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Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

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Re: Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

#61

Post by welfare »

D13Fd wrote: post #55
welfare wrote: post #20

We got this one for our son when he was 3: https://www.robotshop.com/en/code--go-robot-mouse-activity-s... It's a great introduction to programming. You have to put in all instructions on the mouse to solve the maze. There's also cards with instructions that you can place on the board to make it even easier. We also bought an IoT kit from from https://littlebits.com/ when he got older that we started to work on toget…

I think "following the instructions" is a worthwhile skill in itself, and our 4 year old really picked it up. But you're right, once she learned to follow the instructions exactly, she is having a tough time being creative. At the moment she's kind of obsessed with instruction-following. So there are definitely two sides to it.

I agree, following the instructions is a critical skill to develop.

What I meant was that you can be creative with these solutions. As for the programmable mouse, my son drew his own mazes on paper in the end and placed his toy cars and other things for the mouse to catch.

The basics are still there that he need to program the mouse and understand the fundamentals, but allowed for enough creative freedom to keep it interesting.

Re: Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

#63

Post by leokennis »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #25

Duplo - larger Lego that they mostly can't put in their mouth. Be prepared for about a decade of being bored with kids toys. Also realize that your child may not be interested in anything you are interested in, its ok. They are their own person.

Duplo is great. The blocks are mostly big, so they cannot be swallowed. You can literally stomp on a block with all your power and it will not break. You have regular blocks but also trains, rails, wheels etc.

* My youngest at 6 months was happy for ~10 minutes just holding a red 4 x 2 block

* Now he's 10 months old and licks the blocks and bangs them together

* My oldest at 1 - 1.5 years old, tried to stack a few blocks together

* At 2 years old he was building large towers, to collapse them

* At 3 years old, I could build something for him and he could "help" and add stuff to the building (with fantasy running wild; stack 20 random blocks on top of a carwash I intricately crafted and that was so "planes could land to be washed")

* At 4 years old, he could build stuff by himself

* Now at 4.5 he's learning himself how to reinforce structures, how to build "bridges", build cars etc.

Re: Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

#65

Post by tyingq »

D13Fd wrote: post #54
tyingq wrote: post #2

Three seems a little young for STEM. Maybe something like Playskool Explore 'N Grow Busy Gears? Or the larger size legos (Duplo)?

I have 1, 3 and 4 year olds, and I have to disagree. We actually have the Busy Gears you mentioned and they are excellent for the 1 year old. But the 3 year old can handle complex tasks if they are interested (that's a huge "if") and can really understand and talk about things. The 4 year old can follow picture-based directions, etc.

Sure. YMMV. I have several kids and had a different experience.

Re: Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

#66

Post by tlarkworthy »

My wife and I are building videos you can actively watch with young kids, around crafting things. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCpL1E-yK38HGsNaIfVPdc8w

(We only started a couple of weeks ago but the idea is that the format is attention grabbing and it encourages co-creation and a jump off point from screen time)

Re: Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

#67

Post by jawilson2 »

blunte wrote: post #35

A 3yo doesn't need a "stem" toy. They just need access to safe objects, heavy cardboard or plush books with simple colorful pictures, etc. In short, they just need access to things they can observe and manipulate. While a parent can to some varying degree influence the attention and interest of the child, there is plenty of doubt as to whether this will result in a better outcome long term or not. As other people hav…

Agreed. At 3, literally EVERYTHING is a STEM toy.

Re: Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

#68

Post by paiute »

Symbiote wrote: post #38

Everyone else is suggesting things to purchase, so I'll suggest things you can find or do outside. The last few are from [1], which I came across a while ago. - Play "identify the waterfowl in the park" followed by "chase!" and (for larger geese and swans) "run away!". [This should satisfy the other comment "play sports instead".] - Then, collect sticks in the woods and build a shelter. Extra points for using differe…

In addition to going outside, my dad giving me all sorts of broken things and telling me to take them apart taught me so much. Keyboards, old computers, toys, etc. It may be harder now, but I recall opening up broken toys and you could visibly see or smell out a blown cap. Opening things shows that things aren't magic.

Re: Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

#69

Post by jaxn »

Read to him. The number 1 way you can set him up for success is to spend time reading to him.

The cool thing is that you can read content that you are interested in. Even hacker news comment threads.

Re: Ask HN: STEM toy for a 3 years old?

#70

Post by lern_too_spel »

altcognito wrote: post #21
jesheit wrote: post #15

Time with parents. As a parent you can turn most any activity into an opportunity to learn math, science reading or whatever. Just asking questions is the core of learning. For example, the start of learning math is gaining a deep understanding of basic numbers. Simple activities go a long way... count things, add them together, split into groups, and so forth.

Also don’t foist your own desires and dreams upon your children. It is good to expose your kids to quality stuff, but be aware when this is more about your desire than theirs.

On the other hand, be aware that you can shape the ambitions and the habits of a young child. Letting them figure out what they want without any guidance is negligence.
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