The symposium provides an overview of the Early Years STEM Australia (ELSA) program. The conceptual underpinnings of the program are framed within STEM practices, rather than traditional thinking concerning the integration of discipline content knowledge. We will argue that our focus on practices is more aligned with the play-based and intentional teaching objectives of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). The symposium describes the approach we have undertaken, the extent to which some of the practices align well to mathematics thinking, and the pedagogical framework used to stimulate play and create activities for the six learning apps that form part of the program. [References after each of the three papers.]