Do you want to cultivate your toddler’s curiosity and creativity? Would you like to broaden your little one’s sense of imagination? In this post, we will list our top recommended STEM toys for 3-year-olds. But before we go into details, let’s first explore what these educational toys are.

What are STEM toys?

“STEM” is the acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The primary purpose of STEM toys is to help children develop essential skills that will become necessary when the time comes for them to face the real world. These toys represent simplified versions of real-life challenges. For example, building kits teach kids about engineering and putting things together.

Children’s learning can be more engaging, fun, and interactive with STEM toys. They simplify complicated science, technology, engineering, and math concepts into age-appropriate activities that children can understand more easily.

Our list of recommended STEM Toys for 3-Year-Olds

Magnetic Construction Toys

Historically, many engineering-themed toys have been geared toward boys. But more recently, many toy manufacturers have begun to offer beautiful and colorful sets for both girls and boys. A great example is magnetic construction toys, which provide 3-year-olds with plenty of opportunities to hone their problem-solving and motor skills.

A construction set effectively enriches your child’s creativity because it requires critical thinking, creating, and building. At the tender age of three years, children have incredible imaginations. Playing with building toys is a great way to trigger their growing curiosity.

Cash Register Toys

Playing make-believe is another great way for your child’s imagination to soar. Combine this with a STEM toy, and your child’s play session will become even more educational. These kinds of toys can teach your child the basics of math by practicing counting items and money. Enacting cash register scenarios also provide opportunities to learn about the value of honesty by learning about spending money. 

Magnifying toys

This type of toy is as simple as it gets. Toys that magnify objects and sights give kids a chance to see things in finer detail. As toddlers observe their surrounding environment, it can be fun to give them a tool to help magnify plants, rocks, and insects, as it further encourages their curiosity and increases their interest in science. With younger children, it’s best to purchase a magnifying lens that’s shatterproof and easy to grip.

Coding toys

Believe it or not, children as young as toddlers can be taught some basic concepts of coding, robotics, and computer processes. 

A good example is coding caterpillars. By connecting segments, this type of toy enables your youngster to decide which direction it will go. This is an excellent tool for enhancing your child’s developing fine motor skills. There are countless combinations that your child can produce.

Block sets

Just like magnifying toys mentioned above, block sets are simple toys that teach children the basics of engineering concepts and problem-solving skills. Children can explore the names and uses of different buildings and bridges as they design their own structures. Doing so allows them to discover which types of foundations are solid and which ones are unstable.

By playing with blocks, children also learn about numbers and measurements. They discover basic mathematical concepts such as shapes, numbers, counting, and arithmetic. They can also combine and sort figures based on similarities and differences.

Science kits

Children are curious by nature. You can empower their inquisitive minds and critical thinking skills through the use of science kits. These types of toys set them on the path to making good decisions by asking key questions. Science kits teach children the power of observation. They may not become professionals in the science field when they grow up, but such activities will encourage them to test and prove their hypotheses.

Enhance their innate curiosity and encourage them to follow their instincts. 

Before your purchase STEM toys for 3-year-olds…

There are three considerations when selecting a STEM toy for your little one:

• Is it age-appropriate? Sometimes, parents want to save money by purchasing items designed for older children. This practice is not applicable when buying STEM toys. Age recommendation labels are there for a reason. They tell you which toys are safe for your children and suitable for their development stage.
• Does it pique your child’s interest? Ask yourself, “Does my child gravitate to a certain kind of toy?”  before purchasing a STEM toy. It may not be a valuable learning tool if your child has no interest in it. Let children take the lead when choosing what types of toys to buy.
• Is it interactive? Choose a STEM toy that creates a lot of possibilities. The process of building and rebuilding a toy in a variety of manners promotes increased development and maturation for children.

Young Scholars Academy has a collection of STEM toys for 3-year-olds. Contact us today for more information!

Have you ever heard the term “crossing the midline?” Don’t worry you’re not alone, and it’s completely normal not have before this blog!

Even as an ECE teacher I did not know much about crossing the midline until I dove deeper into milestones and pre-skills to help children with fine motor, or hand eye coordination. So what exactly what is crossing the midline and why is it important to our little ones? Crossing the midline happens when your child moves their hand or foot across the “middle line” to work on the opposite side of their body. Before crossing the midline happens, a child will typically use only one side of their body at a time. I always think of an imaginary line that is drawn down the middle of your child.

Now think about the pre-skills that you work on with your infant to walk. How does a baby cross their midline when rolling over from back to belly? Crossing the midline is a foundational skill that leads to more complex and necessary skills in children. When children can, they are using both sides of their brain to coordinate smooth, controlled, complex movements. It is important to combine movement patterns that cross the body for daily tasks such as reading, writing, and then also tying shoelaces pulling up their pants etc. When children start crossing the midline regularly it helps them train their brain to work together since both the right and left hemisphere are being engaged.

One key way to see if your child can cross the midline is have them draw a line from one side of the paper to the other. Do they switch hands midway through drawing the line or, do they continue to draw the line with their dominate hand the whole way through? Do they always use their left hand for left sided tasks and right hand for right hand tasks?

Do not worry if your little one is not crossing the midline as soon as you get done reading this blog, there are lots of fun activities and games to play to help your little build up their midline progression.

