How to encourage STEAM confidence

[Anonymous]

For some background, I graduated from a very strong private school in Charlotte NC. I’d probably compare it to Sidwell or Potomac in terms of school culture. I spent k-12 there and as an adult now feel like it paid off in a lot of ways. I learned how to write very well, the school culture really set me up for success from a soft skills standpoint and I have a good career now, but I never feel like I got STEAM concept down, ever. I got in the low 20s on the ACT in math/ science sections, despite getting near/ at 30 in reading and writing, and never got to calculus. FWIW I did fine in college admissions all things considered, ended up at an SEC school majoring in marketing, I’m now in media sales.

One thing to note is that this school gets you on a math track in 7th grade that puts you in a higher or lower bracket and that basically determines everything for the rest of high school math and science wise. But looking back, the instruction was way weaker in the lower level classes, those kids didn’t get the legendary teachers the school was known for, ect. I remember hating math as young as second or third grade and crying at the dinner table with my dad trying to do homework - it never came easy to me. Pretty sure I never got above a B in a math or science class literally ever!

Asking here because my kid is 4 and we are looking at similar schools here for her to start K next year and I really want her to like math and science and not find it as difficult as I did. She’s like me and really enjoys listening to books but doesn’t gravitate towards math/ science at all. I really don’t want this to hold her back the way I feel like it has for me- my lack of math / science / data analysis have been a professional
hurdle for me to overcome personally and have kept me from passing certain certs, put me on academic probation back when I was in a sorority, things like that. Looking for tips about how to incorporate these skills now, even though she isn’t even in K yet, want to set her up for success well, and see what privates look for in terms of math science aptitude in admissions!

[Anonymous]

One major skill in early elementary is to get kids super comfortable with their math facts. They need to know all the math facts without thinking or counting on their fingers. Often modern math curricula don't spend enough time practicing math facts, so kids lack confidence and struggle with harder skills. It's like trying to read without knowing your letters or letter sounds--it just doesn't work.

Also, keep up math practice over the summers. Don't let kids get rusty and forget the skills they've worked hard to build.

Games like Sleeping Queens are good for this practice. But a worksheet or app can be good practice too.

[Anonymous]

Above poster is giving you very good advice.

For bright kids who don't find math intuitive, you need more practice hours to achieve the same result. And to build early strength in math facts which can be boring compared to reading good books.

The Mathnasium franchise tutoring can be a good balance between drilling (Kumon) and math exploration for kids who love math (Maryland people like Art of Problem Solving and Russian School of Math).

Don't expect school to handle it all. In any classroom, 1:1 time is limited.

[Anonymous]

Regarding science, approach it through non-fiction and fiction books about science.

Queen of Physics is a good picture book. I think there's also "Ada Twist, Scientist".

Shark Lady was a good chapter book about a biologist.

Some Marie Curie books are okay but there were tragic aspects related to radiation poisoning that unsettled me as a child, so be forewarned.

Chemistry sets that do fun reactions are widely available. Do those at home for rainy day projects. Snap Circuits are another fun possibility. Those didn't exist when I was a kid but I loved a book I had about a kid who wired up a service bell when he was laid up with a broken leg. Just give kits to your kid to play with, just like Legos.

[Anonymous]

1. Privates do not do this well.
2. There is no school in Charlotte, NC private that is great that is just absurd.
3. Publics are where kids learn STEAM in the best way and are more successful long term. Yes there are exceptions but given you are saying you were not naturally enclined towards math your kid needs public not private.

[Anonymous]

Country Day, Latin, and Providence Day are all really strong schools in Charlotte!

