Super, Smart, STEM!

Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Oct 13, 2020 | Science

STEM has the potential to help children learn new skills while you are Building Someone Amazing. With a background in STEM, your child may be able to discover the next great scientific breakthrough. Build the next great architectural marvel. Spark the next great technological leap forward.

The possibilities of STEM inspire us. And we want to help make STEM inspiring to children… and their parents. That’s why we created a great new line of toys that helps make STEM learning more intuitive, more engaging… and more fun.

But first things first. As a parent, you’ve probably heard the term STEM, either at school, from other parents, or in the news. Wonder what the big deal is?

Let’s start at the beginning…

What STEM is…

STEM stands for:

Science
Technology
Engineering
Math

While those 4 study areas have individually been around forever, the focus on using them together, as a critical area of need for kids in the U.S., is relatively new. That’s because, as our world and workplaces came to be more and more focused on technology, employers began to notice that our school systems weren’t teaching kids the right skills for the next wave of high-tech jobs.

Both President Bush and President Obama launched national initiatives to place more of an emphasis on, and provide more funding for, STEM education. They’ve been joined by some of our most prominent business leaders, like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, in drawing attention to the critical need to teach kids STEM skills.

Recent STEM related initiatives that you may have heard of include the Hour of Code campaign and the STEM education collation.

Why STEM matters…

For our kids, STEM fields represent one of the greatest areas of future career opportunities.

STEM jobs are widely considered to be likely to grow faster and pay better than non-STEM jobs in the coming years. Consider these facts:

There will be 2.4 million unfilled STEM jobs by 2018 ¹
Growth in STEM jobs will be 43% higher, compared to non-STEM jobs ²
STEM salaries will be 11% higher than non-STEM jobs ²

Even if your child doesn’t go on to pursue an education or a career in a STEM-related field, the benefits of STEM learning include building critical thinking, problem solving, and logical deduction skills.

These are all crucial developmental areas that can help our kids thrive… no matter what they choose to ultimately grow up to be.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math for kids

Making STEM fun…

Here’s the best part about STEM… it can be fun!

At Learning Resources, we’ve always believed that hands-on play is the key to helping kids learn. And STEM is a natural fit for all kinds of intuitive learning activities.

Think your kids would like to help you build a birdhouse or dollhouse? Guess what, they’re learning engineering skills.

Do your kids ever go out in the backyard and experience nature by touching trees, jumping in leaves, or splashing in puddles? Good news, they’re engaging in an early form of scientific discovery.

The possibilities are endless. And as a mom or dad, you can encourage your little ones to build STEM skills with simple prompts, open-ended questions like, “Where do you think the water from that puddle came from, and subtle, but persistent, encouragement.

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Valentine's Pattern Block Activity

Valentine's Pattern Block Activity is a fun and engaging way to incorporate math and problem-solving skills into the holiday. These activity mats feature different Valentine's Day-themed pictures, such as hearts, flowers, and cupids. To complete the activity, students can use pattern blocks to create the pictures on the mats.

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This activity is a great way to teach kids about shapes, counting, sorting, reasoning, symmetry, and even fractions. Students will use pattern blocks to create the pictures on the mat, which will help them understand and recognize different shapes and combine them to create a complete picture. Additionally, students will need to count the number of pattern blocks required for each image; this will help to improve their counting abilities.

The activity also includes reasoning, symmetry, and fractions. Students must use their problem-solving skills to determine which pattern blocks to use and where to place them to create the desired picture. They will also practice symmetry by matching the pattern blocks to create a symmetrical picture. And finally, with pattern blocks, students can explore fractions and how they relate to the different shapes.

Valentine's Pattern Block Activity is a great way to incorporate math and problem-solving skills into the holiday while keeping the activity fun and festive. These simple Valentine's pattern Block Mats are an awesome math challenge for kids. Just print them out and start building; it's that easy!

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Learning Resources | Posted on Jan 25, 2023

Valentine's Day Mathlink Cube Activities

Mathlink Cubes are perfect for creating fun and engaging Valentine's Day themed math activities. Additionally, Mathlink Cubes can be used to create patterns and sequences, such as making a pattern of hearts and counting the number of cubes used. These activities will help students practice their math skills in a fun and festive way.

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Mathlink Cubes are great for kids for several reasons:

Hands-on learning: Mathlink Cubes are a hands-on learning tool that children can physically manipulate and explore mathematical concepts. This can help to make math more engaging and interactive for students.
Multi-use: Mathlink Cubes can be used for various mathematical concepts, including counting, addition, subtraction, measurement, geometry, and more. This makes them a versatile and valuable tool for teachers and parents to have in their toolkits.
Develops fine motor skills: Using the Mathlink Cubes requires children to use their fine motor skills, which can help to improve dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
Concrete to abstract: Mathlink Cubes provide a concrete representation of mathematical concepts, which can help children to understand and internalize these concepts. Then the children can apply what they learned in the tangible form to more abstract problems.
Fun and engaging: Mathlink Cubes come in different colors, making math activities fun and engaging for children. The fun and colorful aspect of the cubes makes children more excited to learn and practice math.
Differentiation: Mathlink Cubes can be used to provide different levels of challenge for students, making it easy for teachers to differentiate instruction and provide support for students who need it.

Overall, Mathlink Cubes are an excellent tool for kids to learn and practice math in a fun and interactive way.

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World Space Week

Welcome to Monday Funday with Miss Alissa from @heartmindedmama ✨

Miss Alissa is an early childhood educator and mom of two! Over the next few weeks, Miss Alissa will be sharing skill-building activities for you to do at home or in your classroom.

We are starting it off with three out-of-this-world activities for Space Week, which starts October 4th.

This collection of space activities for preschoolers will keep them actively engaged while building essential life skills. Thoughtfully designed with little ones, these STEM toys for kids help learners as young as 3 build early science and fine motor skills!

Solar System Puzzle Globe - Space is the place for preschool learning fun! Kids build hands-on science skills as they solve the out-of-this-world 3-D puzzle found on the Solar System Puzzle Globe, a hands-on STEM toy for kids from Learning Resources. Inspired by our award-winning Puzzle Globe, this fun rotating puzzle adds some space décor to the puzzle play action—kids position eight easy-grip planet puzzle pieces that also introduce the names and appearances of our solar system neighbors. In addition to building early fine motor and critical thinking skills, this STEM toy for kids is also ready for imaginative adventures thanks to its fun, friendly astronaut and spaceship pieces—as kids explore the cosmos with their new friends, there’s no telling what they’ll discover!

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Magnetic Space Sudoku - Can you solve these out-of-this-world logic puzzles? Take your early math skills to outer space and beyond with the 72 Sudoku puzzles found in the Magnetic Space Sudoku set from Learning Resources. This fun take on the classic puzzle game brings sudoku to life with the help of wacky alien friends and a fun space setting. Choose from two types of puzzles—solve traditional number-based Sudoku challenges, or work on your visual logic skills in puzzles that replace the number with our colorful aliens!

Oodles of Aliens Sorting Saucer - Grab the Tri-Grip Tongs, pop the dice, and help these aliens sort out their spaceship in a sorting game of cosmic proportions! Kids learn preschool sorting, fine motor skills, and more with every trip aboard the Oodles of Aliens Sorting Saucer from Learning Resources. This fun sorting saucer reveals color-coded trays and the aliens that inhabit them. Spread the aliens out on the table, pop the dice, and use the Tri-Grip Tongs to grab and sort them into place! In addition to sorting, this game builds three additional preschool skills at once—strengthen your counting, color recognition, and fine motor skills every time you play!