STEM for Young Girls Suggestions????

[AggieMama]

I have a current kinder daughter who is "mathy". I would like to encourage her STEM tendency. Does anyone have any suggestions for STEM materials that a young girl would enjoy?

[MeaganS]

My kids really enjoy snap circuits, several programming apps, Legos, k'nex. Pretty much any boy stem toy is also a hit here.

 

We also take advantage of Lowe's free building workshops and have lots of math manipulative to play with.

 

ETA, my dd5 is the one who enjoys these the most and she's very girly. Pink everything and cries if I make her wear pants instead of a skirt. I've just never told her these toys are traditionally boyish, and in the case of Lego and k'nex, there's girly options.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Meagan S

[Porridge]

+1 to what MeaganS suggested.

 

 

We started with Lego Duplo Education, then moved to Snap Circuits and later Lego Education and Knex.  

It is an investment, but if you're good about keeping pieces together and organized, the resale value is excellent. 

 

When our kids play Legos, they are required to keep all the pieces on this huge (HUGE) baking tray that I purchased from Costco. It helps contain the chaos and keep pieces from getting lost. 

 

I think that the most important factors for encouraging and maintaining girls' long term interest in STEM are 

1) what they see modeled by the important people in their lives.  If you're a homeschooler, this likely means you and the other adults she sees on a regular basis.  If you show an enthusiasm and curiosity about STEM topics, she will naturally be drawn into that enthusiasm.  

2) what competing influences there are on their time and attention early in life.  (i.e. 

 

I would add that a box of "found materials" (i.e. clean trash that you otherwise would have recycled: bottle tops, cardboard tubes and boxes, ribbon scraps, packaging material, etc.) goes a long way toward encouraging creativity and problem solving. My kids would try to make their own marble runs, aqueducts, cities, and other random projects using the found materials.

[Targhee]

Yes, great ideas above! Oldest DD loved snap circuits, Legos (regular and Mindstorms robotics), lots of board games/dice games/card games (math, strategy, logic, patterns, etc), Scratch programming, nature collections (we provided lots of empty jars and boxes to house these), and all the odds and ends of old things to tinker with.

 

Speaking of that, a good friend of mine has a dd10 who loved TinkerCrate.

[AnnaM]

My STEM girl (11) participates in First Lego League (the Mindstorms robotics are used for this), Scratch, Lumberjack, Alice, Python(all open ended I believe) and she runs a Minecraft server that she is learning to program in. We also are fortunate enough to have my brother who is basically a genius helping her learn to write in Java, my husband who is also a very talented programmer, as well as a new program that is sort of like Mathnasium but is less of a tutoring program and more of an enrichment program. They cover nothing but STEM using a wide variety of resources. This past week she was at a coding camp hosted by graduate students from UTD. The CORE (the place I just described) also had some very neat open ended building toys out called Zome Tools. All three of my kids, especially my younger son LOVED these. They are on the expensive end but get great reviews and would be great for teaching geometry and such later. 

We have found that being a STEM interested girl has been a bit of a challenge socially for her simply because it is a male dominated area still, even at the younger ages. She was the only girl in either of the two sessions for the camp last week. It bothered her at first, but then we talked about how special it was that she was helping to "pioneer" STEM activities for girls. This year we are FOUR girls participating in Lego League and granted two are my girls, it is still two more than we had last season.

[Loesje22000]

Lego Duplo Early Machines (9656)

K'nex

Clics

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I'll go ahead and throw out one of those suggestions that will make everyone cringe and throw tomatoes at me:  

 

Sewing

 

There is so much math and geometry involved as you get into it.  It's a fine motor skill builder Etc, etc, etc.  And it can be girly, if you are looking for something with lots of pink and glitter but that it also math and stemmy.  

 

 

[SilverMoon]

Coding games like LightBot and The Foos are generally the easiest to get started with the whole concept of having to program e.v.e.r.y. detail.  Chase those with sites like Scratch, Code Monkey, Code Combat, Tynker, Code.org (this one puts on free workshops for educators, look at the spring break schedule to see if there's one near you), and Code Academy.

