Fun Ideas to Continue STEAM Learning at Home This Summer
Students are exposed to a lot of different projects and opportunities in school. They get to test, experiment, and try new things. But when they’re at home during the summer, they no longer have structured science, technology, arts, or math classes in which to exercise their creativity and critical thinking. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can continue STEAM learning at home and give your kids the chance to keep stretching their minds.
Many activities can be done with materials you already have around your house. Encourage your kids to use their imagination and come up with different ways to use them. You can find a lot of ideas online for STEAM activities depending on your child’s age and interests, but here are a few to get you started.
Build with Legos or K’NEX. The possibilities are endless. There are practically infinite ways to assemble the pieces and design different structures and machines. Challenge your kids to design something for a specific purpose or see how many pieces they can build up or out using the smallest foundation.
Fold paper airplanes. Different ways of folding the paper will affect how well and how far the plane flies. What changes can they make so that it goes further? What if they build a plane using other materials? Which one flies better?
Create a catapult. Use a spoon or cup, rubber bands, string, popsicle sticks, cardboard, and other objects to launch a cotton ball or other lightweight ball at a target. How can they make it go further? How can they control where it lands?
Make musical instruments. From guitars and shakers to harmonicas and drums, see what instruments your kids can figure out how to make. Or maybe they’ll design an instrument all their own that makes a unique noise!
Do an egg drop. This is always a favorite of kids. Give them a collection of materials to build a structure to protect their egg from cracking as you drop it from a certain height. Have them investigate what provides the most support and absorbs the brunt of the impact. Can they slow down how quickly their egg falls? If you increase the height from which you drop it, will their egg still land unbroken?
Build a bridge. A classic is to use uncooked spaghetti and mini marshmallows, but you can use craft sticks and playdoh, or even small sticks you find outside. See how much weight each bridge design can hold before breaking.
Grow seeds. The summer is the perfect time for making things grow. Have your kids develop hypotheses on whether they think seeds will sprout in different conditions such as sitting in full sun, being put in the dark, being fed sugar water or salt water, etc. Let them come up with their own test conditions.
Code online. There are lot of different websites that teach kids how to code and challenge them to design different processes or programs. This can be great when the weather keeps them inside, or if your child is really into technology.
Invent something new. Give your child some paper and a pencil and let their imagination run wild. Ask them to invent something that doesn’t already exist. They could make a robot that folds their clothes or a contraption that makes elaborate ice cream sundaes. Have them draw a picture and explain what each part of their invention does and what problem it solves.
Keep your kids’ minds engaged this summer so they don’t lose the skills they’ve gained during the school year. Working with a tutor at Crafting Scholars can help them to reinforce foundational knowledge, build on what they already know, and explore new topics they’ll be exposed to next year. Contact us today to learn more about our customized learning solutions!
