This article is based on a meta-approach to the results of two separate studies and concerns the areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) in early childhood education. One of the studies focuses on how preschool teachers understand STEM and how it is taught in the preschool. The other concerns children's perspectives and strategies in their use of digital technology as part of the preschool's arts activities. Methodologically, the researchers have developed the idea of reading one study through the other using a meta-approach design. The results from this analytical approach show how different aspects of children's agency in play and aesthetic activity in the art room (i.e. atelier) can develop and inspire the teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in the subjects of mathematics and science. The results of following children and their processes and actions in the atelier can also influence teachers' knowledge and didactic choices in selecting teaching content and strategies. The findings are considered useful for educators and researchers in the field of early childhood education.