So for something completely different. My family and I have been making sure that we do some STEM activities with our kids. And if you’re like me, they are just as much fun for me as they are for the kids.
So I feel very blessed, in that both of my kids are very analytical, and that really means for me we get to do a lot of fun things that take me back to my childhood.
When I was growing up, I came from a family of educators, going back 3 generations. So education is something that has found its way into all aspects of our lives. And I’m very thankful for that because my brother and I grew up with a love for learning written into our DNA.
The other thing I grew up with was technology, and my dad had computers in our house from the earliest parts of my childhood. So I try to find activities that really flex that logical, analytical part of their brain. So here are some of the things that we do for this type of activity.
Legos and Building toys
I’ve made no secret that I’ve been a fan of Legos from when I was a kid. And honestly there is so much to do with kids for this. The most important key to success here is that you need to instill this idea that they get to enjoy the act of building.
For my kids from an early age, we drilled into them one saying “the best part about Legos is you get to build it again.” and this has instilled an idea that for my kids that the act of building is the fun part, and now I can honestly say I think they enjoy building more than playing with the models.
The other key here is what we don’t do, our kids can save 1 model they build, that’s it. The rest are broken down to start again. What this does is makes them focus on building more. We take pictures of their creations and they get to keep those. And celebrate the effort, not the result.
We do this with other toys, my daughters personal favorite are magnatiles. And encourage them to build and then have them take pictures.
Littlebits
This was a new one for us, but it was fantastic. We got my daughter the littlebits music inventor kit which can be found here. And it was amazing. It comes with wires, and electronic components but they are connected using magnets. The app gives easy to follow videos that let the kids walkthrough building the circuits and devices.
But more than that, they then have activities to do after, which I thought was pretty great. After my daughter built a synthesizer guitar it had video lessons on how to play it that added extra value to the experience.
Problem Solving Challenges
Another thing honestly is that we do a lot of problem solving challenges. Things like asking the kids to solve a problem. Part of the idea is to encourage our kids to see a problem and try to figure out ways to solve it.
His can include giving them specific Lego challenges that they need to build and testing the results. This further encourages grit in our kids by pushing them to try and solve it and encouraging the effort and not just the result.
Minecraft
This one is great for when they really want to build their imagination. Honestly the educational value of minecraft is pretty well documented, but it’s a great place for kids to build without resource constraints.
I’ve watched my kids build some amazing structures in minecraft just by giving them a random idea. Things like:
- Build a bridge
- Build a tower
- Build a train and train station
- Build a batcave
- Build a warehouse for your stuff
And these type of actions can give your kids just enough direction to go and let their imagination run wild.
Craft station
So for our kids we find the best option possible to facilitate creativity, and that includes creating a art station for my daughter with a mix of different options. Her art station includes an easle and paper and items like the following:
- Paints
- Markers
- Pencils
- Colored Pencils
- Stamps
- Inkpads
- Stencils
The end goal of this is to task our kids with creating things rather than consuming.
Cooking
Another great activity to help kids with STEM is just cooking. Cooking involves the following:
- Thermodynamics
- Heat and transferance
- States of matter
- Physics
- Measurements
- Following directions
Cooking is a fun activity that fosters creativity and science. It’s a great simple activity that can make sure to stimulate their brains.
Those are some of the things that we do to pass the time and engage in stem activities with the kids. And honestly they have led to some of the best memories with my kids. And feel free to comment with what activities you are doing.
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