Children are naturally very curious. Everything in the world is new to them. Thus they always want to see, touch and understand how things work. Young kids are also capable of understanding science, math and technology. However, without proper stimulation to learn these subjects, they lose interest. Thus, parents need to encourage learning at home. IN this article, we have listed various ways by which you can encourage your kids to learn STEM subjects.
What are STEM Subjects?
STEM is an acronym that means Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. It isn’t a single subject or educational program. Instead, it comprises several different subjects that your child begins to learn in school. Science and math are taught till high school. However, engineering and technology are not. Thus, it is important to introduce your children to the field of engineering and technology as they grow up.
Benefits of learning STEM subjects
Research shows that educating your kids in mathematics and other STEM subjects can improve children’s learning abilities. Making these subjects interesting at a young age can help lessen the gaps between your child’s educational achievements and thus enable greater success later in life.
Why are kids not interested in STEM subjects?
The enthusiasm a child has to explore the STEM field is crushed in one of the three ways. Firstly, by fear. When a child is afraid of trying new things they remain in their comfort zone and are unwilling to explore the world. This crushes their curiosity. SEcondly, disapproval or biases can keep children from learning STEM subjects. In fact, this is the reason why there are so few women in a male-dominated field. Lastly, children are greatly affected by the absence of a caring and invested parent. Without anyone to share their discoveries with, children do not have the positive reinforcement they need to continue to make those kinds of discoveries.
How to stimulate your child’s interest in the STEM Subjects
Performing activities is a sure shot way to get your kids interested in science. Here are a few activities you can perform with your kids.
Explore nature
Go on a camping trip and let your children explore the wilderness. IF you aren’t a fan of camping, then just let your kids explore in the backyard. From plants to soil and water, there are plenty of these for kids to look at and learn from.
Let your children safely interact with animals
Take your kids to the zoo or aquarium. Teach them the biology of the animals they see. Finally, you can also take them to a petting zoo to play with sheep and chickens.
Encourage children to ask “what” and “why” questions
Encourage your kids to question everything that happens around them. They can ask questions like “What happened here?” and “Why did this change”.
Conduct fun science experiments at home
Teach your children topics in biology, chemistry and physics using fun and easy experiments you can do at home. Some examples include, a lava lamp, extracting DNA or even walking on water.
Allow video games
With the increase in the use of technology, learning how to code is essential for kids today. The best way to encourage your kids to do so is by letting them play video games. You can avoid violet ones available on market, however, there are several educational games on coding available for kids to learn from.
Subscribe to different science magazines
There are several science magazines available that can introduce kids to the latest advancements in the STEM field. These magazines are geared towards children or non-scientists, thus, they are easy to understand.
Read books or watch movies on science
During your child’s bedtime, read books about various science phenomena and get them interested in the topic. This encourages them to take time and read about the topic themselves. YOu can also watch science movies on movie nights.
Cook with children
Yes, cooking is also a part of science. Your kids can observe physical reactions that come from heating or cooling different ingredients. Furthermore, it is also a biology lesson. Yeast, used in cakes, are tiny living organisms that release carbon dioxide, thus making the cake fluffy.
Buy a microscope
Using a microscope, you kids can study the tiny things on the plant. From plant cells to organisms in water, your kids can look at the world around them through a lens.
Purchase a telescope
On the other hand, you can also purchase a telescope that will allow your kids to look at the really large stars, planets and moon in the night sky. You can also look at the eclipse through the telescope.
To sum it up
The basis of science is curiosity. Children have that in abundance. Thus, it is essential to nurture that interest in the sciences to ensure that your child does not lose interest. Identify what your children like. Do they like animals? Or plants? Small or big things? Do they like mixing ingredients or building large buildings. Nurturing these interests will surely lead your children down a high-demand career path.
There are several ways to build your child’s interest. Above we have listed down only 10 ways to introduce your kids to STEM subjects. however, there are many more. Use these ways to connect with your child and learn chords of science together.
At podium school, kids can learn Science, EVS, Geography and History interactively. The STEM program provides all the necessary information for kids to learn about science. It provides hands-on manipulatives, science experiments and puzzles. The program aims to develop an out of the box thinking ability in young children. For more information click here.
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