Although many jobs will disappear in the future, jobs centered around STEM are expected to get more demand. Thus, STEM learning starts to take a huge part in education both at school and at home. Besides being a composition of science, technology, engineering and maths, STEM resembles a rational growth mindset. We came up with 7 tips to incite passion in your little ones towards this interdisciplinary field.
1- Learn with experiments.
We all know seeing is a hundred times better than reading for learning procedure. In this case, experimenting and learning through experiment results is critical for kids. Whether they fail or succeed in the experiment, make sure they understand the principles behind it. Making connections with real life examples also enhances the active learning period. There are many resources online that you and your little ones can do together. You can grow your own bacteria or make your own lava lamp. You can take a look at Twing App for cool activities to do at home easily and start with your favorites!
2- Visit a museum together.
A trip to understand a historical event or how an invention was made is remarkable for every child’s learning period. Besides the informational service in museums, fun activities created for kids such as painting with Van Gogh or experiencing ancient times with VR encourage active learning. Do not forget to share what inspired you the most in the museum at the end of the trip.
3- Explore tech toys.
We all enjoy making our little ones happy with the toys they like. However, it is important that they develop themselves with these toys while having fun. Toys based on STEM are getting popular each day. The robotics sets or coding modules are available in many stores. Such toys enhance the curiosity of kids while also developing their motor skills. Twin Science Kits might be a good start for kids interested in robotic coding!
4- Learn about STEM role models.
Role models are the best teachers. They do not teach any lectures but their life lessons are inspiring. Discover such STEM role models with your kids and learn about their school life. Seeing that these amazing people such as Edison, Da Vinci from past or Elon Musk from today’s world were also kids once and they failed a lot in the journey that took them there. This way, they can engage with STEM concepts better. You can also encourage them to imagine themselves as the future STEM role models.
5- Go for a walk to discover nature.
There is an infinite amount of knowledge hidden in nature. How a plant grows or why an insect group follows each other are all amazing information for kids to discover. Go for a walk to discover what is around you in the closest park. Try to see the hidden beauties in the forests. Find insects from different families and give them your own names. See which plants prefer living together and understand the concept of mutual relationships in nature.
6- Make a DIY project every week.
21st century is proving that science and art are complements of each other. Da Vinci’s works such as golden ratio is one of the best examples of this great combination. The best way to discover this combination is to build DIY projects. Every week, design a project yourself whether it is about robotics or sewing. Make a quick research to find the best DIY projects that you are interested in and start this week!
7- Join STEM camps.
The best way to engage with STEM is to experience and share it with others. Many foundations organize camps that offer you a week full of STEM activities as well as funny games. Search for a camp that might appeal to your child’s interest areas and get ready to learn science in a collaborative environment. Kids inspire each other while developing their knowledge on related fields of science. It is much more engaging than reading about it on the Internet. Make sure he keeps a camp diary to take notes about every experience he has.
We all know those toys that are left under the couch for months or do not get out of the closet. For many parents, one of the concerns while purchasing a toy is to understand if their little ones will play with it over and over. Here we gathered toy gift options which we ensure will give your kids endless joy.
Toddlers (1-2 years)
The times when there is a whole world out there waiting to be discovered. For this age group, a smile, the first step and first words are milestones. The toys preferred for them should develop their such skills and keep them busy with colors and sounds.
Peg Board Set
Number Train
Stacking Rings
Plush Toys
Building Blocks
Count and Learn Jars
Music Band Set
Pre-School (3-4 years)
For preschoolers, keep it simple. Materials that encourage kids to develop their motor skills, language and also spark curiosity in their minds will mostly bear their attention. Another important criterion is the durability of the toys. Here are some examples:
Wooden Blocks
Brick Block Set
Trucks and Cars
Doll House
Puppets
Play Food, Pots and Pans
Doctor Set
Drum and Guitar
Wooden Threading Toys
Magna Tab
Dough Kit
Plush Toys
Grade School (5-7 years)
This age group is generally quite excited to imagine, create and learn. The toys picked for this age group should definitely leave some space for further creativity. We gathered some of them but we all know they see every material at home as a toy waiting to be discovered:
Yes, she is no longer a child! This age group is ready to take responsibilities while discovering their interests. The toys for them should meet their expectations. A little bit of challenge mixed with fun is the perfect match for them:
In this article, we have provided a brief interpretation of a thirty-page long research paper. Of course, some information is lost during the summary process. Link to the study will provide access for those who want to learn more about this valuable information:Link
We are all trying to choose the right educational applications for our children’s social, cognitive, and emotional development. Choosing these apps is a challenging process, not only does Apple’s iOS App Store have 270,0001 educational applications, the number of these apps grows by 5% monthly. In order to excel and take a responsibility to deliver the right solutions, application developers should remember the educational elements and inform their decisions with the science of learning.
