What Does STEM Stand For?
In case you are not aware of the term, STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. It includes an approach to learning that fosters activities that stimulate questioning, brainstorming, out of the box thinking, experimentation, critical thinking, and so much more! It sparks your child's curiosity and inspires them to wonder, "Why is the grass green?"
At this stage, your toddler is rapidly discovering and learning all about their surroundings. It is essential to provide STEM-related toys and play opportunities that use your kid's imagination to wonder, build, and problem-solve.
What Are STEM Toys?
STEM building toys, target curious, hands-on learning of science, technology, engineering, and math through play. However, finding quality STEM building sets for your 2-year-old can be difficult. STEM toys can be as simple as a set of blocks for toddlers. What makes these unique toys for toddlers special is their potential for creative, independent, child-led, and open-ended play. Building toys for toddlers, provide the perfect solution.
What To Look For In STEM Toys
STEM toys for 2-year-olds should be simple, think wooden building blocks, magnetic blocks, and blocks for toddlers. Fill their shelves with age-appropriate toys that expose them to basic STEM concepts and stimulate exploration, innovation, and building. Remember, you are not looking to teach content, but rather to inspire them through play. Here is what we think makes the best STEM toys for toddlers.
Age Appropriate
First, they should be age-appropriate. Follow the age guidelines and recommendations established by the manufacturer. Not only for safety but developmentally, they are there for a reason. STEM toys for older children are not helpful and can actually discourage your toddler.
Open-ended
What makes a set of wooden toy blocks so special is that they offer endless possibilities. The key component to their success is there is no one way to build or play with them. Open-ended STEM building sets, develop skills like exploration, resourcefulness, reasoning, and logical thinking. STEM building toys can be stacked, knocked-down, lined up, or used in imaginative play. For example, a block can become a phone, or several blocks a bridge or road. Let your toddler's imagination and creativity run wild!
Interactive
Engagement is the name of the game. STEM toys enable toddlers to take a hands-on approach to play, tasks, and challenges. Yet, STEM learning toys alone are not enough – engaging with your child in play every day is essential! Get down on their level, talk, ask questions, and most important…listen! Remember, you are there to play, so let your child lead the way. Hold back on intervening unless absolutely necessary. Let your toddler explore on their own, give them time to figure out how things work, and to think outside the box. You might be blown away by some of the inventive ways they use the toy or blocks.
Child-led
Free play led by the child without adult intervention should be encouraged. This is the time to refrain from adult instruction, but instead, let them investigate and experiment through trial and error. They need to be building something, taking it apart, and reconstructing in new and different ways. However, it is still meaningful for you to be an active participant in their play.
Interesting and Fun
Most importantly, let's not forget the fun element! You can stock the toys shelves with all the "right" toys, but there is no advantage if your toddler won't play with them. Provide a few simple options and then follow your toddler's lead. If they continually go for the magnetic blocks, which encourage basic engineering skills, expand their block play area with various magnetic building blocks for toddlers.
Best STEM Toys For Toddlers
Discovery Building Sets offers a variety of STEM toys for 2-year-olds. STEM building blocks that allow toddlers to assemble things. STEM building sets for hands-on 3-D manipulation, which positively impacts brain development.
Explore some of the best STEM toys for toddlers:
Magnetic STEM Toys
These STEM building toys, with their colorful shapes and easy to grip, magnetic pieces are perfect for architects as young as 18 months old. What's more, they reinforce matching, patterning, nesting, balancing, and stacking skills. STEM learning toys for toddlers, not only engage your child in magnetic play, but these magnetic toys for toddlers, also encourage the exploration of basic engineering, geometry, and 3-D building.
Magnetic Blocks for Toddlers - Grippies® Builders
As one of the first sets of STEM toys for toddlers, the award-winning STEM Toys, Grippies® Builders, provide an early introduction into magnetic exploration, engineering skills, and organic construction. Furthermore, these open-ended STEM building sets for toddlers allow creative 2-D and 3-D building.
