The term STEM has been around since 2001, but according to the American College of Education, it didn’t get much attention until around 2013.
Throughout your child’s education journey, you will most certainly hear this term used often. What does STEM mean? And what are STEM activities for preschoolers?
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STEM Activities for Preschoolers
STEM is an acronym.
S stands for science, T stands for technology, E stands for engineering, and M stands for math.
Combining any two or more of these subjects into a hands-on learning activity is considered a STEM activity.
STEM activities for preschoolers may sound like an advanced topic, but at the preschool level, children are exploring the world around them, investigating, getting answers to their questions, and playing (which is serious work for a preschooler). As your child gets older, STEM activities and projects will become more complex.
Baking cookies, for instance, is a STEM activity preschoolers can do because it combines science (chemistry) and math (measuring temperature). Have your child draw and color a picture of how they are going to decorate their cookie, and now you also have a STEAM project, which is combining art with math, science, and engineering. Art refers to ‘the arts’, which could include things like arts and crafts, puppets, drama, music, dance, storytelling, or designing something with playdough.
It’s really that simple. Don’t let it intimidate you. It’s not rocket science…well… yeah… actually it can be – lol
Examples of Each STEM Area for Preschoolers
Below is a list of preschool topics in each of the 4 categories. These lists are by no means exhaustive, but will give you a good idea of preschool topics for each area. You will also see that many of these topics/themes overlap into other areas. For the most part, I’ve just placed them under the subject I would look for them in.
I’ve linked some of the topics/themes listed below to other posts that will give you lots of ideas to use with that particular theme.
Science includes:
🔹animals – zoo animals, polar animals, farm animals, nocturnal animals, insects, birds, fish, dinosaurs, ants
🐒Visit a zoo – take pictures, observe
Here’s a great resource for learning about animals, from the San Diego Zoo
🐄Visit a petting farm
🔹plants, flowers, trees
🔹ocean, beach, sea life
🔹weather, seasons, rain, snow
🔹seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter
🔹space, planets, sun, moon, rockets. clouds
🔹transportation, boats, planes, trucks, bikes
🔹classifying – classifying is sorting things into groups. Here are a couple of activities that use the concept of classification
💫 Living and Non-Living Things
💫Sink or Float
💫 Safe and Not Safe Strangers
🔹life-cycles: frogs, butterflies
🔹experiments: living non non-living, sink and float, magnets
🔹health, body, teeth, habits
🔹colors: mixing colors, rainbows
🔹Shadows and Light – this is fun to do for Groundhog Day
🔹Visit a pumpkin patch, bring home a pumpkin, and explore what’s inside it.
🔹Magnets: Magna Tiles/ magnetic tiles, magnetic building blocks, magnetic wands, balls, etc
🧲 Have your child draw a path on a paper plate. Give them a magnetic ball/ or item to follow the path and a second magnetic that they use under the plate to move the ball along the path.
You can also include Bible stories and pull science themes from them.
🔹Creation – earth, space, plants, animals
🔹Noah’s Ark – animals, ark/boats, rain/floods, sink and float, mountains, rainbows
🔹Moses – frogs, flies, locusts, desert, camels, pyramids
🔹Jonah and the Whale – whales, ocean animals, boat, storms
Technology Includes:
At the preschool stage, technology doesn’t need to be electronic. It does include electronic items like laptops, cell phones, and cameras, but there are plenty of other tools that count in this area as well.
A simple definition of technology for preschoolers is any item that helps get a job done. That would include things like scissors, magnets, marbles, rulers, measuring cups, mixers, or a paintbrush.
🔹blow bubbles – the bubble wand is the tool (technology).
At the preschool age, experiments like blowing bubbles are introductions to the world of science. They are full of wonder and adventure and… well, just plain fun! However, these experiments will serve as building blocks as your child grows older. As older students, one day they can explore blowing bubbles more scientifically – studying things like surface tension, air pressure, and why light waves cause the bubbles to look like rainbows. Right now, they are building a foundation for learning.
🫧The Children’s Museum of Sonoma County has a great article with questions you can explore with your little learner as you explore blowing bubbles together. It’s called Amazing Bubble Science Facts for Kids of all Ages. At the end of it, they include a recipe for an unpoppable bubble!
Engineering includes:
🔹Critical thinking: problem solving, simple logic
An example would be, after their block tower falls, your child decides that if they put larger blocks on the bottom and smaller ones on top, he may be able to build it higher, then he tests his idea to see if it works.
🔹building: Legos, blocks, couch cushions, marshmallows and toothpicks, Magna-Tiles, craft sticks, cardboard boxes, cups, playdough, stones, bottle caps, shells, sand, cloth pins, pool noodles, paper
🔹designing – draw pictures of what you want to make
🔹Designing shapes on geoboards
🔹Snow days – Build a snow fort or snowman, explore snowballs (lightly packed, tightly packed, small and large)
🔹Build sand castles at the beach
🔹Build a bridge out of different materials: blocks, craft sticks and plastic cups, rolled up newspaper and tape, playdough and craft sticks or spaghetti, Legos or magna-tiles
M for Math includes:
🔹numbers, counting, simple addition or subtraction
🔹 comparisons, heavy/light, long/short, far/near
🔹sorting and classifying
🔹money
🔹time
🔹 spatial relations
🔹 estimating
🔹symmetry
Sites With Great Resources For More Ideas
The First Law of Motion – STEM Bible lesson for kids by True Way Kids
Light – STEM Bible lesson for Kids by True Way Kids
Little Innovators: Amazing Technology STEM Activities for Preschoolers by I’m a Chef Too! has some great information and ideas for technology activities with preschoolers
Build a balloon car like this one on Science Buddies
Try These 10 Terrific STEM Toothpick Activities by The Secret Life of Homeschoolers
30+ Hands-on STEM Activities for Preschoolers by ABC Mouse
9 Stem Activities for Preschoolers by Engineering for Kids
Simple STEM Activities for a Rainy Day by Engineering for Kids
Engineering STEAM Activity for Kids by Meaningful Mama
