Integrating Arts into Your Homeschool STEAM Curriculum

August 21, 2024 / Heather Reyes

A child with long dark hair, leans over a wooden table, her eyes sparkling with joy as she plays with a wooden xylophone and a toy during a homeschool STEAM activity. She is holding a small green toy in her right hand and a wooden mallet in her left hand. The girl's smile is contagious, radiating pure happiness and the joy of discovery.

What is STEAM? STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) + Arts = STEAM. However, the "Arts" here encompass more than just music and visual arts as we commonly think. The founder of STEAM education research, Georgette Yakman, believes that the "Arts" in STEAM include concepts from the humanities, aesthetics, music, drama, physical and social sciences, anthropology, and philosophy. Integrating the arts into your homeschool STEAM curriculum helps children develop creative thinking, which is essential for breaking mental barriers and solving problems innovatively.

"Design creates the innovative products and solutions that will propel our economy forward, and artists ask the deep questions about humanity that reveal which way forward actually is," said John Maeda, former Vice President at MIT Media Lab and President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). "Art and science – once inextricably linked, both dedicated to finding truth and beauty – are better together than apart."

Advantages of Homeschool STEAM for Students

In homeschool STEAM education, the impact is particularly significant because the home environment offers a personalized learning space. This setting allows for flexible adjustments to the curriculum based on a child's interests and needs.

1. Stimulating Imagination and Creative Thinking through Artistic Expression

John Maeda once said, "I believe that art and design are poised to transform our economy in the 21st century like science and technology did in the last century." Adding an element of artistic creation to STEM education helps stimulate children's imagination, cultivate creative thinking, and enhance visual-spatial skills. Just like Apple's success relies not only on technological breakthroughs but also on artistic and innovative design thinking.

STEAM helps homeschool students improve their aesthetic abilities, creativity, and critical thinking skills through artistic expression.

2. Developing Well-Rounded Learners with Cross-Disciplinary Skills

A young girl, with a focused expression, carefully paints a wooden craft project. Her hands are steady as she applies the paint, her brow furrowed in concentration. The scene is a testament to the power of creativity and the joy of bringing ideas to life.

If you want to become an engineer, you can't just study engineering; you also need to learn mathematics, science, advanced technology, and possess a certain level of aesthetic and artistic design thinking. Through fun and engaging projects, STEAM enhances students' STEM foundations while helping them learn how to use technology and tools for imaginative design and creatively solve complex real-world problems.

3. Cultivating a Love for Learning and Developing a Growth Mindset

In homeschool settings, parents can plan STEAM learning content based on their children's interests. Parents can participate in their children's STEAM activities, helping them explore the endless possibilities of the world through play. Especially for preschoolers and early elementary students, STEAM activities that include art projects are more likely to spark their enthusiasm for learning. As they gain more and more accomplishments from hands-on projects, they become more willing to take on challenges and learn from failures, continuously improving their personal abilities.

How to Integrate STEAM into Homeschool Curriculum

Two young girls, dressed in homemade costumes, are engaged in a playful interaction. One girl is wearing a dinosaur mask and the other a bird mask. They are both smiling and appear to be having a lot of fun. The scene is full of warmth and joy, suggesting a playful and loving relationship between the two girls.

It is important for children to learn STEAM through hands-on activities, experiments, and projects. Implementing STEAM education in homeschool settings can provide children with a creative and integrated learning experience. You can introduce STEAM education into your homeschool in various ways. Here are some methods:

1. Incorporate Art, Music, Drama, and Design into STEM Projects and Courses

You might easily understand the importance of integrating art and design into STEM, but how does music and drama relate to STEM? Here are some simple and feasible examples for your reference.

Combining Music with STEM

Create a simple Whale Piano using water bottles filled with different amounts of water to play beautiful music. Through experimentation, observe how the amount of water in the same container affects the sound; guide children to think about how we hear sound, how sound travels, and other scientific knowledge. Try using containers of different materials and shapes, and see how their sounds differ.

