S-T-E-M

By nature children are curious! They want to experiment with everything. We can harness this natural curiosity and build. It doesn't require a lot of time, and preparation. If we weave scientific activities into our children's daily lives we can help them learn to love science. Parents don't realize the damage they do when they say things like, "I don't like science," or "Science is too hard." Your child is learning from you. It is very natural for them to take on your attitude. If you want them to love science, you have to demonstrate at least a "like" for science.

Use these simple methods to enhance your child's love for science.

1. 1. Make science lessons short and interesting. For example, give small children a quick talk on why leaves change colors and then end the lesson with a walk around the neighborhood to find colorful leaves.

2. 2. Make science lessons tasty. Talk about how things go from a liquid state to a solid-state. This can be demonstrated by making ice cubes out of fruit juice or by baking some simple cookies.

3. 3. Make science lessons easy. Be a true scientist. Let the experiment do its thing. Be amazed at how the experiment turns out.

4. 4. Laugh and giggle during the science lesson. Then help your child to clean up the mess.

5. 5. Use appropriate terms during the experiment. For example, use words like hypothesis, outcome, trial, etc...

6. 6. Make the experience FUN! If you can find a scientist's white coat, and goggles, let them dress out the part.

Here are some parenting don'ts:

1. 1. No fussing during the experiment.

2. 2. Don't look for a "right" answer. If it doesn't turn out correctly, reexamine what was done, to find what went wrong or laugh at the outcome.

3. 3. Make experiments as simple as possible and as fun as possible. Going to the zoo could be called a scientific field trip.

4. 4. Avoid overwhelming your child with too many words, directions, instructions, and materials. This is especially true for young children.

5. 5. When writing is involved, children may find it too tedious to follow instructions, write, and do the experiment. Whenever possible, you do the writing as you give instructions. Let the child carry out the experiment.

Remember the goal is to "teach your children to learn to love learning." We aren't looking for "right" answers. Aside from teaching our children to learn to love learning. Teaching them in this manner, builds relationships, builds our children's confidence, builds their vocabulary, and increases their curiosity. Enjoy your children. Teach them to enjoy learning. You can use these principles to instill within your child a love for any subject!

You have more control over your child's future than you believe!