Building Focus Through STEM: Games That Keep Nursery Children Engaged

April 28th, 2025 / By Olivia Maitre

1. Introduction: The Power of Hands-On Play in Early Learning

In an increasingly digital world, the magic of hands-on play remains the most effective way to engage nursery children in games and develop crucial STEM skills. In this article, we will delve into why screen-free, tactile games support STEM learning and sustained attention in nursery-aged children. Worth a read!

2. Why Hands-On Play Matters More Than Ever

The science behind physical play is fascinating. Studies show that tactile experiences can stimulate different brain areas simultaneously, leading to improved fine motor skills, spatial awareness, and even language development. For example, when children handle and build with blocks, they learn about shapes and balance and develop their vocabulary and ability to describe what they experience.

In a Ted Talk by Abigail Harlow, she explains what kinesthetic learners are and how hands-on education is a powerful catalyst for effective learning by transforming the experience from passive information intake to active exploration and discovery. This approach encourages children to become actively involved in their education, promoting deeper engagement as they participate directly rather than simply observing.

As mentioned briefly above, the manipulation of real objects builds spatial awareness. Studies show infants as young as six months can discriminate mirror images after physically interacting with objects. In other words, it shows the incredible, long-term impact of hands-on, physical learning activities.

The NHS states that children learn and develop best through real-world interaction with adults and their surroundings. Too much screen time at a young age can harm attention, problem-solving, communication, and social skills. Even two hours of TV daily can negatively affect behaviour and emotional control. Limiting screen time is necessary to ensure children benefit from a rich, multi-sensory environment that supports healthy development.

Screen-free activities help build real-world capabilities such as fine motor skills. More specifically, hands-on STEM activities. Each STEM discipline uniquely supports the development of fine motor skills in children: for instance, science activities involve using tools like tweezers and droppers during experiments, technology tasks require manipulating digital objects, engineering projects call for handling tools and activities such as building and designing, and math activities use items like rulers and geometric shapes for hands-on problem-solving.

By integrating STEM activities into the nursery curriculum, educators provide engaging opportunities for children to use their hands, fingers, and wrists, helping them build essential fine motor skills that are crucial for success in all areas of life. Not to mention, enhanced hand-eye coordination and improved concentration through physical interaction.

3. Essential Types of Screen-Free Games for Nursery Children

Studies show that sensory exploration games, such as water and sand investigations, improve problem-solving skills by 20%, as shown in a case study where children engaged in tactile games. Water and sand play also introduces concepts like volume, motion, and buoyancy, helping children develop early math and science skills while having fun.

Our Sink and Float box builds on these benefits by making learning about buoyancy an exciting, hands-on adventure for preschoolers. With activities like assembling and creating ocean animals, fishing games, a buoyancy experiment where children watch two little fish dive in a bottle, painting colorful coral fish, and a simple logic game matching shapes to find the fish, this kit immerses children in the wonders of the underwater world while supporting their cognitive and sensory development. Hands-on texture discovery activities are highly effective in physical learning environments.

Here are some examples of STEM texture discovery activities for nursery children:

• Texture Boards: Children collect various textured items (like fabric, sandpaper, cotton, or foil) and attach them to a board, then explore and describe how each feels.
• Sensory Bins: Fill bins with materials such as rice, beans, water beads, or sand, allowing children to dig in and compare textures.
• Material Sorting: Provide a selection of objects and have children sort them by texture (e.g., soft vs. hard, rough vs. smooth).
• Texture Shapes: Create shapes from cardboard and glue on different textured materials for children to touch and explore.
• Nature Walks: Encourage children to touch and compare the textures of natural objects like leaves, bark, stones, and flowers.
• Testing Material Properties: Let children test and compare how different materials feel, bend, or absorb water, fostering sensory and scientific exploration.

These activities engage children’s senses while building foundational STEM skills by encouraging observation, comparison, and descriptive language. Our DIYs are ideal to build these skills. For example, our ‘Sprinkle Sensory Bag’ is a fun and sensory creative activity that helps kids explore touching, pressing and squeezing to explore different sensations. Simultaneously, it helps develop fine motor skills, concentration, imagination, and other early skills.

