You might have seen me share on my Instagram and Facebook that the children are working towards their CREST Star Awards. I saw these last year, and remember mentioning to a friend that it seemed relatively easy to achieve and that it might be worth a look.
I had a quick look at them a few months back and decided it was something I wanted to do with Daniel and Em. The award is assessed by you but there are stacks of supporting guidance to help you along the way. We have completed five of the eight activities so far, so I thought it might be worth sharing how I have set up our awards in case other Home Educators found this useful.
What is the CREST Star Award?
The CREST star award if the first of the CREST awards and is an introduction to problem-solving in STEM. The activities offer children the opportunity to learn through hands-on challenges that focus on things in their everyday lives. Anyone can run these activities hence why I have taken it on, and there is lots of advice and tips to help you get the most out of CREST.
To complete the award, the children must take part in eight STEM-related challenges. Each one takes around an hour and is aimed at ages 5-7.
Setting up a group
When setting up a group it’s a good idea to get a mix of children. You also need people who will commit and turn up to each of the sessions. We initially had eleven in the group, but then it dropped to 8 and is now back at nine. Where people have missed a facilitated session then they’ve made it up in their own way.
Choosing the Activities
The CREST pack provides a whole range of activities to choose from. I spent a while going through these and chose around ten or so that I thought would work well, making sure I had a range that we could do indoors and some outdoors. So far we have completed:
- Teabag Trouble
- Slippy, Slidey Shoes
- Scrap Yard Scraps
- Speed Scooters
- Discovery Bag
I wanted to make sure we covered a range of topics but also had opportunity to show how things they’ve learnt in one session can be applied in another, for instance, friction in slippy shoes and speed scooters.
Facilitating the meets
At the meets, we have an introduction where I set the scene for what we are going to do. We then, for most of them, split into two groups. I try to vary the groups so the children get to work with different people each time.
I make sure each group has instructions for what the session is seeking to do, and make sure there are paper and pencils, colouring equipment etc for the children use to record their work. We then have a short session where we come back together and talk about what we have learned/observed etc and discuss any area of commonality or difference.
Then after a quick tidy up, the children share a snack and a drink before a short play.
Upon Completing the Awards
When the sessions have been completed you complete a short form on the CREST website where you provide information on the sessions that the children have done. The certificates and badges at £1 per student and I think they arrive reasonably quickly.
When the children have finished there session we intend to have a short celebration where we will present them with their certificates and I have kept a folder for each one with their notes and drawings in. I plan to print a couple of pictures of them to put inside too and hopefully will be a memory of the work they did towards achieving their CREST award.
Once the Star award is complete there is the Superstar award which looks really good. This is aimed at ages 7-11 and it might be something I look to do in the autumn time, or I might wait and start it next year when Emma is a little older and closer to 7.
I have found the CREST awards to be a fun way to get the children doing hands-on and practical STEM-related activities in a way that prompts them to think about principles such as ensuring a fair test, how to record their findings and problem-solving.
