After five months of being in confinement, the ideas of activities that can be carried out at home with children and adolescents begin to run out. As a solution, Ana Luisa Guzmán, guidance advisor at the International University of the Americas (UIA), recommended that parents and caregivers of children and adolescents carry out STEAM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics).
“STEAM is a learning strategy whose fundamental objective is the development of thinking from different disciplines and which also prepares the person for life; enhances personal and collective abilities, skills and competencies”, explained Guzmán.
She added that to carry out these activities, logical and rational thinking is used, but at the same time, creative, problem-solving and especially, working with other people.
“This tool allows children and adolescents not only to learn, but also gives them the possibility that through different activities they entertain, explore and develop their area of creativity and acquire skills that the 21st century expects of them”, commented the guidance counselor.
Ball and Figures Labyrinth with home materials are part of the proposals
According to Guzmán, one of the most important aspects when carrying out an activity with children or adolescents is to know what they like; that way you can select an exercise that is easy to do and understand.
Among the activity options recommended are:
I imagine it, I do it: It is ideal for elementary school boys and girls. The idea is to design the figure they want on a colored sheet, but without copying it. “You have to imagine it and make it as you understand it in your mind. As a result, they will show if, as they imagined it, they could design it”, explained the guidance advisor.
Ball maze: The expert indicated that this activity is done in a simple way and with easily accessible materials, with which the minors can create a labyrinth that will work through the force of gravity. “This encourages complementary construction, design, and problem-solving skills with notions of physics,” Guzmán said.
Homemade robot: It consists of creating a robot using materials that are in the house. As indicated by the expert, this exercise aims to use STEAM to its fullest extent.
My challenge: For adolescents this activity will help them to work as a team. They will make a diagram with circles and each one of them represents a personal or group challenge, in which the young person will design a response model for each of the challenges; there will be cases where you must feedback your proposal, working as a team.
Finding a solution to a daily problem: An everyday problem is presented, a specific need that is real in the surrounding environment is identified, and this will motivate them to investigate and work as a team to find a solution. “Collaborative work, creativity and critical spirit are capacities that improve notably in students after carrying out projects following the Challenge-Based Learning (ABR) methodology,” Guzmán mentioned.
Additionally, the expert recommended researching and conducting home science experiments, where you can use, for example, food and look for virtual options focused on programming for children or using Lego.
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