[Anonymous]

What worked for my kids practice math early and supplement with tutor/kimono or other

By the time they reach 6th grade they would be able to take more score good in SOL and Iowa math test to take algebra and geometry in middle school and ap classes in high school

So you have a good start early so they get to like the subject

[Anonymous]

Like you, math was never intuitive for me. But it has clicked for my kids. Unlike the pp, I think math teaching has improved. Yes, there is less of a focus on memorizing facts (those 1 minute quizzes were a source of huge stress for me and we didn't miss them) and more of a focus on developing math and number sense. That has served my kids well. They are both moderately advanced (A1 in 7th, pre calc in 10th), but we didn't approach math as a race where earlier is better, and I think that helped too.

[Anonymous]

Enroll your kid in a school where science is treated like a specials class in elementary school with a dedicated, highly qualified science teacher. This is way better than a homeroom teacher teaching science as an add on.

This made a huge difference for my kid. We were amazed to see them taking real lab notes and drawing observations at an early age. Our experience was at Norwood where the early grade science teachers are fantastic!

I don’t know any private schools that departmentalize math until 3rd or 4th grade at the earliest. Many on this board will tell you that publics have the lead on math instruction. My youngest is in MCPS versus private for this reason. They are in compacted math and on track for algebra 1 way ahead of our private school kid that didn’t get tracked until 7th grade. They are taking geometry in 9th now that they’ve switched to public, but most of their friends are taking Algebra 2 because they had early tracking opportunities

[Anonymous]

4yo is too young to be worried about all this. Ignore all the advice about worksheets, tutors, math apps, etc. Do however, take the advice about any board or card games. In addition, find the Bedtime Math series to begin encouraging mental math strategies that meet your child where they are. Play lots of games, cook together, do anything that NATURALLY requires math. As for science, do the same, the things that are NATURAL including lots of building (physical science) and lots of outdoor time (environmental science) and field trips to farms, science centers, planetariums, etc.

[Anonymous]

Our DC started in Montessori. This introduced science with their outdoor classroom, growing plants from seeds, water cycle, and other ways little kids can relate to.

Ours was very strong in reading, not as strong in math. So we bought math workbooks at the (bricks and mortar) bookstore that covered the same material as her class. She just needed more practice than her school offered to really memorize addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Now her math and reading are both strong.

At Xmas and birthdays, we include at least one gift that is a math/science STEM toy. SnapCircuits are great for basic electricity. A crystal radio kit also is good. Books on "How Things Work". Some age-appropriate science biographies. Lego Technic are good for how machinery moves and works. We take her to the Air & Space museum and Natural History museum. We sometimes watch a selected PBS NOVA or PBS Nature episode - watching together as a family - on the AppleTV. It takes effort, but it will work.

[Anonymous]

Develop an appreciation for the outdoors and exploration and identification of plants, animals etc when young. DD had one of those kits with a notebook, tweezers, magnifying glass and other items to go outside and explore when young.

Chemistry kit was also a hit.

Planetariums and hands-on museums were also great.

Cooking because of the measuring, counting, etc was always enjoyable for DD.

We did a lot of building with DD too. It was Gears! Gears! Gears!, marble runs, MagnaTiles etc.

We encouraged chess at a young age (5/6) and also played a lot of card-based games with DD.

If you have a daughter, we found the recommendations of books and toys/games from a Mighty Girl to be quite good, especially for the preschool to upper elementary years: https://www.amightygirl.com/


DD started Math Olympiad in 4th grade as well as did a science-themed afterschool class focused on rocketry that same year. She continues to enjoy math and science many years later.

Games, books, and hands-on exploration helped tremendously, especially between the ages of 3 to 10 or so. Some math-focused workbooks for car or train trips were used in the summer but we tried to make math and science fun and seem natural in the younger years vs as an academic endeavor.

[Anonymous]

Watch numberblocks with her. Seriously.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_bRavc-qerkEyGo-gkM9uOrg-BoNeRDU&si=mYEDeGF4diSOMt15

Get some numberblocks manipulatives to play along with.

[Anonymous]

No one is putting my kid in advanced math. Ever. And I’m proud of that.

[Anonymous]

Or cuisenaire rods:

https://www.educationunboxed.com/

https://www.educationunboxed.com/