STEM Activities to Keep Kids Learning During Winter Break
The following is a guest post from Dr. Jacie Maslyk.
OK, so your kids are going to be at home for at least a week over the winter break. How can we keep them learning and growing during this time? There are lots of STEM-related activities that can promote creativity and critical thinking while students are at home. Download the calendar of ideas at the bottom of this post and help build student understanding of the engineering and design process while also keeping students engaged during the winter break.
Holiday STEM activities can be a great way to keep kids actively learning at home. STEM learning can take a lot of different forms including engineering design challenges, science experiments, and research and discovery. STEM learning can also be sparked by watching a video, engaging in an authentic experience, or reading a story. Opportunities for STEM learning can be simple or complex. They can happen inside, outdoors, at home, or at school.
Engineering Design Challenges
Engineering design challenges are a fun way to get kids of all ages thinking and creating. Challenges usually include some type of problem that needs to be solved. It requires that individuals or groups work to define the problem and explore different solutions to the problem. The solutions might include sketching different possibilities and choosing 1 or 2 to build and try out. The engineering design process allows learners to build, try, and revise their solutions in many ways. Within the process, learners are encouraged to get feedback from others in order to improve their design.
One winter-themed challenge might be to design a new toy for a sibling or friend. Designing for others means that students will build creativity skills as well as empathy. Students can build prototypes of their designs and then share the toy with others.
Engineering design challenges can be completed with low cost or no cost materials. At holiday time, reuse your wrapping paper and create some challenges for kids. How might they use the paper and tape to build a tool to hang ornaments and other holiday decorations? Paper is an inexpensive way to engage learners in different types of creativity. Wrapping paper, newspaper, construction paper, and packing paper can all be used in engineering challenges. Learners can fold, twist, cut, and roll paper to create structures and solve problems. Engineering challenges can get messy, but remember that messy learning is often the kind that kids remember!
Experiments and Inquiry
While there is an obvious emphasis on the S in STEM, science experiments can also draw on knowledge from technology, engineering, and math. The idea of experimenting allows learners to build their curiosity and create hypotheses about their STEM knowledge. Experiments can be structured with guided steps or more informal, as learners investigate new ideas and explore new materials.
There’s a lot of science to explore in winter. How does water turn to ice? How long does it take for snow to melt? Why does salt melt ice? How can polar bears live in such extreme temperatures? How are snowflakes formed? Ask students what type of “winter wonderings” they might have. Their questions can be the foundation for experiments and inquiry in the classroom or at home. Often times, one set of questions will lead to another set of questions and learners will continue in this cycle of inquiry learning as they discover new things.
Connect Through Literacy
Books are a great way to share STEM content and get students excited about learning. Children’s literature selections can be used to learn about STEM topics like robotics or engineering. Books can also be used to demonstrate examples of persevering in the face of challenges or thinking flexibly about a problem. When we read books to our students, they can learn through the characters while also developing an interest in STEM topics.
Lots of winter and holiday-themed books can lead students into hands-on STEM experiences. Books about snow and other winter weather are simple ways to start the STEM conversation. Animals in winter or changing seasons are also great topics to explore. Longtime favorites like Snowflake Bentley, Owl Moon, and The Mitten can all be used to spark ideas that can develop into design challenges for students. Not sure how to get started?
Choose any book.
Create a challenge (For example, design an item for a character in the story or solve a problem that the character is having through the engineering design process.)
Gather household materials. (Look at some ideas for simple items in this post.)
Allow learners time to explore, manipulate, and change the materials.
Connecting hands-on learning through literacy is a passion of mine. If you want more ideas for strategies to connect STEM with literature, check out my book Remaking Literacy or go to www.steam-makers.com for more ideas.
Home for the Holidays
So, when we find ourselves home for the holidays, take advantage of the time and offer STEM learning activities. Looking for some suggestions? We’ve created a calendar for STEM learners. These include opportunities for experimenting, designing, reading, creating, and coding. There’s a little bit of everything, so your kids will find something that fits their needs and interests.
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