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Alpha Science Classroom:How To Get Your Child Interested In Stem Without Forcing Them

Views: 14     Author: Site Editor     Publish Time: 2023-05-20      Origin: Site

Children's education is essential for parents. Children of different ages have different education methods, and modern education is full of knowledge such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These contents are necessary for children to learn and grow. Important knowledge points to master. As a professional China educational toy manufacturer, the educational experts of Alpha science toys understand what professional education and learning aid STEM toys can provide children. For this reason, we have compiled years of STEM production and educational experience into a professional article Articles to help parents get their kids interested in STEM through fun educational ways without forcing them.

There are simple ways to foster a greater love of learning and exploring STEM subjects.

STEM isn't necessarily a love-it-or-leave-it subject

Education experts once asked a group of Girl Scouts what they thought of STEM subjects: Did they like them? Do they think they are good at it? I heard a loud refusal from most people in the room. However, when we do something (e.g. a real-life Move the Turtle game that simulates programming), every single one of them gets involved, and yes, they're all interested. They enjoyed the activities when they weren't being shown "studying technology" or having to learn science facts because they had a test on Friday.

Some children, even though her math grades and report cards are very good, she said she was not good at math. She's not as interested in robots as she is in unicorns (that's okay. She's nine, and unicorns are unique). There's something about these subjects that makes kids think they either love them or absolutely hate them - or that they're good or terrible - and there's no middle ground. But that doesn't have to be the case, and when presented in a different way, kids may actually find that they do enjoy the subjects.

This matters, not just because of the great job opportunities in STEM fields, but because our future depends on these kids. STEM is about a spirit of objectively experimenting with and evaluating information and learning more about our world. These are invaluable skills and mindsets no matter where children go next in life.

In addition to helping them with homework (or having them explain common core math to you), we can immerse them in STEM every day — without forcing them — and make it super cool. Unfortunately, we cannot rely on schools alone to make them proficient in math, science, and other STEM subjects. (This is not to criticize our math and science teachers, they are vital to children's learning in these subjects. However, children would benefit from more hands-on, self-directed activities outside of the classroom so that issues are fun and Not a chore.)

So here are three things we can do.

Alpha-Science-Classroom-STEM-Toys

Normalize and apply STEM to everyday life

Kids who don't like math or science start to think of them as bad words, just as the word "taxes" leaves a bad taste in many adult populations. What they don't realize is that outside of the classroom, these subjects exist in every aspect of our lives. We can point this out in our daily activities such as:

Cooking: Food Science is Science at its Best - Experiments You Can Eat! Kids can study chemistry and physics, practice math skills, and learn plant anatomy and other science lessons from the comfort of the kitchen. Mental Floss has put together 10 edible science experiments, and this kitchen science experiment kit looks so fun that parents will be making this candy chemistry kit with their kids in no time. But even everyday things like explaining what happens when water boils, why toast burns, or why you melt butter if you want your cookies to be chewy, dive into math and science without being pedantic method.

Music class or reading poetry: Poetry is rhythmic and really just music in text form, and music is closely related to math. You might point out this fact to your child, or simply let them practice and read while learning math without knowing it.

Shopping and Banking: Anytime you deal with money is a good time to reinforce principles such as the incredible impact of interest, how to quickly calculate and estimate in your head, or how to make comparisons (fractions and unit prices). Most of the math we do with kids when dealing with money is simple but important. Teach children about money management like a bank.

Any of their current interests or activities: Almost any interest can be an opportunity to learn more about STEM. For example, Google's Made with Code has a program where your budding fashion designer can design a dress with LED lights. If your kids love cars, it's a great vehicle (sorry for the pun) to demonstrate physics (the real-world physics problem has some resources on this). If your child plays or watches sports, a lot of math and physics come into play as well.

make it fun and hands-on

Besides diving into your everyday life, the most important thing is to encourage kids to have fun while learning STEM skills. For some kids, this might mean learning about the science of slime, while for others it might mean inventing their own video games. Whatever you do, don't take it as a lesson. Instead, focus on the experience. A few suggestions:

Visit a museum or zoo. It doesn't have to be a science museum in particular. Children's museums often have STEM exhibits, and even history and art museums offer opportunities to learn about the history of technology, how things were made, and more.