 

Otherwise, Magic School Bus videos, kits, books, and such.

 

There isn't much for clubs like math and robotics that take kids that young. VEX maybe? Math Olympiad starts in 4th grade. Keep an eye this fall on Math Kangaroo registration and she could do that competition next year. Mathnasium has one in the fall too. Ask at the local library or area Facebook homeschool group to see what club options may be in your area.

[ExcitedMama]

DS loves The Foos. It's very easy to figure out and he loves it. Have you looked at the Wonder robots? Robots that are programmed to move by the child. Have you seen Lightup? It's just like snap circuits but has an app to help the child figure out what's going on.

 

One of the benefits of HS is that your daughter won't be told what she can and cannot do or what is just for boys so I think all of the above are great suggestions.

Edited March 12, 2016 by ExcitedMama

[rebcoola]

All of the above also Ozobots, Roominate building sets, marble runs, and just bunches of pvc pipe and connectors, were hits here.  Goldiblox's were not and I have heard the same from others.

Edited March 12, 2016 by rebcoola

[Targhee]

I can't see your signature, so I don't know her age, but if she is old enough then I agree with above suggestion of First Lego League!! It's a very well designed program, and it's a lot of fun. Also, Science Olympiad! My kids are at their regional tournament today (they are B division - middle school). And if she is middle school age there's also MathCounts.

[AggieMama]

Currently we are in kinder, and finishing up 1st grade math in both Saxon and Singapore by the end of May. You all have provided some wonderful suggestions that I will look into. I will definately look into MATHCOUNTS when we get there as I did that when I was in school. I'm glad Inknow about AoPS because that would have helped me a lot.

[daijobu]

I'll go ahead and throw out one of those suggestions that will make everyone cringe and throw tomatoes at me:  

 

Sewing

 

There is so much math and geometry involved as you get into it.  It's a fine motor skill builder Etc, etc, etc.  And it can be girly, if you are looking for something with lots of pink and glitter but that it also math and stemmy.  

 

No tomatoes from me.  Fine motor skills are helpful for everything from wiring up breadboards to taking apart alarm clocks.  

[Kiara.I]

No tomatoes from me.  Fine motor skills are helpful for everything from wiring up breadboards to taking apart alarm clocks.  

 

Right?  Thread a sewing needle, solder a micro-component...

 

Assemble flat pieces of fabric into a 3-dimensional garment, be able to read (or create!) engineering drawings...

[daijobu]

I think sewing is way harder than reading an electrical schematic.  

[SilverMoon]

I went to a Code.org workshop this week. My kids were so proud of me and quickly confiscated the kewl CODE loot that came home with me. I might just be able to code as well as my 8yo now.

 

So... Make yourself a teacher account at Code.org; if you end up as a student it's one quick switch in the account settings to set it to teacher instead. Then click on your name on the top right>Teacher Home Page>Lesson Plans and Resources>Course 1 Lesson Plans. The plans are written for a classroom, but super easy to customize for one kid. There are "unplugged" hands on activities between the coding assignments. If you make a class and make your kid the student you can very easily track progress to see how she's doing. My 5yo (boy) pays a wicked amount of attention to fine details and makes connections around the world like you would not expect from this little person that can barely talk in public. I think he'll take to the hands on activities like a fish to water.

Edited March 16, 2016 by SilverMoon

[AggieMama]

Oh, that's a great idea about using the teacher profile for code.org. I'll have to do that. Both of my girls are sayin they like math better than reading, so I'm going to have to monopolize on that while I can.

[lindsey]

Have you looked into Tinker Crates? My son's two grandma's went in together and bought him a year's worth of boxes for Christmas. We have loved them so far!

[SparklyUnicorn]

All of the above also Ozobots, Roominate building sets, marble runs, and just bunches of pvc pipe and connectors, were hits here.  Goldiblox's were not and I have heard the same from others.

 

I want that for myself.  Looks so cool...

[mom31257]

I was a mathy girl and have a math degree, but I honestly think I would have hated computers and programming. I have no interest in those even now. I've always enjoyed problem solving, puzzles, games, and figuring things out. Building with legos and such is okay with me, but problem solving is much more my thing. 

 

My parents didn't have the foresight to necessarily develop my math brain for a STEM education, but they did recognize my abilities and allow me to help in real life situations. Here are a few examples. 

 

When we would go on a vacation, my dad always let me sit down with him as he planned our trip. We would work out different routes on the map, figuring the best way to go. 

 

My mom would always let me help her figure out the best buys at the grocery store. 

 

My dad farmed for a time while I was growing up. He grew wheat and the bales of wheat straw had to be gathered from the fields on a truck bed and stacked in a barn. He always said I was the best stacker because I could get the most number of bales on the truck and the best formation in the barn. 

 

 

I say look for real life problem solving she is already doing and foster it. Those memories with my parents are much more special now than a lego set or a programming package. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2016 by mom31257

[SilverMoon]

I was a mathy girl and have a math degree, but I honestly think I would have hated computers and programming. I have no interest in those even now. I've always enjoyed problem solving, puzzles, games, and figuring things out. Building with legos and such is okay with me, but problem solving is much more my thing.

 

 

I say look for real life problem solving she is already doing and foster it. Those memories with my parents are much more special now than a lego set or a programming package. 

 

Coding for kids on sites like LightBot, Code.org, and so on, *is* problem solving, puzzles, games, and figuring things out. Many of them are like logic puzzles.

 

About the latter, the Code.org workshop stressed that we should be asking kids "What kind of problem do you want to solve/fix?" instead of "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

[Mama Geek]

Dh and I are both engineers, he grew up on a farm.  Working on projects are the absolute best way.  Building things, home repair, vehicle repair, if an electrical outlet is bad have her be a helper and teacher her the how it works.  Dd has legos and lincoln logs, etc., but her favorite things are to help out on projects.  I fully believe that growing up on a farm where my FIL took the time to teach my dh how to do things is why he has been as successful at engineering as he has.  He is about the best troubleshooter that I know.  We don't live on a farm, but we do our best to have dd involved in everything that we can.

[vonfirmath]

I have a current kinder daughter who is "mathy". I would like to encourage her STEM tendency. Does anyone have any suggestions for STEM materials that a young girl would enjoy?

 

Legos!

Magnatiles!

Snap Circuits!

 

Those are the ones my 4 year old enjoys so far. (well. The Snap Circuits only when someone reads the instructions to her. She can't read yet)

[AnniePoo]

Crafting.  Gluing, sewing, cutting, sawing, nailing, painting, etc.  Seriously.  

 

I have a mechanical engineering degree and I don't think I would have been into snap circuits, coding, and computers as a kid.  Keep it simple.  In no time you'll find exactly what she's into.  

 

 

[Hobbes]

I say look for real life problem solving she is already doing and foster it. Those memories with my parents are much more special now than a lego set or a programming package.

I love this. Definitely the kind of thinking I want to encourage and develop in all my kids.

[basketcase]

I think we often focus on the Technology and Engineering parts of STEM. (And a hearty yes to many of the ideas already presented on that front!)

 

I have a young daughter who is much more interested in the science and especially math parts of STEM. At that age she read Magic School Bus books over and over as well as math books like Life of Fred and Penrose the Mathmatical Cat. Oh, and books with overlays of the insides of animals.

[GAPeachie]

I think we often focus on the Technology and Engineering parts of STEM. (And a hearty yes to many of the ideas already presented on that front!)

 

I have a young daughter who is much more interested in the science and especially math parts of STEM. At that age she read Magic School Bus books over and over as well as math books like Life of Fred and Penrose the Mathmatical Cat. Oh, and books with overlays of the insides of animals.

 

Any specific recommendations?  

[basketcase]

Animal anatomy books - I do have one recommendation, GAPeachie. We mostly have used the "uncover a ..." series. These are the ones my daughter loves - they're 3-dimensional and a bit fragile, so that's the downside. When I was searching for them just now, I saw several coloring books of animal anatomy for veterinary students. I think she might go for those, too. My dd also really likes cat care manuals, the more detailed the better. (We don't own a cat, ha!)