ACTIVITIES THAT FOCUS ON STEM
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
- Help fold, sort, and match items while doing laundry
- Encourage counting items from left to right, touching each item as they move along
- Track signs of spring in a journal by drawing what you see out the window
- Create a ramp for matchbox cars
- Build a tower with blocks, pillows, old boxes, cups, etc…
- Put ice in a bowl and squirt with warm water (add food coloring for extra fun and learning)
- Make a potion out of expired or extra product
- Write addition problems using 2 dice
- Make up addition and subtraction word problems to be written and solved up to 10
- Using piles of miscellaneous items (i.e. seashells, buttons, candy, rocks, cereals) sort by shape, color, size.
- Use different items as listed above to make patterns (I.e. shell, rock, shell, rock)
- Practice counting to 20 ensuring your child demonstrates one-to-one correspondence by touching each item as it is counted. Reinforce counting from left to right. Give your child a pile of snacks (i.e. Goldfish, M&M’s) and have them count how many they have.
- Setting the table at mealtimes helps develop one-to-one correspondence. Have your child set the table with one cup and plate per person.
- Count toys as they are picked up and put away.
- Make up simple problems using everyday objects. (example: Mom was setting the table and needed 5 forks. Dad found 4 how many more does she need?)
- Take two toys and guess which is heavier. Find out by holding the toys in each hand. Use scales to compare the weights.
- See how quickly cars, marbles and balls roll down different surfaces such as baking trays, big books and planks of wood. See if changing the surface changes how fast the object goes.
- Listen to the rain fall on different surfaces. Ask your child questions like What does it sound like? and What does it smell like?
- Examine objects under a magnifying glass or take photos with your phone and enlarge them on the screen.
- Plant vegetable offcuts and seeds, flower seeds and seedlings with your child. Watch how they grow over time. Take photos to record the changes. Talk about the changes together. Plant them in some different places to see how they grow differently (shade or sun, soil types, pot or garden bed). Discuss the differences and what works best.
- Explore outside at night with your child – with and without a flashlight. Ask questions like What can you see? and What can you hear?
- Build a tower with 5 blocks and a tower with 8 blocks. Which has more? Continue with other numbers.
- Name the shapes of your food at each meal and snack time.
- Place a wet paper towel in a ziplock bag with a dry lima bean. Tape it to the window and watch it grow.
- Draw something you can taste, something you can see, smell, hear, and touch.
- Make shadows on the wall with a flashlight. Talk about how shadows change when the torch or objects are moved closer to or further away from the wall.
- Investigate a tree together. Try and hold hands around the tree trunk. Ask questions about what the bark looks, feels and smells like. See how many colors you can find. Talk about what lives in the tree and see if you can find anything.
- Close your eyes and listen for different sounds. Talk about what you can hear, for example the birds and the wind rustling the leaves. Listen for sounds outside the park, for example cars and planes.
- Stand still in one place. Talk and ask questions about the things you can see moving around you like birds flying overhead, leaves blowing on the ground, dogs running and people walking.
- Get swinging! Talk about what makes the swing work. Describe how to make the swing go higher.
- Slide down the slide and talk about how and why you can stop mid-slide.
- Roll an object down the slide. Talk about how to make it go faster or slower.
- Blow bubbles and get your child to try and catch them. Ask questions like What makes the bubbles float? and What makes the bubbles pop? See how long a bubble can stay in the air.
- Put different objects in the bath with your child. Get your child to see if they float or sink. Ask them to guess what they think might happen before they try. Ask why some objects float and others sink. Talk about ways to make floating objects sink, and sinking objects float.
- Get your child to fill different objects with water and then empty them. Use cleaned shampoo bottles to squirt water. Squeeze the bottle when it is empty and full and talk about how that feels. Squeeze the bottle under water and above water to see what happens.
- EASY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS
- EXPLORING SHAPES
- PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD
- SHAPES BINGO
- ADD MATH TO YOUR DAILY ROUTINES
- TRACE SHAPES WITH ROCKS
- MAKE A SHAPE COLLAGE
- DIY SHAPE SORTER
- "Brain Building In Progress" Activities: Math (birth - 33 months)
- "Brain Building in Progress" Activities: Science (birth - 33 months)
- "Brain Building in Progress" Activities: Ramps and Rolling (ages 3-5yo)
- "Brain Building in Progress" Activities: Building Houses and Homes (ages 3-5yo)
- "Brain Building in Progress" Activities: Watch Them Grow (ages 3-5yo)
- "Brain Building in Progress" Activities: Wonderful Water (ages 3-5yo)
- "Brain Building in Progress" Activities: Colors All Around (ages 3-5yo)
- What makes a good SCIENCE EXPLORER?
· Curiosity: Wondering about the world, wanting to explore, willingness to try new things and take risks
· Critical thinking: Employing objectivity, looking for and applying evidence
· Creativity: Imagining possibilities, solutions, and forms of expression; thinking outside the box
· Persistence: Focusing, sticking to it, learning from mistakes
· Problem Solving: Identifying issues, viewing potential solutions from multiple perspectives
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Early Childhood Partners programs are funded by the Coordinated Family & Community Engagement (CFCE) grant awarded to Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. The HWRSD does not discriminate in its programs, activities or employment practices on the basis of race*, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, active military/veteran status, marital status, familial status, pregnancy, or pregnancy-related condition, homelessness, ancestry, ethnic background, national origin, or any other category protected by state or federal law.