reflective, and critical perspectives on their
work, making informed decisions that integrate knowledge from
a variety of sources (NAEYC, 2009).
References
Jaruszewicz, C. (2019).
Curriculum and methods for early childhood educators
[Electronic version]. Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu/
NAEYC. (n.d.).
Principles of effective family engagement (Links to an external
site.) (Links to an external site.)
(Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to
an external site.)

4. . Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/family-
engagement/principles
Elizabeth’s Post:
My ideal classroom would be an inclusive preschool classroom.
I love including STEM in my classes, and preschoolers would
be so ready to learn these concepts and participate in activities.
In my classroom, I will have STEM kits. These are boxes that
have different objects and materials. For example, a box with
wooden blocks, legos, tape and straws, popsicle sticks, or
playing cards. Children could practice their engineering skills.
Another material I would have in my classroom would be a
science center and a math center, with toys children could use
to learn important skills for each of these. For example,
counting bears, a scale, a balance, test tubes, measuring cups,
and fantasy play supplies. I would also make sure to have
technology available in my classroom, with games and activities
where students could learn to do things like code.
For science, I would do a science experiment frequently. An
easy experiment would be dying carnations. The children could
learn words like hypothesis, prediction, and even parts of the
scientific method. We would have visuals and create a poster
for the wall that they could look at. As the week goes on,
chi;drew can observe these carnations changing colors.
For technology, I would love to use applications on iPads or
chrome books in my classroom to teach children how to code.
An app like Kodable is easy to use, fun for kids, and still
teaches them important technological skills.
For engineering, I would have a bridge or tower building
competition. For preschoolers, we could use different materials
to build towers and see who could build the highest tower, or

5. the coolest tower, or the biggest tower. They could compare
which materials worked better and we could start to think about
why. For example, why do wooden blocks make better towers
than playing cards?
For math, I would do a cooking activity with the students. In
cooking and baking, you measure out ingredients and do steps
in a sequence. These are math based concepts that would stick
with a student for a very long time. For example, I would
choose to bake brownies. I would show them the recipe, show
them the measuring cups and they could learn how they stack.
Introducing fractions early is so beneficial for students, and
baking is a great way to do that.
The activities that I chose would align with the standards
because, for example, in math class, preschoolers should be
learning to develop a sense of number comparison. By showing
them the measuring cups, they would learn a comparison of
numbers. Which is bigger and smaller? Technology should not
replace adult-child communication and relationships, so by
teaching them to play these coding games, it is interactive and
fun for both. For science, one of the standards is “Explores what
a variety of living organisms need to live and grow”. By
watching the flowers soak up the colored water, the child will
understand how a flower lives.
THE NEW YORK STATE PREKINDERGARTEN LEARNING
STANDARDS: A RESOURCE FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS.
(2019). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://earlychildhoodny.org/pdfs/NYS_Prek_Learning_Standar
ds-2019.pdf
In your responses to no fewer than two of your classmates,
compare and contrast your respective identifications and
evaluations of theoretical arguments and grounding regarding
your selected sexual identity-related problem. Additionally,

6. identify any insights you have gained as a result of reading the
responses of others.
Carmen’s Post:
Sexual Identity Development
Understanding sex and gender are important for me to consider
what I feel is a sexual identity- related issue as this plays an
important role in identity development. Sex and gender are
connected but different in meaning, let me explain. According
to Mossler, R. A., & Ziegler, M. (2016), it is extremely rare for
a person to be born with undifferentiated sex organs, even
someone who is born with two sex organs they generally have
XX or XY genes. Biological sex is not adjustable, one is male
or female. On the other hand, gender is more continues as
Mossler, R. A., & Ziegler, M. (2016) explained, some
individuals are drawn quite strongly to the behaviors and
activities of one gender over another, while others engage freely
in more varied activities. For me, this means that an individual
has the power to determine sexual attraction and interest,
gender identity, or sexual orientation. It becomes an issue when
a male or female has a preference for the same sex or feels
“trapped” in the wrong body. This is sometimes difficult for
society to understand when not mindful, culturally some
religions do not accept same-sex marriages. As in Finkelstein,
S. (2006) video the two nine-year-old, identical, male twins,
Gerald and Adam who although twins are so different. Gerald is
very masculine and plays with what society would say is
appropriate for a male boy, on the contrary, Adam had his
bedroom filled with Bratz doll, pink color sheets, and his
fingernails painted in pink with white flower design. This would
be what society would say is more feminine. Adam’s behavior
showed signs of gender non-conformity. Researchers, Braun, S.
S., & Davidson, A. J. (2017) conducted a study on middle
childhood to have a better understanding of gender-typed