In the article, “Putting Education in Educational Apps: Lessons from the Science of Learning”, Hirsh-Pasek et al. guide educational app and content developers with the principles from the new science of learning. The new science of learning is beginning to provide knowledge to improve significantly people’s abilities to become active learners who seek to understand the complex subject matter and are better prepared to transfer what they have learned to new problems and settings. This newly minted field asks not merely what we should teach children— that is, what content—but also how children best learn the strategies they will need to cope flexibly and creatively in a 21st-century world3.
The article introduces four pillars of developing educational mobile experiences:
Active Learning: Mental and physical activeness of the student.
Engaged Learning: Keeping the student’s focus during the educative event
Meaningful Learning: Introducing students to the science behind the subject
Socially Interactive: Allowing active communication with peers, family, and experts of the field if necessary
The application, which is based on these four pillars, should provide the student with a space to play and gain experience. In this scaffolded experience, they should be given a space that is both wide enough to explore freely and narrow enough to follow a solid learning goal.
So, how can we put these four pillars in an educational app for smartphones and tablets?
Ideally, it is necessary to be aware of the capacity of both mobile devices and children. Additionally, we need to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of mobile devices in different learning environments with different learning types. For example, smartphones are great devices for perceiving the environment. Thanks to all the sensors it has, we can use our smartphones as an amateur physics lab. On the other hand, children are great at questioning and exploring their physical environment, thanks to their amazing curiosity. So, If we want to teach physics, we can start by seizing the potential of both children’s and devices. Further, children can become physically active when using sensors such as accelerometers and cameras and might increase their cognitive skills by interpreting incoming data. However, in order to maintain their focus, it is vital to keep their internal and external motivations high during learning. Providing intrinsic motivation requires a quality experience; we must retain their joy of learning. Boosting external motivation is relatively easier, we can start our development process with gamification elements. Lastly, the stations on the student’s learning journey must form a logical route in sequence. All the people students meet on this route should give students active and constructive feedback.
In addition, we have a multimedia device that students already love and enjoy playing with. Mobile applications have a great potential in terms of accessibility of education; With their connection features and accessible prices, they reach places that computers cannot reach and can deliver education to any environment. This device has the potential to have a great impact on our entire lifestyle with increasing mobility and information availability which will naturally affect our learning styles. Therefore, educational application developers have the chance to meaningfully affect our lives and contribute to bringing education to the whole world with the new science of learning.
1 January 2020 Numbers
2 Putting Education in Educational Apps: Lessons From the Science of Learning
Twin Science has been spreading the joy of science and coding with science sets. Also, we are willing to use social media to encourage kids with challenges and competitions. The more we see the enthusiasm of science in the posts that Twinners share, the more we force each other to develop twin sets.
Today we have a curious ambassador to discover Twin Sets in his own Youtube Channel. Welcome to Robin’s Fun Playtime! If you like toys, games and science experiment, you’ve come to the right place. This is Robin and, he is six years old. He loves creating and doing things together. Also, he enjoys making videos and sharing them with the audience. In videos, you will see him and his daddy do lots of unboxing and toy reviews, gadgets review, fun and educational science experiments and pretend play. They are so excited to start a YouTube video for exploration of Twin Coding and Curiosity Sets.
In this video, Robin is going to unbox and review two of our robotics kits. These kits are compatible with each other and LEGO building blocks. Curiosity kit is the starter kit to STEM and suitable for age group 7 to 12. The Coding kit is suitable for age group 8 to 13 and includes all the essentials for children to grasp the fundamentals of coding and develop programming skills.
As you know, within the scope of COVID-19 health measures, the Ministry of Health made statements about the closure of schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education.
In this process, we stand by all parents, teachers and students in order not to disrupt the scientific education and training processes of our children.
As Twin team, we offer our coding training to your online service free of charge during this period. As of March 23, you can attend our coding trainings, experiments and artificial ıntelligence courses free of charge on our YouTube live broadcasts between 14:00 and 15:30 on weekdays, you can ask questions and start learning coding from your home.
What is Coding and Why is it Important to Know Coding?
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, learned to write coding at the age of 9.
Bill Gates, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, wrote his first computer program at the age of 13.
“I think everyone in this country should learn computer programming. Because this teaches people how to think. I see computer science as a social science. This must be something everyone has to learn. ”
STEVE JOBS
Coding is simply called the electronic language used to create computer software. As the “alphabet of the new era”, we see that coding, whose importance is increasing day by day, stands out as the heart of the fields that direct information and communication technologies such as building applications and software.
Coding stands out as one of the most basic skills to take part in the “new industrial revolution” Industry 4.0, where the world’s leading industrialized countries are seriously prepared to meet their educational curricula. Individuals who acquire their coding skills at an early age grow up ready for Industry 4.0, which will make itself feel in all areas of life, especially in future production. For this reason, countries that are aware of this have added coding course for all levels based on their education systems.
