Hi and Welcome to Happily Ever Mom!
Today, we’re talking about how you can raise girls who love science.
You might have come across this post if you:
- Have a love for science and want to pass it along to your kids.
- Want your girls to have as many opportunities to fall in love with science as possible.
- Want your girls to love science, but you’re not sure where to start.
If that’s you, I can’t wait for you to dive into this post! We’ve got 5 tips for raising girls who love science (and, yes, it works for boys too) as well as quotes from my favorite ladies who have professions that use science every day.
Let’s get started!
I recently read a statistic that really made me stop and think…
According to the National Science Foundation,
“66 percent of 4th grade girls say they like science and math, but only 18 percent of all college engineering majors are female.”
That statistic is from 2007, but it still made me wonder: what changes during those years?
I know that I lost every ounce of interest that I had in science during that same time frame (although I still loved math). Unlike me, my best friend loved science throughout high school and beyond.
Here’s what she had to say about her experience with science:
“I love the mystery of science and how some things are very straightforward while other aspects of it are much more complex. Even now, science is evolving and we cannot even begin to comprehend all that there is to know. That excites me! Having passionate teachers also heavily influenced me. And now, as a nurse, science is something that directly affects my job on a daily basis. Anatomy, physiology, chemistry, microbiology…just a few of the sciences that I encounter every single time I set foot into the hospital!” ~ Lisa, mom of 3 and nurse
How Can You Raise Girls Who Love Science?
This is the biggest question that I ask myself because I want to foster and sustain a passion for science with my daughter (and son by the way), but I also know that we can’t force our kids to love something or predict what they’ll love years from now.
So, what do we do?
Relax.
The good news is that right now, our girls are being encouraged to love science. Can you feel the shift in our culture? I certainly see it. So, instead of worrying about the future, I make sure that I’m doing these 5 tips and really focus on number 5!
1.) Start Them Early.
Really, science can be SO simple. Here are some of our favorite ways to experiment at home with preschoolers (and even as young as toddlers and babies!):
- Make Spring Suncatchers.
- Introduce Kids to Water beads then talk about coloring mixing.
- Pound out flowers.
- Make Erupting Cupcakes.
- Build 3D shapes & puzzles on the light table.
- Build in the window.
- Do the naked egg experiment.
- Explore with ice, salt, and water colors.
- Make an erupting rainbow.
Doing simple experiments and playing at home is how my daughter learned to say, “I LOVE science!” at the age of 3. She still says it by the way. Which leads me to number 2…
2.) Watch Your Language.
No, we’re not debating cruse words, but I am talking about how you talk about science in your house. Before I had kids and I was a preschool teacher, I routinely talked about how I didn’t like science and I struggled to do science themed activities in my classroom. But, over time, I realized how simple science truly is. From helping kids plant their own gardens to making simple goop recipe, it is not hard to find science in the little things that we do and see everyday.
The first step?
Stop talking negatively about science around your kids. Even getting frustrated with them when they explore and get dirty at the beach can be a deterrent for kids to experiment. You can see a video on Huffington Post that talks about this exact topic.
3.) Check Out Stem Box.
If you’re like me and you don’t know exactly where to start when doing more advanced experiments with your kids, a Stem Box is the perfect start! Everything that you need to do a STEM experiment is sent to your doorstep. And, that might be one of the best parts! My daughter loves getting mail, so our STEM box was a winner the minute it landed on our porch.
We got a box about lemon Batteries.
Note: We have two orange trees growing in our backyard, so we used oranges instead!
You’ll receive directions (which are perfect for the visual learning like me) and everything that you need to conduct the experiment including googles and a cute pin that relates to your box.
Note: you’ll have to purchase or pick anything perishable for the experiment like lemons or oranges.
My six year old was able to put the zinc nail and copper wire in each of the oranges. Together, we connected the alligator clips to the nails and wire to create a basic circuit. Then, we clipped the ends of our circuit to LED lights and a Clock!
They loved turning on the clock as well and couldn’t wait to show their Dad how they created batteries with fruit from our backyard…
While we struggled to get our LED to light, when we finally got it lit my kids were THRILLED!
What I loved most about our STEM box was that I was able to do something with my kids that I couldn’t have put together (easily) on my own. And, I also loved the green works compostable wipes were included in the STEM box! It was so easy to clean up after this experiment.
What’s even better is that Green Works, which has the power of other cleaners but is sourced with natural ingredients, is the first official sponsor of StemBox. Green Works is proud to help the next generation of female scientists unleash their power and discover their natural potential.
Be sure to check out how you can get your own box for you kids.
Stem Boxes are designed to be fun and engaging for girls ages 7 to 13.
4.) Find a Role Model.
For me, I’m thrilled that my daughter has an Aunt (and other Aunts) who love and have a passion for science. Here’s what my sister in law, Cari, has to say about her experience with science growing up:
“I received a lot of encouragement from teachers and science awards in high school that gave me adequate encouragement to feel confident that I was pursuing the right field for me. As I started to declare that my major was chemistry, my confidence only faltered when well-intentioned people commended me for pursuing a male-dominant field. It never occurred to me until that point that science used to have a gender. A love of science is a part of you that you cannot deny, just like any other passion. It makes absolutely no sense that your passion is biologically linked to your gender. Many environmental factors nurtured males in the science environment more than females. Toys that aid with problem solving and 3D spatial reasoning are (still) mostly marketed to males. I would say that certain activities that females are traditionally trained to do (sewing, crafts, gardening, cooking) actually give women the advantage in a laboratory setting, which requires fine motor skills, patience, and hands-on problem solving integrated with abstract reasoning. It likewise would benefit young boys to have equal access to these skills as well!” ~ Cari, Organic Chemistry Professor and mom of 3
While Cari is an inspiring role model for myself and my daughter, it doesn’t mean that everyone has a passionate female chemist in their family. So where do you turn?
I love youtube for this reason. Girls getting to see other girls love science is so important!
Here’s some of my favorite blogs/youtube channels for girls:
- I love Physics Girl. Her videos are packed with FUN and engaging science experiments!
- Girls for Science shows videos about robotics.
- But, if you want a young girl teaching your littles about science, check out this tween named Sylvia’s Super Awesome Maker Show who is killing it with her science videos!
5.) Let them have FUN!
And, the most important part in my mind is to let girls have fun! Let them experiment, get dirty, and make mistakes. It’s the best thing we can do for our girls as they grow and learn about science!
Thank you again to our sponsor, Green Works, for starting this conversation about raising girls who love science! Be sure to connect with them on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Green Works . The opinions and text are all mine.
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