Can younger children engage positively with electronics?

Absolutely!  Children learn through play and through taking things apart and putting them back together.

The challenge with children and technology is to create true accessibility.

We believe that this comes through learning-by-doing genuinely interesting things.

Our methods have been developed to allow children as young as four years old to experience the delights of creating interesting mini-products that work. 

Our 'accompanied learning sessions' take children and their accompanying parent/carer on a journey of collaborative discovery through the core elements of modern technology: electronics, sensors, and computing.

In the process, children develop their self-confidence, their ability to persevere, strengthen their communication skills, improve their dexterity with objects, and experience the delight of accomplishment! 

These physical, social, and emotional skills are part of a #growthmindset which will serve them well throughout their years in school.

What does a typical session look like?

Our accompanied learning sessions have four parts:

Welcome activity.  Each session starts in a circle with an activity that gets each child welcomed personally and feeling comfortable with the others in the group.

Discovery of the Day.  Each session's build is broken down into a few simple steps that take components and apply an assembly process.  Each step is first demonstrated to the children, after which each child is invited to take the relevant components back to their station and try it for themselves with their parent.  This is an exciting time when they get to choose materials for themselves!  After three to four of these steps, they will have created something that works.  In most cases, there is an activity that allows them to explore further and play with their creation!

Interactive show & tell.  In each session, the children get to present what they've done, building their self-confidence to explain to others, and strengthening their pride in their accomplishment.

Tidy-up routine.  The children are guided to take apart what they have built, piece by piece, and return it to the equipment station at the top of the circle.  We end the session going round each child and parent, and where the child gets to hear what their parent learned.

What involvement is expected of the child's parent/care-giver in these sessions?

Parents/care-givers are vital for the success of their child in these sessions.

Our activities are designed to create a child-carer team approach to discovering, learning, and playing together.

Our sessions facilitate the development of a growth mindset in children.  Child learning is best when the play is child-led, with the carer providing encouragement, attention, and support but only after letting the child have a few goes.  Trying, persevering, and eventually succeeding, are core aspects of a growth mindset. 

Where do you run your Junior sessions?

We currently run our Junior sessions across Herts, Bucks, and North London, at times and in locations where we have a minimum of 6 parents participating.

Our locations are warm, friendly, safe spaces, with convenient on-site parking, and which are embedded into local communities. 

You can see our existing Locations here, and we add new locations to meet demand.

What are the timings for the Junior sessions?

Our Junior programmes run Term-Time for 60 minutes. 

Weekly After-School: We typically start at 4pm to allow time for primary schools to finish and the child to have a little snack.

Weekly Weekend: We also offer Sunday slots by request.

Where can I learn more about MathSciTech?

You can learn more about what we do, and the background of our founder on the About Us page.

To speak to one of our programmes team, you can Register here and put in the request in the additional comments box.

We look forward to hearing from you again soon.