PWS Weekly STEAM Activities

Why This Matters Patterns help children recognize order and build early math skills. What You Need Leaves Rocks Flowers or sticks What to Do Collect natural objects and arrange them into repeating patterns. What to Ask Your Child What comes next? Can we make a new pattern? What Your Child Is Learning Pattern recognition Observation Creativity

Why This Matters Exploration and creativity go hand in hand. What You Need Ice cubes Food coloring Paper What to Do Add drops of food coloring to ice cubes and let your child move them across the paper. What to Ask Your Child What happens when colors mix? What new colors do you see? What Your Child Is Learning Creativity Experimentation Observation

Why This Matters Designing and building help children think creatively and solve problems. What You Need Cardboard tubes or paper towel rolls Tape A marble or a small ball What to Do Build a path for the marble to travel. Test it, adjust it, and try again. Older children will enjoy this activity too. What to Ask Your Child How can we make it go faster? What happens if we change this part? What Your Child Is Learning Design thinking Trial and error Spatial awareness

Why This Matters Children learn through testing ideas and making adjustments. This activity encourages experimentation and persistence. What You Need Paper Measuring tape or ruler What to Do Fold different paper airplanes and test which one flies the farthest. Try changing the folds and compare the results. What to Ask Your Child Which design worked best? What should we change next? What Your Child Is Learning Problem-solving Observation Early engineering concepts

Why This Matters Curiosity begins with simple questions. This activity helps children observe and predict outcomes. What You Need A bowl of water Household objects (spoon, cork, toy, etc.) What to Do Ask your child to guess whether each object will sink or float. Test each one together. What to Ask Your Child Why do you think this will float? What do you notice? What Your Child Is Learning Observation Prediction Early scientific thinking

Why This Matters Children learn best when they can try, adjust, and try again. This activity encourages problem-solving and persistence in a hands-on way. What You Need Paper Tape Two stacks of books Small objects (coins, toy cars) What to Do Create a gap between two stacks of books. Challenge your child to build a bridge using paper and tape. Test how much weight it can hold. Then redesign and try again. What to Ask Your Child What do you think will happen? How can we make i