Are you a parent who has been disappointed by the current state of the education system and wants to take things into their own hands? Then you must consider homeschooling. With homeschooling, you teach them at home instead of sending them to school. The concept of homeschooling began as a movement across the world. This progressive movement consisted of parents who were dissatisfied with the level of education their children received from traditional schools.
Opposing traditional schools, these parents decided that their children were better off being homeschooled. That's when parents started exploring different ways they could give their children the best possible education. STEM is one of the most popular concepts in the world of homeschooling, and many parents are looking into the benefits of STEM teaching. More specifically, they want to look into how they can incorporate it into the homeschooling curriculum. If you, too, are a parent who wants to look into teaching STEM, then this guide is the perfect resource for you. Let's get right on:
What Is STEM Homeschooling?
To understand what STEM homeschooling is, you must first understand the concept of STEM in great detail.
What Is STEM?
STEM is an acronym that contains the core principles of the education system. Each letter in the word stands for a discipline. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are the core principles of the teaching methodology.
This methodology has been an amalgamation of all the core subjects that are important for a student to be creative, good at problem-solving, and various other necessary skills. Moreover, these disciplines are necessary at the moment. The world is running on these core principles, which is why students need to be familiar with them.
There is a lot more to STEM that we need to explore as parents and educationists. STEM is not just about learning different subjects; it's a way for us to make teaching more interesting and engaging for our children. Engaging activities create a passion for learning in children and push them to explore their potential to come up with creative projects and more.
STEM education is very different from the education children receive in traditional schools. Schools often teach things that do not have a lot of practicality in real-life, and according to parents, this wastes children's time and effort. Parents believe that they can make better use of their resources in learning subjects that can practically help them. To counter this concern, STEM education focuses on project-based learning. Project-based learning gives students hands-on experience and bridges the gap between education and real life.
There are lots of real-world applications of the core subjects in STEM, and if parents or teachers incorporate these core subjects in their curriculums, we will be able to raise a generation better prepared for the challenges and technological advancements that the 21st Century holds.
What Is The Role Of STEM In Homeschooling?
While it is easier for teachers to come up with a curriculum incorporating STEM in their classes, it is still a newer concept for homeschoolers. STEM homeschooling is becoming a very popular concept among many parents. Parents who are in touch with the modern world are looking into how they can incorporate STEM in homeschooling and make the most of the methodology.
Before you get on to how you can incorporate STEM in homeschooling, you must be wondering why you should go for STEM at all and what benefit will your children get from it?
Why STEM? What Are The Benefits?
Living in the modern world, if you look around, you will see STEM everywhere. In some way or the other, STEM is found in every job there is, and more importantly, it can shape the way your children live. There are many prominent benefits of STEM in your homeschooling.
Benefits Of STEM
Here are some benefits that can motivate you to use STEM in your teaching.
Boosts Creativity
One of the biggest drawbacks of traditional education is that it sucks the creativity out of students. We train our children to learn whatever the teacher teaches them without questioning its importance and even its authenticity. This way, we teach our children what to think rather than how to think. This practice inherently brings down the creativity of children. With STEM, students have the liberty to explore things on their own, boosting their creativity.
Allows Experimentation
We learn better when we do things on our own, and if you are someone who understands things better when you are experimenting, then you will understand how the traditional schooling system limits our learning. STEM allows for a lot of risk-taking and experimentation that promotes learning in ways where you explore several possibilities and learn why they didn't work out or, if they did, what made them.
Puts Education to Practicality
There is a big gap between traditional education and practicality. If you want your children to succeed in the real world, they must be able to apply what they learn to their practical life and make better choices and decisions. In STEM methodology, children learn things that are highly relevant in the modern world and the problems that we find on a day-to-day basis.
Sharpens Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking is very important when it comes to success. Critical thinking requires students to focus all their thoughts to first understand a problem, conceptualize it, think of all the solutions, and then evaluate whether these solutions will work or not. Critical thinking is a concept that completely opposes the idea of rote learning or, in simple words, memorization. These methods stop you from using logic to look for answers and instead give you answers on your own.
What do you learn in STEM class?
If the benefits convince you, you may want to learn what goes around in a STEM Class. Here are some characteristics of a STEM Class:
Real-World Issues and Problems
Open-Ended Exploration
Team Work makes the Dream Work
Application Of Math and Science
Verification Of Hypothesis
How Do You Incorporate STEM Into Homeschooling?
If you are convinced that STEM is an important aspect of your homeschooling, then you need to incorporate it into your homeschooling curriculum right away. Here is the starter guide you can use to incorporate STEM into homeschooling in the best way.
Get An Engaging STEM Curriculum
Parents do not have the training and relevant education that teachers have, and this limits them to a lot of things. If you are thinking about STEM education for your child, you may struggle to come up with a curriculum. Don't worry. There are other ways you can have access to the STEM curriculum. There are many companies out there that can provide you with an engaging STEM curriculum.
If you do a simple search online, you will find a lot of platforms that can provide you with a STEM curriculum catering to the needs of your child. These online platforms allow your children to have exposure to different courses that come with resources, greatly improving their learning.
These online programs come up with curriculums that have personalized learning methods and are designed to appeal to the personalities of different children. This makes the curriculum highly engaging and produces much better results.
Instead of struggling with the curriculum on your own, it is best to let the experts design one for your child, as that curriculum will only be creative but will also be a comprehensive way to ensure that your child gets all the benefits of STEM methodology.
Keep Things Fun
One of the most common challenges homeschoolers face is boredom. Children are easily bored, and when they are homeschooled, they do not get the socialization that is essential for their mental development. Therefore, when you are coming up with a STEM curriculum, it is important to incorporate it in a way that makes it more fun. This can be difficult, but if the curriculum you get online includes a plethora of activities, you can do them with your children and be a part of their learning. You might learn a lot too. Since STEM teaching is more about project-based learning, you can also introduce new projects independent from the curriculum keeping your children engaged.
Moreover, you can explore options that give your child a change of scenery. For instance, if you want to teach them about how factories work, then you can take them to one and let them experience the manufacturing process first-hand. You can also arrange different field trips that give them hands-on experience and improve their learning.
Add Games and Challenges
Your children would love to play games, and you are mistaken if you think that they can't learn while playing. You can find several games online that can help your child learn about a certain discipline or topic. These games must be challenging so that your child remains as engaged as possible. Participate in these games with your child, and you will be a positive addition to their learning process.
Which Homeschool Curriculum Is Best For STEM?
Like we said earlier, you may find several homeschool curriculums online for STEM, but the only problem you may face is that they might not be what you are looking for. You need to choose the curriculum that understands the skill set your children have and plays in their favor.
If you are looking for a customized option, then the curriculum from Seed And Steam Learning Center is the best option for you. They provide you with homeschooling curriculums that are comprehensive and based on the personality of your child.
If you want your child to play to their strengths, then you need a curriculum that gives them the resources and tools they need to sharpen their skills and expand their learning effectively. All children come with different interests and learning abilities, so we need to understand and work accordingly. This will ensure that every child explores their true potential.