Almost every parent nowadays admits that coding will often be encountered in the lives of their children, and with the developing technology it is now a “must” but finding the right source is very critical. At the same time, parents find it difficult to create time for coding education besides school lessons. Twin Science confronts parents with a training that will solve these problems. This training will be broadcast live as a 1-week course. Tutorial will be supported with not only theoretical coding knowledge, but also project-oriented, “curiosity” experiments that will solve problems in daily life.
What Will Be the Benefits of Online Coding Education By Twin Science?
With coding education, instead of what to think, children will learn how to think.
They will be able to approach both coding and life more solution oriented.
When they start learing programing languages such as Python, C, C ++, Java, It will be easier for them to understand these concepts. As the algorithm development infrastructures are robust while learning coding languages, they will be able to comprehend these languages in a much shorter time.
They will be able to design the projects that everyone designs while finishing the university before going to high school.
They will be able to use their potential at the maximum level and develop their critical thinking.
The coronavirus house lockdown can cause anxiety, stress and uncertainty especially strongly by children of all ages. If your little one is faced with school closure, and experiencing a separation from friends, they are going to need support more than ever. We created a healthy routine that might help our children during this period using online education tools, apps and fun activities.
Twing is a free mobile application designed for children that exposes them to scientific content using games and fun experiments. Children play and learn educational games with each other and get inspired by their friends’ projects and experiments. It also offers children a digital classroom and community where they can share their projects and learn together. In these days, all students need to achieve well-prepared tutorials and contents. Using twing app not only provides you to achieve these contents but also brings you and your children together with other twinners. If you want to download the Twing App freely, you can visit Twin Science web site.
Wake Up Early and Have a Breakfast
It is very essential to provide self-discipline during the online education process. Of course, getting up too early as school time will not be easy for children. This is not needed anyway. However, it is important not to be late in order to maintain the efficiency of the day. Afterwards, not to skip breakfast, which is the most important meal of the day, will make children feel fitter and energic before starting a long day.
Plan Your Day
When we plan, we realize how much time we actually have. But an unplanned day ends up fast and be inefficient. For this reason, children should write down the activities that they will do by using pencil and paper. Using electronic devices will not be as useful as these tools. In this way, they always know the next step and can adjust their energy accordingly.
Morning Show: Egg Slime Experiment
This is a great way to save the eggs leftover breakfast. Starting the day with experimentation and creating something gives signals that a productive day has begun. Also, downloading Twing App provides you to learn the preparation of the experiments, tools that are necessary for it. ‘How to’ videos clearly show you the construction of the experiment. You can follow and download Twing to learn about other experiments and to develop new challenges.
Reading and Morning Pages
What do you think is the characteristic feature of the most successful scientists in their field? Yes, without exception, they all read a lot of books, some of them also write their own books. Combining these two valuable activities not only improves children’s ability to express themselves but also offers the opportunity to convey what they have learned in the book they read. Morning pages are creative writing workshop where every child writes what’s going on in his mind that morning. In this way, it both develops their vocabulary and helps them to use patterns that they actually know but unaware of it.
Inspiration Time
You can reach all the episodes of the Bilin Deneyin program, which has been broadcast on CNN Türk for a long time, hosted by Twin Science co-founders Asude Altıntaş and Cihan Özalevli, on the Twin Bilim Youtube page. During the day, children will, of course, want to spend time on the screen. In order to increase the efficiency of this time, it recommeneds to follow the contents of different projects, such as Bilin Deneyin. By the way, it can change their perspective about future professions.
Design Your Own Logo
Creativity requires constant experimentation, design and discovery. If you want your children to grow up with ideas and become unique individuals in every field, you should create an environment for them to express their imagination. This experiment is for inventors who want to push the limits of their vision. Drawings, designs, names and slogans. All are necessary for a powerful logo. Ask them to design logos for their future companies.
Watch Twin Online Coding Tutorials
Children and parents are confused, as education is suspended for a while. Twin Science started with the slogan ‘we do not interrupt education’. Twin started to provide coding training, which is normally paid and physical, on a free and online platform. This week, do not miss the online coding tutorials that will take place every day at 13:00 with the presentation of Cihan Özalevli.
Turn on the Music and Dance
Staying home all day can cause children to be unable to exhaust their energies. This leads to constant boredom. For a short period of time, turning on the music and dancing give them the opportunity to release their energy. Without a doubt, having a physical activity will make them feel good.
Watch Movie
The movie is a must for the holidays. In this process, watching movies will both develop their imagination and have fun. Watching movies together in the evenings will create a very lovely synergy in the family.
Plan The Next Day
In order to complete the holiday period planned and organized, it is very important to take notes about what to do next day and making a list according to your needs. In this way, this process becomes more sustainable.
Go to Bed Early
In order to get up early, going to bed early is important. Otherwise, they do not have enough time to carry out the plans they made the night before and they may feel guilty about that.
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