Magnetic Building Blocks - Magicube™
Magnetic building blocks, Magicube™ is an open-ended STEM magnetic construction toy. They offer an inventive way to help your toddler explore science, magnetism, and engineering while developing their creativity.
Magnetic Building Toys - Smartmax® Magnetic Discovery
Smartmax magnetic building toys allow toddlers to safely investigate the scientific world of magnetism, including attraction and repulsion. With their oversized pieces, toddlers can easily engineer amazing structures.
Wooden STEM Toys
Wooden blocks for toddlers are a well-loved household favorite. Our high-quality, hardwood blocks come in a variety of enriching and unique sets. These wooden building blocks are versatile and an essential component of block play, providing open-ended play experiences.
Wooden Toy Blocks - Unit Blocks
Wooden toy blocks, also known as unit blocks, are constructed to a basic unit block measurement of 1.4" x 2.8" x 5.5." Wooden blocks stimulate open-ended quality block play and encourage young architects to create bridges, buildings, and entire utopias. Also, block play exposes your toddler to spatial awareness, early engineering, creative problem-solving, and basic math concepts.
Wooden Square Blocks - Magnification Blocks
Wooden square blocks with their cool magnification windows are perfect for getting your toddler up close and personal with science and nature. Unlike traditional magnifying glasses, our unbreakable blocks are ideal for on the go exploration and outside activities. These science toys for toddlers enhance STEM-based activities such as nature activities with materials found outdoors.
Wooden Play Blocks - Mirror Blocks
Wooden play blocks are ideal for indoor and outdoor STEM activities. Constructed of hardwood frames with an unbreakable Mylar inset window, these blocks are the perfect addition to your block center. Sized to the standard unit block measurements, they incorporate science and math concepts into your toddler's play experience.
STEM Building Toys
Blocks for toddlers are colorful, heavy-duty, and large building blocks that encourage various building and exploratory play concepts. STEM building blocks are a terrific way for small hands to begin discovering the joy of building. Available in a variety of sets, they are big enough for your toddler to grasp and snap together the pieces.
Building Blocks For Toddlers - SiliShapes® Soft Bricks
These large snap-together blocks are a classic due to the unlimited possibilities. As introductory engineering toys for toddlers, they also develop fine motor skills and creativity. Toddlers, through trial and error, learn to visualize, manipulate, and build creative structures. It is essential to remember that while there is a time and place for following the instructions, this is not it. To really grasp the creative boosting powers, encourage your child to "free-build" their own inventions.
STEM Toys And Block Play
Blocks are the perfect STEM toy, and block play is the ideal introduction to STEM activities. They grow with your child through all the developmental stages. Not to mention, block play supports social development, language development, coordination, fine and gross motor development, and cognitive development like math and science.
Children love to challenge themselves, and there are always fun and exciting block activities to do. Consider a big basket of wooden building blocks or magnetic blocks for toddlers as an invitation to open-ended play. This might very well be why these building and connecting toys continue to perform and rank well for promoting creativity, social interaction, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Qualities like flexibility and simplicity that give your child the ability to imagine, investigate, and experiment is what makes STEM-based toys effective at promoting STEM skills.
So, how do we inspire and develop skills like creativity, self-confidence, communication, adaptability, and collaboration? It is quite simple…let them play! Let them test their limits, interact with others, figure out how things work, discover new things, and work through their problems.
Oh, and you can add in some engaging STEM building toys for extra measure.
Just manage your expectations. STEM learning toys will not promise to turn your child into the next Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Bill Gates, or Frank Lloyd Wright. They do, however, support essential development skills like innovation, creative problem-solving, spatial awareness, teamwork, and free-thinking, all of which are important for your toddler's well being.
These STEM toys for toddlers are a unique way to spend quality time together, playing, and building. Like pioneers, our young children discover their world through exploration. Let's invite them into a world of discovery with a set of wooden blocks for toddlers.