STEM activities have a special place in my heart. When I was in the classroom, I created an afterschool program called Early Engineering in which K-2nd graders would work through the engineering cycle. This program was a big hit and I loved creating and running it. Once I started staying at home with my kiddo, I couldn’t wait to introduce her to some early STEM ideas. A STEM activity for toddlers doesn’t need to be challenging to set up. In fact, you might already be incorporating STEM ideas into your activities without knowing it. One of the best STEM activities for a toddler is a good o’ fashion nature walk!
BUT WAIT! It’s Not Just a STEM Activity for Toddlers…
A nature walk is great for kids of all ages, so it is perfect for families that have more than one child. Infants can enjoy noticing the world around them and touching new and interesting textures such as grass, bark, sticks, and rocks. They can hang out on a blanket, crawl around, or be “worn” by a parent or caregiver while the toddlers, preschoolers, and older kids are collecting items.
Before and During the Walk
When I took my almost 2-year-old for a walk, we brought a bag from the Dollar Tree that she had previously painted and her magnifying glass that she received in her stocking for Christmas. If you are US based, I recently discovered that the Dollar Tree sells magnifying glasses in their office section. If you are interested in Amazon options, check out the recommendations below.
The only guidance I gave her before going on our nature walk was to only pick up items off the ground. We discussed not picking up items that were still attached to the plants as they are still very important to the plant. She really keyed in on this guidance and mentioned it a few times on our walk. “The leaf is not on the ground. The plant needs the leaf.”
My daughter LOVED this activity. She collected several items such as leaves, bark, pinecones, moss, flower petals, dandelions, sticks, rocks, and feathers.
After the Walk: Putting the M in STEM Activity for Toddlers
When we got home, we recounted the walk. Research shows talking about past events with your child helps to grow their vocabularies and develop a sense of time. There are a lot of rich vocabulary words to use when talking, and I didn’t shy away from them. Some words we used when discussing our adventure were:
- Investigate
- Observe
- Texture
- Rough
- Smooth
- Soft
- Nature
- Tree
- Plant
- Bush
- Flower
- Moss
- Lichen
- Seed
- Petal
- Twig
- Pinecone
- Magnify
When I taught primary aged students, I would always ask them to tell me what they noticed and wondered. With Little Miss, I did a modified version of this by modeling for my toddler what I noticed and wondered.
“I noticed that the tree bark felt really rough on my fingers.”
“I wonder why the feathers were on the ground.”
“I noticed a lot of our collection is green and brown. I wonder why that is.”
I wanted to include some math work in this activity. Depending on the age of your child(ren) this will look differently. For my two year old, we sorted the items from her collection into like categories (ex: the leaves went into the leaf pile, the sticks into the stick pile). Then we counted the items.
For a preschooler, you could also measure the items or use the items to measure with (ex: The stick is 6 pinecones long or the couch is 6 sticks long). Preschoolers could also make simple patterns such as pinecone, rock, pinecone, rock.
If your child isn’t ready for these types of activities, it is still extremely beneficial for you to measure or make patterns yourself and talk with your child about what you are doing. This is a low-pressure way to introduce these concepts and expose your child to new vocabulary. In my opinion, I think it is beneficial to talk about and/or model advanced ideas, as long as there is no pressure (whatsoever) that the child learns the ideas or even participates. If they don’t show interest, don’t force it.
What makes this a STEM Activity for Toddlers?
A nature walk includes science, technology, and math ideas that are just right for your youngin to be able to make connections and build their vocabulary. It incorporates earth science through the observation of natural items. You can include math concepts by practicing patterns, sorting the collection, and counting the items in your collection. This activity even incorporates technology as a magnifying glass IS technology because it allows us to see things larger than we could normally see.
Materials, Cost, and Time
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying links. The links below are affiliate links to Amazon.
This activity is basically free unless you decide to invest in a magnifying glass, nature bag, and tray.
It will cost you time. We spent about an hour walking and playing and a half hour “debriefing” and exploring the collection.
Final Thoughts
I know the internet sometimes likes to tell us that to be STEM-y enough or Montessori enough or fill-in-the-blank enough, we need to spend a lot of money and time planning activities for our toddlers. I am here to tell you that simple and affordable is perfect. This nature walk activity can be quick, it can be long, you can prepare a lot, or not at all, you can buy materials, or use what you already have. All these paths will lead you to the same outcome: new experiences and language exposure. Which is just what your toddler needs. Will you do this activity? Let me know in the comments!
