STEM activities for toddlers

In Kindergarten, we have students participate in centers during their 50-minute STEM class, which keeps them engaged and active during short spurts of activity. Some of the centers we usually do include: Keva Planks, LEGOS, time on a computer using CodeSpark, and marble mazes. Building the basics of STEM-- including the engineering mindset-- helps build students' creativity and engagement with their lessons. The more hands-on the projects are, the better!

For little kids, I'd recommend making a variety of activities that they can do for 10-15 minutes, and then do something different or rotate through.

Here are some general recommendations on activities for toddlers that tie to STEM:

Simple Building Projects. Build a tower. Build a house. Build something in a circle. What about something that leans? Building can be done with blocks you already have, or with "upcycled" items in your recycling bin. Egg cartons, milk containers, yogurt tubs, paper towel rolls.

Build Ramps! See what cars go fast, and what go slow. Do all things roll down ramps? What about square blocks? Ramps can be made of anything-- a cookie sheet, a piece of cardboard, books, a mattress, etc. What can we use as a ramp?

What Happens in Water? Water is always something fun to play with for kids, and you can add some educational elements to simple water play, if your kids seem ready. Does a yogurt container float or sink? If you fill it with water, what happens?  Does a ping pong ball sink? How about a golf ball? Unboiled eggs float-- do boiled ones do too? Filling and dumping helps with children's dexterity and coordination and you could potentially get a 20 minute phone call in (while supervising the water play, of course).

Nature!  Take a walk in the neighborhood. Look for signs of spring. Birds tweeting, small flowers and plants emerging from the dirt, trees getting leafy. Look for bugs, feel the dirt, maybe even plant some seeds outside or in pots inside and watch them grow.

Simple Science. Young kids will get a big kick out of the surprise and excitement of some simple reactions you can make at home. Diet Coke + Mentos create an impressive geyser of soda (do it outside). Baking soda + vinegar makes an exciting volcano of fizz. Create a lava lamp or do a magic milk experiment (both coming as main posts).