Do you know, that introducing your children to STEM skills early on serves as the foundation for a future career?
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. In today’s world, employers of all kinds are seeking workers skilled in STEM disciplines.
What are some valuable skills learned and developed via STEM activities? We’re glad you asked!
Problem-solving skills
Coming up with creative solutions
Persistence
Intellectual curiosity
Research confirms the human brain is particularly receptive to learning logic and math between 1 and 4 years of age, so the earlier we can get our youth interested in STEM, the better!
Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About Learning STEM Skills
1. Head outdoors! Take your young learner outside, whether it’s on a walk in a nearby park or in your own garden, and encourage them to explore nature. Here are some ideas perfect for outdoor STEM learning:
Go on a walk or a hike and have your kids journal what they see! Start asking “what” questions, so that your child begins to observe and communicate: “What are those birds doing?” “What shapes do those rocks make?”
On a nice day, grab a blanket and watch the clouds. Ask your child to explain the different shapes they see or ask if they can identify the various types of clouds!
Gather frogs or insects from your garden, just remember to set them free when you’re finished looking at them!
2. Make staying inside fun! There are plenty of STEM activities that can be done from the comfort of your own home. Set up a paper aeroplane shop at your dining room table, once constructed see how far they can fly and make improvements as needed. You can also do a family baking night to learn more about chemical reactions that occur while cooking sweet treats! Or get creative and have your child write and illustrate their own science fiction book!
3. Build things. Building various structures can help expand your child’s engineering and design skills. Has your child grabbed common household items and built a structure, how much weight can it support? Or challenge your kids to build the best fort they can with pillows, blankets, couch cushions, etc.
4. Play with water and blow some bubbles. All childhood musts, but they also help your kids explore some STEM ideas! Water play can introduce them to volume and weight, as you test which objects can sink or float. And blowing bubbles provides the opportunity to study science concepts like light and elasticity!
5. Choose games in the edutainment category. There are several STEM-related games and gifts on the market, from LEGOs and chemistry sets to DIY robots and Harry Potter coding kits! These games are both fun AND educational, encouraging a foundation for a future love of math, technology, science and engineering.
6. Visit a local science museum. Before children can read, they often learn by what they see or do. What better than to get them seeing and doing at a local science museum! Many have several interactive exhibits to choose from, in addition to IMAX theatres, planetariums, 3D simulators, and more. And as a bonus, many science and technology museums are offering virtual tours! In some cases, this may mean seeing past exhibits that are now long gone — so cool!
7. Don’t rely on school alone. Your child will certainly start dabbling in math, science, technology and engineering subjects during the school year, but if there is a local camp or after school program geared towards STEM learning available, sign them up!
8. Take advantage of our STEM programs.
