TIPS FOR STEM LEARNING AT HOME

• Foster curiosity and share your own moments of curiosity and wonder

• Highlight the ways STEM is present in your work and everyday life

• Find real-life situations for kids to apply STEM concepts

• Act as a guide to help kids focus their questions and develop problem-solving strategies, without giving them the answers

• Also: it’s OK not to know the answer! It’s an opportunity to share your own problem-solving process and generate questions together

• Learn about the Engineering Design Process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve) and model how it works with your kids

• Encourage kids to explore ideas through building and hands-on experimentation; provide materials to do so—they don’t have to be fancy or costly

• Emphasize the idea of improving on a design or plan: if it didn’t work the first time, how can we improve it?

• Focus on teamwork and collaboration

• Seek out online resources and local STEM events

• Make it fun!