How to incorporate S.T.E.A.M. topics while gardening with your child
Posted by Jess Goodwin on 6 Apr 2022
S.T.E.A.M. stands for science, technology, engineering, art and math. For many years, the original acronym was S.T.E.M., but recently an effort has been made to take the S.T.E.M. education to the next level by adding in the arts. The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM says, “it allows students to connect their learning in these critical areas together with arts practices, elements, design principles, and standards to provide the whole pallet of learning at their disposal. STEAM removes limitations and replaces them with wonder, critique, inquiry, and innovation.”
Let’s take a look at simple ways to incorporate each S.T.E.A.M. focus while getting out and gardening with your child this Spring.
Science
Study plants and insects or talk about how the weather affects the plant life cycle. Make observations of how things change over time. Make a scientific guess, or hypothesis, when you first plant your seeds about what you think will happen.
Technology
Talk about how to use gardening tools like a thermometer, barometer or a ruler to measure the growth of plants.
Engineering
Plan and organize the garden into plots where different plants will grow and get sun. Where do you think your pants will thrive the best?
Art
Draw or paint the plants, insects or other things in your garden that you observe. Make your own garden markers so you know what is growing where. Take a look at these fun DIY garden markers from The Novice Homestead for some inspiration.
Math
Count the seeds, leaves or harvested vegetables. Make note of how many seeds you planted and then see if you get more or less things to harvest!
Remember to start by incorporating these questions and activities to your child slowly to fully let them dive into the question/activity at hand. Gardening can be a timely process so there will be many opportunities to throw in some S.T.E.A.M. learning.
If you're looking for the perfect start to gardening for your child check out our latest launches:
The Seed to Sprout Slide & Store 2-Level Planter
