Children of all ages benefit from unrestricted exploration and discovering items that stimulate their curiosity. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) have been shown in studies to improve a child’s social and academic skills. Young children and newborns can engage in STEM activities simply by interacting with objects that encourage curiosity, problem-solving, and experimenting. Here is a list of such activities that can be done with household objects.
Playing With Magna Tiles
Magna-Tiles are brightly colored, magnetic tiles that encourage youngsters to experiment and play by encouraging creative problem-solving and exploration. If you have some Magna Tiles lying around, gather them and have a great afternoon of STEM creativity. The tiles are also a great approach to encourage open-ended play, which introduces things without any objective rules or guidelines.
Playing With Organic Materials
This STEM experiment includes using natural and organic materials to turn your kitchen into a science lab. Fill a mixing bowl with a cup of cornstarch and a spray bottle with water to experiment with cornstarch and water. For added excitement, use food coloring. Grab some Play-Doh, spaghetti, and Cheerios. Thread the Cheerios on the upright pasta stick and stand the spaghetti in a rolled-up piece of Play-Doh. Get creative with your kids and discover where the adventure takes you.
Playing With Sensory Bin Play
Sensory bins are quite popular, and there is surely a good reason for this. It is simple to make a sensory bin out of household materials. Fill your sensory bin with colored rice, homemade Play-Doh, and beans, and use small toys to create a fascinating theme. A gardening-themed sensory bin, for example, could include dried black beans, like smooth rocks, vegetables from the toy kitchen, and a small shovel to dig with. You can include as many or as few objects as you want, as a part of the STEM project.
Building a Tall Tower
Why not challenge your kid to construct a tower? Using their problem-solving skills, your child can explore various items around the house. It doesn’t have to be sophisticated. You can use pillows, cushions, plastic cups, garden stones, etc. If you have stackers around the house, you can play with layering the pieces differently and see what happens.
An Actual Marshmallow STEM Invention!
Make a toothpick and marshmallow invention with your small engineer. This project will inspire your kid to use their creativity while also improving critical thinking and reasoning skills. You may even try spelling their name with only these two items. Work as a group and see what you can come up with!