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Have you ever wondered why it’s important to encourage science at home? Unless you have been living under a rock, you most likely have heard the word “STEM” before. STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, is now a key focus. Why is this? Our rapidly developing global workplace is putting a higher demand for students who have a STEM background to complete jobs pertaining to science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM!).
It is estimated by 2022 that there will be around 6 million STEM jobs available, and that number will continue to grow.
Whether you are a homeschool teacher or just trying to provide additional support with your child’s schoolwork, teaching science at home will help your child learn important information to build their knowledge in science.
Still not convinced? We have compiled the top eight reasons why you should be teaching your child science at home.
When your child is learning science at home, you give them more opportunities to be curious and analytical. You can ask them to observe something, answer a question together, and even.
Does anybody else remember writing hypotheses in high school? I can remember that the “if/then” statement was more seriously considered than anything else. Many scientific reports were returned with low grades if it was missing this essential element.
What I understand, now, as an adult, is those statements provided a way for me to problem-solve.
If the heart is healthy, then it will pump blood…
If cigarettes are unhealthy, then the body will react negatively…
If the baking soda and vinegar mix, then a volcanic reaction will occur…
Basically, with if/then statements, the possibilities are endless.
But what happens if an experiment does yield the results that a student is expecting? This is where problem-solving skills will come in handy.
When students are confronted with a failed hypothesis, they can reevaluate the steps, adjust, and attempt to solve the problem.
When students learn science at home, they are given more opportunities to develop their communication skills. When students create a hypothesis, research it, and then report it, they have to create a road map for somebody else to read and understand.
Even the smallest of scientists are experts at doing this.
“Look! I thought that if I picked up the worm and put it in wet dirt that it would be able to move faster!”.
Young children who can walk an adult through their thought process gain valuable skills in being effective communicators.
How often have you seen something strange outside and taken a close look to try and understand it? Whenever I take my family hiking, I look for things out of the ordinary to point out to my children. Whether a slimy slug, interesting tree stump, or even a bright fungi, science is all around us.
When you stop to look at your surroundings, you will notice that there are always things to investigate.
When you teach science at home, students can take more time to investigate and analyze while learning. These skills, when practiced, become more fine-tuned and mature.
If you want your child to have the skills as an adult to look at a problem critically and solve it critically– take time to look at the slugs when they’re young.
Children learn best when they have hands-on experience, and when they learn science at home, they are given more opportunities to interact with what they are learning.
Many at-home science experiments are easy to execute but have a huge impact on children’s witnessing with their own eyes.
When students learn science at home, they can see the magic happen before their eyes. This can transform how they see the world outside their front door.
And in a world where a lot of life is happening inside right now, making the world magical again can be the biggest gift to give children right now.
Do you need ideas of easy-to-implement experiments that you can do at home today? ArgoPrep has numerous posts for the most effective and ah-inducing at-home science experiments.
So much of science education impacts how we view the world. From topics such as the importance of recycling, how pollution affects ecosystems, and even how technology can benefit our world, students passionate about science understand how important it is to our future.
When you teach science at home, students can learn about important topics.
When your child studies science at home, they will have the opportunity to learn about things such as weather patterns, different kinds of dirt and rocks, and more. All of these earth science skills can help them to know how to enjoy the outdoors safely.
Even if your child doesn’t love the outdoors or aspire to be a lifelong camper, learning these basics will help them in an emergency.
When was the last time that your child took an inquisitive question too far? I’m not talking about the questions that drive us nuts like, “can I have a snack?” or “Why is this house so BORING!” (both questions that have been uttered in my home today). The questions I’m talking about are the ones that extend thinking beyond the basic question.
“How does the train move?”
“Why do the geese fly south in the winter?”
These jumping-off questions are the place where your child can start learning more about the world and the things that excite them. Once they learn about geese flying south for the winter, they might follow-up with a question like, “how do they know where to go?” or “what do geese eat?” or even “what happens if a goose gets left behind.”
When students extend their thinking beyond the surface, they can explore more and learn more than ever.
When students learn science at home, they have more frequent opportunities to ask new questions.
Have we convinced you of the value of teaching science at home yet? We have? Great news! So you might be wondering: how can you start encouraging learning science at home? We have a couple of tips to help get you on the right track to teach science at home.
The other day I walked in on my four-year old’s bath. She had two washcloths set in a basket and was pouring water over them. I asked her what she was doing, and she quickly replied, “I’m doing an operation!”. This is what we want! When we give our children the opportunities to experiment, they are using the chance to do science.
Encourage your child to take things apart (and put them back together). Let them see what happens when they pour water on it. Or encourage them to use their hands to solve a problem. When you let a child tinker, you give them the basic skills to become little scientists in their own right.
The basics of the scientific method is to start with a question. When a child tinkers, they are actively asking a question and setting out to answer it. Without doing anything, without preparing an experiment, your child is ready to be a scientist.
The easiest way to incorporate science into your day-to-day lives is to ask questions. When you are out and about, look for chances in your conversations to ask questions to get your child to be more curious.
“Why do you think the sun looks like that?”
“Why do you think the water is so rough?”
“What does it smell like.”
“Can you hear that? What do you think is making that sound.”
“Why do you think the bird is flying like that”
All of these questions (and many more) are a great jumping-off point to get your child thinking scientifically.
Additionally, do not always provide the answers to your children’s questions! If they ask about why something is the way it is, try to answer with “Why do you think it’s that way?”.
When you give them the chance to answer their own questions, they must think more analytically about what they are noticing in the world.
If you want to introduce more science at home, then look for ways to make science fun! There are so many ways to do this, but a few of my favorites include:
There is really no downfall to teaching science at home. If you are looking to provide your child with real-life skills in a growing field of study, science is your quickest way to success.
If you want quick and easy ways to add more science into your day-to-day learning, let ArgoPrep help! Ready to help with workbooks, online support, free worksheets, and more, ArgoPrep is a one-stop solution to science that will excite and educate all students.
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