Does the thought of talking through math problems with your kids make your skin crawl?

Do you dread the idea of a science experiment overflowing all over your kitchen?

Science and math don’t have to be intimidating or boring like the good old days of middle school. In fact, we can easily make them fun and exciting for our kids! I am so passionate about exposing kids to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) at a young age and allowing them to use their critical thinking skills early on. Education in these areas is shifting in our schools to a more hands-on, creative way of learning.

Getting kids excited about STEM can be so beneficial in their everyday lives and for their future, as we live in a world where technology and scientific skills are becoming more and more important.

As a mother, a woman, and a science educator, I am so excited to empower my daughter and kids with age appropriate experiences in STEM. Here are a few awesome STEM resources for kids to get excited about!

(Disclaimer: You DO NOT have to love or know a lot about science or math to use these in your home. You might even change your ways of thinking towards them with these fun ideas!)

Kiwi Crate

Kiwi Crate is a monthly subscription box with fun STEAM projects for toddlers to teens! We tried the box free through this link, and are totally hooked! We signed up for the 3-4 year old Koala Crate and learned about rainbows this month! My daughter was SO excited to learn and create. The younger boxes focus more on the art and science aspects, while the older boxes explore more engineering ideas. What an awesome gift for our kids! 

Books About Jobs in STEM

I LOVE the “Ada Twist, Scientist” book! I know how empowering it is for my daughter to see girls as scientists and these are such an easy read for toddlers. I think it’s really important to show our kids that these jobs in STEM can be fun and exciting! Inspiring children through books can be a great way to connect with them!

Here are a few more reading books and activity books on STEM topics:

STEAM Kids – 50+ hands on projects for kids (Ages 4-10)

Doll-E 1.0 – A STEM-friendly tale of a girl and the doll she upgrades to be her new friend

Look I’m A Scientist – For kids ages 3–6, this activity book will get little ones discovering amazing everyday science as they play

Girls Who Code – A fun chapter book for middle schoolers!

Easy Science Experiments at Home

We gifted my toddler this awesome science/lab set and it is one of her favorite things to do now as she often asks, “Mama, can we do science today?!” There are super easy activity cards included to create experiments with things you already have at home: Dancing raisins, Making a volcano, Mixing colors, etc. Seeing her excited about learning plus those science goggles and test tubes…it’s too cute, really. Of course, you can Pinterest more ideas for “kitchen science experiments” too!

Screen-Free Coding!

Coding is one field of STEM that I don’t have much experience with. Even though I’m not knowledgeable with it, I’m determined to at least expose my kids to it as this technology skill is becoming more and more a part of our present and our future. There are lots of great coding apps and games online, but I was so excited to find this SCREEN FREE resource to learn coding for kids as young as 5 – a robot your kids can program to do lots of different challenges using all the STEM skills! I’m adding this to future birthday gift lists for our kids!

STEM Summer Camps in Cedar Rapids!

There are some amazing camps with NewboCo this summer in Cedar Rapids for 2nd-10th graders. The camps focus on coding, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Some of the classes include LEGO Robotics, Mini Shark Tank & Engineer Your World. So fun! You can read more about the programs or sign up for classes here.