Properly educating young children today is of primary importance to ensure a better tomorrow for everyone. Though learning basic facts has great value, teaching also needs to include making certain that children become skilled in how better to learn overall, which will help them navigate through life and contribute more to society.
STEM education concentrates on four basic areas of knowledge -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These encourage a child how to think for themselves by giving each child the skills that will help them succeed in almost any area of life.
Strong STEM Skills Lead To:
Better Communication -- To succeed, communicating well orally and in writing is tantamount. The ability to understand what someone has said and/or written, and to also relate that understanding to others in a clear and concise manner, builds self-confidence and leadership skills.
Better Problem Solving -- In today's world of growing technology, it's more important than ever to attain the ability to solve problems when things go wrong. You can't always look up the answer in a book. You need the ability to assess a situation and quickly figure out a solution.
Better at Critical Thinking -- Instead of believing everything someone tells you or everything that you read, it's imperative to understand how to interpret and analyze what's presented to make the best decisions in life.
Better Creativity -- Almost every new product or invention came about due to someone's creativity in coming up with something society needs. Without the ability to think independently and explore new avenues, society won't advance in the arts, in technology, or any other area.
Often children don't understand the need for these skills and don't find STEM topics interesting because they're not taught in a manner that engages the child. Using educational toys, games, and puzzles are a perfect way to get your child excited to learn more about these subjects.
Toys to Engage a Child's Interest to Learn:
Magna Tiles -- These colourful tiles, made of clear plastic with small magnets, combine mathematics and creativity by allowing your child to build their own geometrically shaped structures. Appropriate for boys and girls, 3 years and older, they can create 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional objects while learning how to put basic shapes together.
GoldieBlox -- This game introduces girls, 4 years and older, to engineering by allowing them to build objects using hinges and levels. This is not only a construction set, but it's also a book series, giving them a fun story to follow while they build. This game increases spatial skills and teaches confidence in problem-solving.
Laser Pegs -- Boys, especially, with love these sets. For children 5 years and older, they can build sports cars and trucks, as well as space fighters, different types of helicopters, and planes of all sorts. Laser Pegs even light up! Their unique design makes them compatible with other types of building sets for even more enjoyment. These sets improve hand/eye coordination, promote cognitive development, inspire creativity, and develop math and reasoning skills.
Roominate -- This set teaches girls, 6 years and older, creative building. It's a modular building toy, where they can let their ideas flow. For example, they can put together their dream home, even creating a working doorbell, spinning fan, elevator, and more. If they're interested in a multi-level building, they can build that too. Their only limitation is their creativity and imagination.
IQ Key -- This is the perfect science toy system for children 9 years and older. It will introduce mechatronics (different fields of engineering) and robotics to your child. These are specifically designed to teach children how things work. Your child can create their own unique robot!
These are just a few examples of toys you can use to engage your child in learning. Contact us for more information about building STEM skills. For our full collection of STEM Toys please click here.
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