Nursery children games can also highly benefit from movement-based learning: for example, action-based counting games, physical pattern activities, or dance and movement sequences. In fact, studies show that incorporating movement into lessons improves retention of mathematical concepts, with “children in movement-based groups score higher on immediate and delayed post-tests compared to others”. Movement activities like jumping or balancing strengthen brain-muscle connections, build neural pathways and enhance cognitive skills such as problem-solving and spatial awareness.

Hands-on problem learning, like working with 3D puzzles, enhances spatial reasoning, hand-eye coordination, and patience. For example, assembling puzzles improves problem-solving skills by requiring logical thinking and persistence. Diversity learning teacher Mary Elliot states, “Simply by looking for and choosing the correct pieces and then joining them securely means a child’s coordination develops.”

In addition to texture discovery, movement-based and hands-on problem learning, construction play is also known to have many benefits. Activities like stacking blocks or building structures are “an essential form of exploration, expression, and experimentation, creating a world where imagination and problem-solving are limitless”. It improves spatial awareness and logical thinking while fostering resilience if projects fail.

4. STEM-Focused Games Without Screens

Screen-free activities for nursery children, especially hands-on STEM activities, are so much more than just nursery children's games—they’re opportunities for real-world learning and joyful discovery. When little ones engage in educational games for toddlers like nature exploration, building with blocks, or counting with everyday objects, they’re developing essential skills through physical learning activities that screens simply can’t replicate. These nursery children's games encourage curiosity, problem-solving, and creativity, all while strengthening fine motor skills and making learning memorable. By choosing screen-free, hands-on STEM activities, we’re giving our children the best start, helping them build confidence, connect with their environment, and develop a lifelong love of learning.

5. Creating an Engaging Play Environment

Creating an engaging play environment for nursery children's games starts with thoughtful organization and a touch of creativity. By setting up inviting discovery stations filled with natural materials and open-ended resources, we offer children endless opportunities for hands-on STEM activities and screen-free activities for nursery settings. Rotating educational games for toddlers and ensuring all materials are safe and age-appropriate keeps curiosity alive and learning fresh. When children have access to a variety of physical learning activities—whether it’s sorting stones, building with wooden blocks, or exploring with simple tools—they’re empowered to explore, experiment, and grow in a space that feels both safe and inspiring. This kind of nurturing environment is the foundation for joyful, meaningful learning that lasts.

6. Maximizing Learning Through Game Modifications

One of the joys of nursery children's games is how easily they can be adapted for every age and stage. By offering simple versions of hands-on STEM activities for younger children and adding new challenges for older ones, you keep screen-free activities for nursery settings fresh and exciting. Group play variations encourage cooperation and social skills, while gradually increasing complexity helps build confidence and mastery. Our monthly STEM boxes are designed with this in mind, providing educational games for toddlers that grow with your child, ensuring every activity is developmentally appropriate and engaging.

7. Common Challenges and Solutions

Even the best physical learning activities can sometimes lose their spark, but a few simple strategies can help maintain engagement. Rotate nursery children's games regularly, introduce new elements when interest fades, and offer gentle support to manage frustration. In group settings, include children of different abilities, encourage cooperation, and teach the importance of taking turns. These small adjustments make screen-free activities for nursery children more inclusive and enjoyable for everyone.

8. Creating Rich Learning Experiences

The most meaningful educational games for toddlers connect to real life. Include hands-on STEM activities in daily experiences, build on children’s interests, and weave in seasonal themes to keep learning relevant and exciting. Documenting discoveries and sharing them with family helps children reflect on their progress and extends their learning.

9. Supporting Parent Involvement

Parents play a vital role in making nursery children's games a part of everyday life. Simple tips like setting up inviting play spaces, gathering open-ended materials, and creating playful routines can make screen-free activities for nursery children easy and fun at home. Sharing learning moments and extending activities beyond the classroom builds parent confidence and strengthens the home-school connection, ensuring every child gets the most from their hands-on STEM activities.

10. Conclusion: The Value of Screen-Free STEM Play

Choosing nursery children's games that are screen-free and hands-on does so much more than entertain—it helps little ones grow stronger, think more creatively, and connect with others as they play. By weaving physical learning activities and educational games for toddlers into daily routines, you’re supporting their physical development, cognitive growth, and social skills, entertainingly and memorably. Ready to make a difference? Subscribe to our monthly STEM boxes, and join our parent community to share ideas and inspiration. Start your child’s screen-free STEM journey today!