7. behavior, friendship, and peer preference. In this study, it is
shown that masculine type behavior is valued by both boys and
girls, and feminine-type behavior is devalued particularly by
boys. In Adam’s case, his behavior would be considered as out
the norm and at times unacceptable to society. The theoretical
argument relating to this issue is if, for instance, Adam’s
behavior is nature or nurture. Scientists have been arguing this
matter as in the case of Adam and Gerald, they both are
identical twins yet so unique. Freud’s theoretical view states
that nurture is important during your child development.
According to Freud, the superego makes a distinction between
right and wrong according to parental and societal standards.
Overall, Freud stressed that personality development was
established early as a result of the mother-child relationship…
Mossler, R. A., & Ziegler, M. (2016). Can this be the reason
why Adam’s behavior is unique? Or can it be an attachment
issue? Was Adam more attached to his mother than Gerald?
Resource
Braun, S. S., & Davidson, A. J. (2017). Gender (non)conformity
in middle childhood: A mixed-methods approach to
understanding gender-typed behavior, friendship, and peer
preference.
Sex Roles, 77
(1-2), 16-29.
Finkelstein, S. (2006). 20/20:
Exploring sexual orientation: Gay or straight, Part 1
[Video file].
Mossler, R. A., & Ziegler, M. (2016).
Understanding Development: A Lifespan Perspective
. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc
Tammy’s Post:

8. Identifying a sexual identity-related problem or issue that is of
importance to self and society and culture.
Gender Dysphoria and LGBTQ is a growing cultural group and
identity “issue” with social and cultural lenses. As people
discover their identity, he or she may deviate their physical
traits and behaviors to align and conform with one opposite of
their assigned (biological) sex. An association of anything other
than the assigned sex is accepted by same and similar
populations, but also is rejected and discriminated by many
others such as Christians. In some cultures, however, it is not
atypical to live in opposition of assigned genetics to achieve
status, earn sustainable wages, or for reasons of refuge such as
in India.
Identifying and evaluating the key positions and theoretical
arguments of the issue.
Biological, evolutionary, and cognitive influence all present in
the advent of gender expression and identity. When a person
chooses to live a life misaligning with their ascribed traits and
characteristics, society tends to fear the unknown or ridicule
those who are different. This instance of rejection is common
for faith-based populations. People fitting the group of LGBTQ
and congruent cultures are minoritized for their choices and
often live in forms of disparity as an outcome. Disparity then
presents as a bigger issue alongside hate crimes.
Reasons for differences in sexual orientation (e.g., from
biological, cultural, or physiological causes).
People may choose to life a life that rebukes the norm of
heterosexuals for vast reasons. For some, he or she may feel
they are “trapped” in the body of the opposite gender, saw, or
subjected to an appealing event that captured a desire to live in

9. such way. Additionally, a person may feel he or she was born to
be the opposite sex he or she is categorized as. As Dr. Michael
Bailey concluded in the video interview the nonconformity of
gender is not nurture or external and explicit, but rather it is
nature and internal and implicit factors that gravitate toward
one gender norm or sexual orientation (Finkelstein, 2006. 2:54).
The text,
Understanding Development: A Lifespan Perspective is in a
consensus that outside of the most familial relation and home,
that social influence will impact a child or person to act or live
in the same or opposite sexual assignment (Mossler & Zeigler,
2016).
Ground all positions and conclusions in theory and evidence.
As twin Jared said, “I’m a kid.” His statement did not specify as
his twin brother, “I’m like a girl” (Finkelstein, 2006. 2:30). In
analyzing this we can presume that if society had no sexualized
stigma , then the generalization of being a kid would be fitting
since it would illustrate universalism, or conformity. Since
there is a social caste and hierarchical system that has found no
bipartisan of diversity to date, the division or segregation
remain to group sex and gender to self-value and imagery.
Although evidence is indicating the gender identity, expression,
and sexual orientation is more physiological than psychological
or physical, as mentioned in the experiment segment of the
three part video series
Exploring sexual orientation: Gay or straight (2006), behaviors
were directly and immediately associated to gender ideals of
masculinity and feminist. The bottom line is understanding that
people are bias to their raising and role model influences. More
powerful than the persuasion in our lives is genetics do not lie.
References
Mossler, R. A., & Ziegler, M. (2016).

10. Understanding Development: A Lifespan Perspective
. Bridgepoint Education, Inc
Finkelstein, S. (2006). 20/20:
Exploring sexual orientation: Gay or straight, Part 1
[Video file]. New York, NY: CBS Corporation.