STEM Activities!
Check out these great STEM activities for preschoolers from Mommy Poppins!
As an educator at the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry, I have implemented many of these activities during our Full STEAM Ahead program and our Small Scientists Society. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Some favorites that are listed are building a bridge and experimenting with baking soda. Make sure you ask your engineers to make predictions and observations as they experiment!
Authentic Learning Experience: Engaging in STEM activities using household materials involves real-world problems as children learn to think critically about the world around them. Students can apply what they learned to situations in the real world where they will need to make plans, test them out, and improve upon their initial ideas. These activities mimic the work of professionals. For example, building a toothpick bridge mimics the work of professional engineers. The learning occurs through project-based approaches, where children discover answers to their open-ended questions.
Developmentally Appropriate Practices: STEM activities are appropriate for the development of preschool age children because this age group needs to learn executive function skills, such as self-control, planning, and critical thinking. Having preschool age children engaged in scientific conversations and planning out experiments supports cognitive development. Further, this project-based approach allows children’s interests to lead their learning. This particular resource is culturally appropriate because it takes into consideration that at-home experiments need to be affordable, and this source uses commonly found materials that are low cost and therefore accessible to different communities.
Learning Standards:
Language and Communication
Goal P-LC 1. Child attends to communication and language from others.
Goal P-LC 4. Child understands, follows, and uses appropriate social and conversational rules.
Goal P-LC 6. Child understands and uses a wide variety of words for a variety of purposes.
Mathematics Development
Goal P-MATH 3. Child understands the relationship between numbers and quantities.
Goal P-MATH 9. Child identifies, describes, compares, and composes shapes.
Scientific Reasoning
Goal P-SCI 1. Child observes and describes observable phenomena (objects, materials, organisms, and events).
Goal P-SCI 2. Child engages in scientific talk.
Goal P-SCI 3. Child compares and categorizes observable phenomena.
Goal P-SCI 4. Child asks a question, gathers information, and makes predictions.
Goal P-SCI 5. Child plans and conducts investigations and experiments.
Goal P-SCI 6. Child analyzes results, draws conclusions, and communicates results.