This STEAM activity starts from projects that interest children, guiding them to learn about the science of sound, understand the structure and principles of pianos, explore the emotions conveyed by different music, and learn about advanced technologies related to sound.

A hand gently presses a white key on a miniature piano, crafted with a starry sky-themed lid. The piano sits on a bright blue background, creating a whimsical and playful scene. The image captures the joy of creating music and the magic of simple pleasures.

Combining Drama with STEM

Incorporating drama into children's STEM learning is actually quite simple! You can start by asking children: If you want to stage a puppet show, what design elements do you need to consider?

Preschoolers are always full of interest in creative play. You can give the initiative to the children, letting them become the directors of this performance. The children will personally experience stage production and set design, create puppets, and design costumes that match the characters' traits, among other things.

In the Stories with Puppets STEAM activity, children will learn how to build a rotating stage, understand the culture and knowledge related to puppets and theater, experience theater design, follow script story cards for stage performances, and learn simple story creation.

2. Use Project-Based Learning that Combines Multiple Disciplines

You can start with a big project like creating a theme for a "Future City," where children design a virtual city and incorporate the multi-disciplinary knowledge you want them to learn. Alternatively, you could start with small problems from real life, such as how to sort coins of different sizes and values in an automated way. This problem may seem simple, but children have to use multi-disciplinary knowledge to solve it.

In this Coin Sorter homeschool STEAM activity, children will see a chaotic pile of coins turn into a neat and efficient system, experiencing the fun of hands-on problem-solving. Through this activity, children will understand the working principles behind automated machinery, explore creative sorting methods in different fields, learn about advanced sorting technologies in different industries, and discover the history and science of coins.

3. Customize STEAM Activities According to Homeschool Plans

Use STEAM activities as an extension and supplement to your homeschool education. You can flexibly design and adjust STEAM activities based on your child's interests and learning needs. If your child is interested in the universe and space, plan a "Space Exploration" themed STEAM activity that includes making rocket launchers, solar system posters, and more. If they are obsessed with engineering race cars, let them design a Loopy Racers on their own and explore the science of centrifugal force.

You can also take advantage of the flexibility of homeschool schedules and bring a Solar Oven for outdoor scientific exploration, studying energy conversion in nature.

You can easily incorporate STEAM activities into your homeschool curriculum by subscribing to a STEAM Box. Tinkerer offers a wide variety of rich and interesting exploration themes that are sure to satisfy children's curiosity and desire to explore.

4. Encourage Open Exploration with STEAM Challenges

For homeschool students, we can set more open-ended tasks and challenges. For example, when conducting STEAM courses, you can share creative ideas and materials with them but allow them to explore freely during the process. Or, make it even simpler – just give them a theme, such as "Design an Eco-Friendly House." Let children try to collect information, freely choose materials, and finally complete their design.

This encourages children to explore and innovate freely, cultivating their independent thinking and problem-solving skills.

5. Provide Opportunities for Homeschool Students to Showcase Their STEAM Creations

When children complete a STEAM project with their own hands, they gain a great sense of accomplishment. You can regularly hold family STEAM exhibitions or participate in or organize community STEAM activity days to double that sense of achievement!

This will not only boost children's confidence and enthusiasm for learning but also create social opportunities for homeschooled students, enhancing their social skills.

A childl, dressed in a blue and white gingham dress, is engrossed in creating a light show with a DIY light box. She is using colored lights to create different patterns and effects on the white surface of the box. The scene is filled with a sense of wonder and imagination, suggesting a child's love for experimenting and creating.

Incorporating STEAM into homeschool education not only enhances children's comprehensive abilities and creative thinking but can also have an impact on their future career development and even the future direction of the world. Tinkerer STEAM Box offers high-quality and easy-to-prepare STEAM activities for children aged 3 to 12 who are learning at home. A box delivered to your door every month helps busy homeschooling parents easily carry out STEAM activities. Tinkerer is committed to empowering children to become not only skilled problem solvers with cross-disciplinary STEAM knowledge but also creative and innovative leaders of tomorrow.