5 Ways to Get Kids Excited About STEM Learning
Article Overview
5-minute read
The future depends on today’s STEM learning! Help your child discover the power of skills and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with these tips:
- When reading a book featuring characters in STEM careers, like doctors, mechanics, or computer engineers, talk about their shared skills.
- Identify outside-the-box places where STEM lives, like the ocean!
- Help children understand that failure is okay; it opens them up to try something new and step outside their comfort zones.
- Point out that curiosity, observation, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication are found in nearly all STEM-focused careers.
- Discover STEM’s biggest superstars, like Katherine Johnson, Dr. Aditi K. Sengupta, and Jane Goodall.
Many of the growing problems around the world—from famines and food insecurity to climate change and profound poverty—need the contributions of brilliant scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians to think up innovative solutions. Encouraging children to explore skills and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) can help build a better future.
Whether a child pursues a formal career in STEM or just gains a background in related skills, their experience and perspective can be important in stimulating change. Unlock potential in your child with these tips from our learning experts:
Everyone Belongs In Our Circle
At KinderCare, we’re committed to building warm, welcoming and supportive classrooms for children of all abilities, backgrounds and experiences.
Find a center near you1. Recognize people who advance STEM.
When reading a book or watching a show featuring characters in STEM careers, talk with your child about what those characters have in common. For example, doctors, mechanics, and computer engineers may be curious and share a willingness to try an idea that may or may not work. Take time to point out any family members or friends with similar jobs or hobbies to help your child picture themselves in a STEM-related role.
2. Identify outside-the-box places where STEM skills are used.
Technology can be used to conduct research, draw, or create music—things that don’t always occur in laboratories, research centers, or tech companies. Using technology can open new possibilities for children to channel their interests into STEM careers. To build on any specific interests, such as robotics, the ocean, or the universe, find activities in your area that you can do with your child. For example, encourage your child to ask the zookeepers about certain animals they are interested in or research the life cycle of a tree before taking a family camping trip.
3. Focus on the process (not just the results) to instill confidence.
Help your child understand and believe that failure is part of the learning journey! Easing the fear of failure helps kids be more open to try something new and step outside their comfort zones. Encourage your child to dive deeper into their passions and interests. Try to reinforce desired behaviors, such as hard work, perseverance, grit, and learning from mistakes, to teach your child that learning and success don’t come from always being right.
4. Emphasize STEM-related skills.
Curiosity, observation, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication are crucial in nearly all STEM-focused careers. By asking questions like “why,” “how,” and “what if,” and by giving children the opportunity to explore and explain the world around them instead of simply providing them with answers, you can help spark curiosity and set the foundation for the development of more advanced skills.
5. STEM is for everyone!
The study of STEM is as diverse as children are! Show them what’s possible by introducing some of STEM’s biggest superstars:
- Katherine Johnson, an African American mathematician who played a crucial role in NASA’s early space missions
- Dr. Aditi K. Sengupta, an Indian-American engineer and innovator in the field of nanotechnology,
- Jane Goodall, the British primatologist renowned for her research on chimpanzees
By learning about the people making a difference in this field, your child will start to see the vast possibilities their future holds.
