Do you want to introduce your preschooler to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)? It would be a wise move. According to a recent report by The Center for Childhood Creativity at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, kids younger than one year old can already understand basic STEM concepts. The authors of the research, "The Roots of STEM Success," analyzed more than 150 studies and found that children are capable of complex thinking even before being able to speak. Here are seven ways to stimulate your kids' STEM skills very early.
-
Give your kids toys that have "manipulative elements" like rattles, balls, and bricks.
-
Incite your kids to explain how simple tools like a can opener or a door hinge works.
-
Allow your babies to practice "repetitive play" like dropping objects over and over.
-
Encourage your kids to practice the four following kinds of play: pretend play, exploratory play, guided play and free play.
-
Ask your kids a lot of what, why and how questions to push them to explain their thinking.
-
Even with babies, always use complex and accurate vocabulary, introducing words like "stable" or "fragile" when building or touching things, for example.
-
Tell your kids that they are constantly learning and that it's much better to say "I can't do it YET," instead of "I can't do this."
Children Playing “Operation” (Wikipedia)