Play with your kids with STEM toys and games. Our computers are prone to overload and Lego bricks are putting us out of business, but if your kids love these and similar "toys", maybe you have a budding engineer or coder on your hands. LEGO has its own line of robotics and coding kits, including a new WeDo 2.0 range for elementary school kids. Amazon has an entire section for STEM toys, and we have access to tons of apps to teach your kids to code. You and your kids might also get hooked on good old-fashioned science experiments like making a lava lamp or seeing what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar. Parents can choose products suitable for children from Alpha science toys so that they can happily explore the endless knowledge and fun of science at home.

Watch tech shows with your kids. Bill Nye, science experts (on Netflix), and Mythbusters come to mind. Common Sense Media also has a list of science shows for kids of all ages.

Let your child be your IT or DIY helper. I became the IT guy at home because I was the only one reading the manual. Let your child read the manual and walk you through setting up the next new technology product in your family, or let him or her work with you on computer problems. The same goes for home projects that hone your child's problem-solving skills.

I think it helps a lot that the kids' teachers vary the various activities the kids do on a topic every lesson. So, for example, part of it might be a card game of "match the animal to the environment," while another part might be "draw the food this animal might eat." You're not dealing with 20+ kids in a classroom (hopefully), but your own, so you can create activities based on your child's interests, whether it's painting, reading, music, sports games, or anything else.

Honestly, the best thing you can possibly do is be interested and passionate about yourself. Just taking the time to explore these things with you is the best encouragement you can give.

De-emphasize grades and praise process

STEM fields are tough. They are graded more rigorously than other subjects, and with test results so focused on education today, students may not be getting enough stimulating hands-on learning to generate lasting interest. Instead, kids develop "math anxiety" and drop science because they don't think they're smart.

As with getting more girls into tech, one of the keys is encouraging kids to think it's worth trying to be good enough before it gets difficult — to keep at it even when it's challenging. "Study by Stanford University psychology professor Carol Dweck finds that parental and teacher praise can backfire," the education experts at Alpha science toys learn.

They often exaggerate ability, talent, or intelligence. The opposite of this is good process praise. It’s praise for the process the child was involved in – their hard work, trying multiple strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their use of mistakes to learn, and their progress.

Alpha science toys conducted a study in which mothers were videotaped interacting with their babies when they were one, two, and three years old. The more mothers praised the process, the more their children had a growth mindset and desire for challenge five years later. Now, we find that even two years after that, those kids did much better.

It doesn't have to be an outright compliment. It can be as simple as doing a STEM-based activity with your child and saying, "Hey, how did you do that?" and getting interested in the process.

That said, the goal is not to force these subjects on our kids, but to develop a love for them (in addition to developing their other interests and passions), so also know when to hold back. Forcing a child to do the math before playing Temple Run is like forcing him to finish his spinach or skip dessert. Spinach turned villain.

So, the educational experts at Alpha science toys believe in incorporating more STEM lessons into your family's daily routine but also paying attention to your child's engagement and interest. When the enjoyment they get from a science project or math problem outweighs their fear of failure, I think we've done our job.

What kind of education requires parents to be guided to help children see the fun and important parts of it? As children's knowledge guides, parents play a particularly important role in the process of children's education and growth. Parents should not always believe that it is enough for children to have the help of teachers. Different age groups and acceptance abilities are different, and we cannot generalize. Therefore, parents should work with teachers to help children learn and grow.

As a professional China educational toy manufacturer, Alpha science toys has been engaged in the manufacturing of STEM toys and children's scientific experiment toys for 16 years. We know the importance of science to children's growth, so we are persistent in producing the most best children's science experiment toys, the purpose is to help children understand the world, learn the knowledge faster, and grow up healthily and happily. If parents want professional children's science experiment toys, go to Alpha science toys to buy them! Believe that our magical children's science experiment kit will surely make children fall in love with science, embark on a journey of exploring science, and become stars of tomorrow.


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