Exploring STEM subjects at home will help your child to develop key skills for their future.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. These four subjects provide many transferable skills which your child will be able to apply to a number of different careers, for example problem solving, experimentation and teamwork.
Parents should start exploring STEM subjects as early as possible, by incorporating STEM learning into fun activities at home. Here are a few examples provided by London’s Leading Independent College, on how you can explore STEM subjects with your chid…
Make Experiments
Children are naturally curious and love to ask questions and learn how things work. Help to stimulate this curiosity and raise a science lover by setting up safe science experiments at home. You may be surprised to learn that you do not require any fancy laboratory equipment to learn science. You can create fun experiments in minutes with simple household items. For example, you can demonstrate defying gravity with a few paperclips, some string and a fridge magnet!
Learn Outdoors
Learning doesn’t have to be confined inside four walls. One of the best ways to teach STEM subjects is by going outdoors and encouraging your child to use all of their senses. Outdoor learning allows your child to explore and observe nature and the weather. It’s much easier to get creative and messy outdoors too!
Get Cooking
Does your child like helping in the kitchen? This is the perfect opportunity for a fun STEM lesson. In fact, cooking is a great way to develop your child’s reading, writing and math skills which will be beneficial when it’s time to prepare for exams. Ask your child to bake a cake with you. They can read the recipe, write your shopping list, weigh and measure, and learn about how certain ingredients help the cake to rise.
Water Play
A great STEM learning activity for younger children is water play. Experiment with different materials and see which ones sink and which ones float, or what happens to certain materials then they come into contact with water. You could even look at what happens when you freeze and heat water. The possibilities are endless!
This is a collaborative post.