Here are 5 fun but simple games/activities you can play to help your little one with midline crossing:

1) Color matching bean bag toss. Make a pile of one color of bean bags on the left and one-color pile on the right. Then get matching buckets but put the left color bucket across the child on the right and vis versus for the left. Tell your child they can only use their left hand to throw the pile to the color bucket for the left pile and Right for the right pile. This will have them cross their body from left to right.

2) Yoga- Most yoga poses have your body stretch from left to right helping your child master balance and crossing the body.

3) Using the infinity loop is another great way to encourage children to cross their midline. They can trace or draw it on their own. Make sure the student is standing directly in front of the blackboard/dry erase board or sitting directly in front of the piece of paper.

4) Water painting with adult paintbrushes or rollers. Let your kiddo “paint” the side of the house using adult rollers this is a fun way to get them to cross the midline.

5) Wash the car, windows, or counters using only their dominate hand and reaching across to get the wholes surface area.

If you have more questions about midlines, stop by my classroom! This is a very cool kid-ism that you may not have thought about before!

Ms. Michaela
Lead Preschool Teacher
Social Emotional Coordinator

The beginning of the new school year is approaching soon. During this time, parents start to imagine all of the things that accompany loading their little ones onto a school bus and sending them off to their first day of school. While the thought of this day may be exciting, it can also be difficult for both kids and parents as they face this new transition to an unfamiliar environment and routine. So how can you help your little one get ready for the adjustment to school? What things can you do to get your child geared up for this exciting new journey?

School can be a big adjustment for children, especially for those attending for the first time. There may be a mixture of excitement and anxiety, and many first days even start with tears. As parents, we can offer some support and guidance to our kids to make this transition smoother. Here are a few tips that may help. 

Prepare your child mentally and emotionally

In order to help prevent your child from becoming overwhelmed by the thought of attending school, it’s a good idea to start talking about what school will be like. You can prepare your little one both emotionally and mentally by discussing the things your little one should expect and the school’s rules and expectations. Explain why your child will be expected to follow directions, work together with peers, and so on.

Also, don’t forget to talk about the fun parts of school! As you discuss the changes that come with starting school, be sure to also highlight the types of things that make school exciting. For example, tell children about all of the opportunities they will have to play with their classmates, participate in fun learning games and activities, play in the playground, and more!

Visit the preschool ahead of time

Your child’s new school will become their new home for a long time, so it’s a good idea to get a feel for the new environment as soon as you can. Find out if you can arrange to visit the preschool together so your little one can see what school looks like. Meet the teachers, take a tour of the classrooms, and see if you can explore the surroundings. Also, find out if your child can have an opportunity to play and run around the playground, too!

Encourage independence

You don’t have to wait until children begin school before you teach them about self-sufficiency and independence. You can encourage them by giving them some freedom and space to explore the world around them and give guidance when necessary. Let your child attempt to complete tasks alone, like putting away toys or setting the table for dinner. Also, teach children how to do the things they’ll need to do by themselves once school starts, like getting dressed, putting on shoes, brushing their teeth, and opening their lunch boxes. The more your child is able to practice performing daily tasks independently, the more comfortable and confident they will feel when school starts. The earlier you begin this process, the easier it’ll become. 

More importantly, kids need to be reminded that being independent does not always mean doing things all by themselves and accepting help from others when needed. There will be times when a task needs extra hands and that it’s okay to ask for help.  

Create a routine

Following a daily routine is another important aspect of school readiness. Once your child is familiar with the routine and understands what to expect each day, transitioning to school will become easier. 

Start by creating a simple routine for your little one at home. This should include a morning routine and an evening routine. For example, make sure your child sticks to a consistent bedtime every night. There should be a schedule for daily activities and meals throughout the day. This will help ensure that the structured routine at school doesn’t overwhelm or surprise your little one.

Facilitate playdates

Developing social skills is an important aspect of childhood. It’s vital that young kids are equipped with these skills in order to help them succeed in school and in life. Give your little one ample opportunities to socialize. Set up playdates so children can interact with peers. Transitioning to school is easier and more fun when kids learn how to get along with peers and establish friendships!

Adjusting to school isn’t always an easy process, but with your guidance and support, you can help your little one embrace the start of this new journey with positivity, excitement, and openness to new learning, knowledge, and experiences. 

Are you looking for a quality preschool for your child? Visit Young Scholars Academy!

Recently, my family and I started celebrating Fridays with family fun night! This is a chance for all of us to spend time together doing something enjoyable at home! Life gets busy, so its nice to slow down and plan to have a night off together as a family. I wanted to share some of our ideas as it may be something neat to implement into your home in your own way.

First rule of family night, order the pizza! We like to try new pizzas around town and compare them! It’s actually a great way to start some entertaining conversations! My kids then like to pretend they are chefs and describe how that particular pizza was made. It’s a fun way for us to have a special dinner to look forward to each week. We have also had nights where we make our own pizzas! There are a ton of easy recipes on-line that we have tried and we also really like buying the Pillsbury pizza crust as an easy option. You then just add your sauce and toppings. This is such a fun activity to do with your child!

We then usually do a fun activity together or go get a special treat. Playing board games is always a big hit. Crafting or making something as a family together, even baking dessert together itself is an enjoyable time. Sometimes its just a simple bike ride/walk before the bedtime shenanigans. Playing with chalk outside is also a great activity. Our next big activity that we want to do is pretend we are all on Nailed It, Or Failed It and each make our own recreation just like on the show!! Just doing something that y’all love together.

Ms. Whitney
Curriculum Coordinator
Lead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher