STEM now starts from 3yr which is the right age to introduce STEM Education to your child. Learn more about STEM Education and why it matters for children.
STEM Education, a term initiated by the National science Foundation is an educational approach which focuses on one or more of the four disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math. In an era when technical and scientific skills are increasingly important in the work force, exposing children to STEM learning in the early years is key. Currently, It is important to ensure that girls as well as boys are exposed to and encouraged in the area of STEM.
What is STEM Activities for Kids
- Build ramps to test which cars, balls, or marbles go the fastest. Use a board, sheet of cardboard, or small table with one side elevated to make a ramp.Try rolling a variety of objects, two at a time down the ramp to see which is fastest. Record your findings on a chart. Skills used: engineering and math
- Set-up building activities with paper or plastic cups. Give a challenge such as, “How high can you make a tower of cups?” Measure each tower and record their height. Skills used: engineering and math
- Explore the grocery store. With your child, purchase some fruits and vegetables that you have never tried before. Before cutting up the fruits and vegetables, have your child predict what will be inside. Then, with careful supervision, have your child help you cut up small pieces to try. Invite your family members to a tasting party. Make a graph that shows everyone’s favorites. Skills used: science and math
Play with water. Water is a rich STEM material and Water play activities is a great way to engage kids. Provide a basin of water outside so you don’t have to worry about spills. Provide tools to experiment with like a turkey baster, empty dish detergent bottles, plastic measuring cups, etc. to fill and compare. Skills used: math and science .The possibilities for STEM education are endless
STEM Activities for Preschoolers and school-Agers
Basically STEM tries t o answer the curiosity of the child when he see buildings, bridges, roads, cash register and wonders about there objects-who made them, how it is made, what is important while making thses,etc. infact the story of 3 little pigs is itself an excellent example of stem thought process.
- ”S” is for science. The basis for scientific discoveries is being a good observer. You can help build strong observation skills in your child by playing games that include examination. Talk about how observation helps us think critically and solve problems. Help your child develop observation skills . You and your child can take turns being the questioner and the guesser. The questioner picks an object in the child’s sight and says, “I spy something green (or round or bumpy or large).” The questioner guesses until he gets it right. The object in question does not necessarily need to be in the guesser’s sight.
- ”T” is for technology. Should expose child to new technology from point of new undestanding the process behind it, so for example let the child undestand from the mobile that it receives and transmits signals etc 4 nat as a tool for entertainment, and so on for other technology
- ”E” is for engineering. Offer building challenges that create STEM learning opportunities: “Can you build a tower with these cups that is taller than your waist?”“Can you make a bridge that the plastic animals could pretend to walk across?”“Can you use all the paper cups and make a structure that you could park your toy car in?”
- ”M” is for math. Ask any math professor he will tell youthere is math is everything that you see,do, understand, calculate etc.
Best Recommended STEM Toys For Kids:-
1)Active Play STEM Early Learning Kit :- If you or your students are new to STEM, then this super-simple learning kit is made for you! Our kit comes ready to use and easily integrates into your classroom’s existing activity centers—with no prep work and no guesswork!Simply set out the materials and display one of the illustrated activity cards, then let children start discovering on their own—naturally solving problems as they play and explore.Plus, the back of each card has super-simple teacher tips and discussion questions, so it couldn’t be easier to guide kids along—as they learn about STEM concepts including force, weight and balance!Kit includes a balance beam, 6 beanbags, a trampoline, 8 activity cards and a card stand. Balance beam measures 32″.
2)Water Play STEM Early Learning Kit :- If you or your students are new to STEM, then this super-simple learning kit is made for you! Our kit comes ready to use and easily integrates into your classroom’s existing activity centers—with no prep work and no guesswork! Simply set out the materials and display one of the illustrated activity cards, then let children start discovering on their own—naturally solving problems as they play and explore. Plus, the back of each card has super-simple teacher tips and discussion questions, so it couldn’t be easier to guide kids along—as they learn about STEM concepts while exploring properties of water! Kit includes 22 water pipes, 50 foam boat pieces, 4 weighted figures and a measuring cup, plus 8 cards and a card stand with suction feet for stability in a water table.
3)Block Play STEM Early Learning Kit :- If you or your students are new to STEM, then this super-simple learning kit is made for you! Our kit comes ready to use and easily integrates into your classroom’s existing activity centers—with no prep work and no guesswork! Simply set out the materials and display one of the illustrated activity cards, then let children start discovering on their own—naturally solving problems as they play and explore. Plus, the back of each card has super-simple teacher tips and discussion questions, so it couldn’t be easier to guide kids along—as they use blocks, links, ramps and balls to learn about STEM concepts like structure, momentum, gravity and more! Kit includes 46 wooden pieces, 20 plastic links, 8 activity cards and a card stand; ramps measure 8″.
4) Bridge Building Engineering Center :- How are bridges designed? What makes a bridge strong? Our engaging building center teaches kids to look closer at real-life designs—and make original structures that use the same important elements! Created to encourage open-ended building with minimal teacher involvement, our center includes 8 photo cards showing actual bridges, plus tons of hands-on manipulatives that invite children to build, explore and engineer—again and again! For easy reference, the back of each photo card explains key elements for each design—so it’s easy to guide children’s learning. You get 480 plastic bridge building materials, plus 8 photo cards for exploring structure, design, attributes and more! Center comes in an 11 1/2″ plastic storage tub; longest building piece measures 4
5) Vehicle Building Engineering Center :- How do vehicles roll, tow and carry things? Our engaging building center teaches kids to look closer at real-life designs—and make original vehicles that use the same important elements! Created to encourage open-ended building with minimal teacher involvement, our center includes 8 photo cards showing actual vehicles, plus tons of hands-on manipulatives that invite children to build, explore and engineer—again and again! For easy reference, the back of each photo card explains key elements for each design—so it’s easy to guide children’s learning. You get 60 plastic snap-together pieces and 8 photo cards for building vehicles, exploring designs and identifying attributes.
6) Young Architects Design Blocks :- Our super-unique blocks let kids design lifelike construction sites! Ideal for creating towers, bridges, buildings and more, the 3-D blocks are precisely related in size, so mixing and matching shapes is a breeze. Plus, the tough plastic builders look like construction girders—perfect for imaginative play! Set comes with 50 blocks—including 36 rectangular blocks in 2 sizes, 7 triangular blocks and 7 octagonal blocks. Largest block measures 6″ in length
