STEM kits are out in the community! Take a look inside one of the culturally-specific kits.
If you missed last month's article describing the kits, take a look! The kits are designed to support families in developing STEM skills in their children, including asking questions, using tools, building things, and solving problems.
Here’s an example of one of the activities with suggestions for 0-2 year olds and 3-5 year olds:
Fold and compare laundry together
→ Your child can name and help put all the like items in piles (shirts, pants, etc.) as well as match up socks and gloves. You can sort by color, size, texture, and more.
0-2: You can talk to your children about how you are putting the laundry into different piles. For example, “I’m putting these clothes together because they are all shirts. These go together because they are all pants.”
3-5: Try questions such as, “Can you find a sock that is the same size as this one?” or “I notice that this shirt is bigger and this one is smaller. Whose shirt is the bigger one? How can we tell?”
Over 100 volunteers spent two days in January assembling the kits. It was a family-friendly event with all ages of volunteers working together to assemble the 2,200 kits.
Of the 4,000 STEM kits that were created more than 2,500 are already out in the community. To find out how you can get STEM kits for yourself or the families you server, contact the organizations below:
For English African American kits: Organization – KairosPDX
Phone: 503.567.9820
Email: earlylearning@kairospdx.orgFor Spanish kits: Organization – Latino Network
Contact: Lupe Campos
Phone: 503.283.6881 x 119
Email: lupecampos@latnet.org or sadie@latnet.orgFor English Native American kits: Organization – NAYA
Contact: Elisha Big Back
Phone: 503.288.8177 x 323
Email: BigBackE@nayapdx.orgFor Somali, Vietnamese, Russian and Arabic kits: Organization – IRCO
Contact: Danita Huynh
Phone: 971.271.6500
Email: Danitah@irco.org
ELM would like to thank all of the wonderful volunteers who helped put the kits together, as well as our partner organizations who helped create the culturally-specific kits for the communities we serve.