There’s no one way to teach young kids to think like engineers because it comes naturally. Toddlers and preschoolers are fascinated with building things and taking things apart. Elementary ages use learning to build more complex things using different materials and methods. Fostering curiosity and natural problem-solving skills among the youngest ages helps to build…
engineering
4 Tips for Keeping Teens Engaged in Science at Home
This post is sponsored by Ward’s World Since online school began, I’ve been checking in on my middle school students. They haven’t been shy about telling me how they are, how their online classes are going, and the best and worst parts of learning at home. Even kids who didn’t love school find themselves missing…
Remake Learning Days Bring Free STEM Programming to Communities Across the US
This post is brought to you by Remake Learning Days and The Motherhood Whenever I give presentations to PTAs and other parent groups about today’s digital parenting challenges, I remind them their child’s experiences with technology are preparing them to thrive in a world of constant change. I’m living proof that the job I have…
4-H STEM Lab Makes it Easy for Non-Engineers to Teach Engineering Concepts to All Ages
This post is sponsored by National 4-H Council “Wow, a high school magnet program in engineering?” marvel fellow parents upon hearing my daughter has started her freshman year in high school. “Has she always liked STEM? What inspired her to apply to an engineering program? What kind of engineer does she want to be?” Since…
4 Unplugged Ways to Celebrate STEM Day Through Play
With a daughter who is in her first year of a magnet high school engineering program, I’m often asked about the things I did to encourage her love of STEM. The honest answer is that I did anything and everything! I didn’t go overboard and I didn’t make myself feel guilty about what I wasn’t…
Review: Meet Meccano M.A.X. Interactive Robot with Artificial Intelligence
This post is sponsored by Spin Master Parents looking for a hands-on way to encourage their tween and teens towards STEM learning will love that Meccano M.A.X. incorporates building and the trend of artificial intelligence with the lifelong skill of programming into one very cool robot. With a vision of building a better tomorrow by empowering…
Discovering Engineering Through the Pinewood Derby
This is a compensated post written in conjunction with the DiscoverE blog tour. All opinions are my own. With so much emphasis on teaching kids science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics, as parents, we can feel guilty about not doing more, intimidated by the concepts, or feel empowered by the fact that even if…
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day #STEMchat (2/20)
“Look!” exclaimed nine year old Little Miss Techie as she ran to meet me after school, arms outstretched. In one hand she held a small paper lantern with an opening the size of a pea that had been covered in electrical tape. In the other, she held little light bulbs- the size of the ones…
PBS Teachers & SciGirls Promote Science, Tech, Engineering & Math in Tweens
This morning as Little Miss Techie was reciting the names of the planets thanks to There’s No Place Like Space, I was reminded of the upcoming PBS Teachers Live! webinar, Engaging Students with Experiential STEM, and the new SciGirls show. Both the webinar and SciGirls seek to get girls more engaged in STEM subjects- an…
TONIGHT! Help Kids Learn & Love Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
I have to admit that I loathed algebra, calculus, and chemistry. Even though I loved biology and geometry, I never saw myself entering in to a math or science field because I failed miserably at balancing equations, didn’t understand why variables couldn’t just be real numbers, and never really understood functions, derivatives, and limits. Despite…
