Welcome to the STEM Training Challenge

Firstly, I just want to say a big welcome to you! I can’t tell you how excited I am that you have chosen the STEM Training Challenge for your child.

Our vision and mission are to equip home-educated students with STEM tools to launch them into their future careers. STEM Training was born out of a vision to take what we were learning as a home-educating family and make it available to others.

What is the STEM Training Challenge?

Firstly, STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. It’s not a curriculum or program but an educational philosophy. Teaching these subjects in some combined form leads to a more well-rounded education. It equips students with a practical education for their future careers. After all, in most jobs, you really don’t just deal with one subject or aspect.

The STEM Training Challenge was started as an educational program for homeschool or home-educated students. Access to STEM resources is hard to find and sometimes disappointing or just a toy. We designed the Challenges to be hands-on learning, that teaches higher-level learning skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, logic, and many more.

Each Challenge has a theme based on either the Engineering Design Process, the Scientific Method, our own STEM Training Process, or even the Business Plan Model. We chose this focus because we believe these are the skills that today’s students will need in their future careers. Our mission is to equip students with the right tools to succeed.

Our Challenges are based on a series of online lessons that work the Trainee (our name for students) through the process. They start with a problem and then work through research, planning a solution, making and tinkering with their solution, experimentation, reflections, sharing, and improving.

To help Trainees record their work we have Trainee Portfolios that are designed in a way that all students of all ages and abilities can make it what they need to show their work. We also provide Challenge Kits with hands-on activities to introduce the concepts and help inspire Trainees with their solution ideas. With the exception of some liquids, which can be hard to ship, we provide most of the supplies you will need. You will also need to stock up on tape and other general supplies you should have around the house.

Upon completing each Challenge Trainee receives a button and certificate to show their accomplishment. We have the option of a STEM Training Labcoat available to display your buttons.

We have recently upgraded our Challenges and now the Challenge of the Month will not only have an end-of-month Showcase where Trainees can show off their hard work and solutions but also live group Coaching to help those that need some inspiration.

Our Challenges are a hybrid version of Unit Studies but where there is a problem-solving element to not just allow students to gain knowledge but also to apply those skills in real-time.

Why STEM?

We have chosen to focus on STEM because we live in a STEM world. We don’t even realize we are using STEM skills every single day, even if we don’t have a STEM career. Mathematics is a huge part of everything we do from working out time needed to make a trip, to money, to planning food, and so many other activities in our lives.

We can all admit Technology is also a huge part of our lives and an ever-increasing part as automation and computerization of everyday tasks increase. My son and I recently spent an amused 15 minutes in Lowes playing with a smart refrigerator. Even if they are not computer programmers or robotic developers a basic concept of how things work is essential.

Engineering is the foundation of life. From the buildings we live in, the cars we drive, the roads we drive on, to the products we use, it all began with an engineer. Again, understanding the basic principles of engineering is so helpful to basic everyday life. Also, the Engineering Design Process can be applied to so many aspects of our lives that when it becomes second nature we develop healthy habits.

Finally, science. Websters has a definition for the word science that I love.

The state of knowing: knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/science

Science is so much more than Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. We teach these subjects in abstract far too much instead of the holistic way science is incorporated into every aspect of our lives.

Our company is based on Judeo-Christian beliefs therefore we approach science from a Creation and Creator perspective. Alternative theories have lots of platforms in the STEM field. We wanted to make sure students of faith had a platform as well.

S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics)

You will sometimes hear me talk about STEAM. It’s basically STEM but with the addition of A for Art. STEM subjects are processed in the left ‘logical’ side of the brain only. So by adding art in, which is a right ‘creative’ side activity you have whole-brain engagement. Therefore a more well-rounded learning experience. As a result, students retain more information and understand the concept better. I don’t actively promote STEAM anymore as the Art definition is very vague and often misinterpreted. This leads to the addition of things that don’t embody the STEM philosophy.

However, I joke we have a silent A and that you will find the creative side of the brain will have lots of opportunities to be active.

Who am I?

Finally, I would like to introduce myself, Coach Lesley.

I’m the home-educating mother of 3 boys, who are currently 14, 11, and 6 years old. When I meet my husband he believed home education was the way for our family. I was convinced after spending time with other home educators and their amazing kids. So I guess you could say we have home educated from day one, which honestly we all do anyhow.

What has been a surprise to me is that I have ended up a STEM Mom. It was not a deliberate move at first. I tried using the traditional boxed curriculum. However, pretty quickly it became clear we were not one of those families. We finally realized that our very active boys were not going to fall into the traditional model of education.

So I started to research alternative options. That’s when I found the word STEM and STEAM coming up a lot and I started to explore the concept more. Little did I know, I had already stepped onto this pathway, mainly because my son had led me there. When he was sitting at 2 years old in his diaper with a cordless drill (don’t freak out he was supervised) unscrewing the screws on the door hinges to my bedroom door, I should have had a clue then.

So we put the shiny box curriculum away and started doing hands-on learning and projects. We still kept working with the reading and math but with a more hands-on approach. The STEM Training Challenge was born to provide monthly themed challenges to engage them in learning and exploring. We then decided to share what we did with other families.

What I have learned has been from hands-on experience with my own boys as well as Coaching competitive robotics and running workshops within our homeschool community. The principles in the STEM Training Challenge work because I have seen them work. Watching kids I have coached since they were 5 years old receive Championship awards and compete on a world stage is validation and has inspired me to grow this program.

I once saw a meme that said ‘be who you needed as a child’. It inspired me. It helped me to let go of the traditional box mindset that is so restrictive and kills creativity. I have researched learning and see the new innovation that is on the horizon if we can embrace the future and let go of the traditional educational model. After all, out of all the industries education is the only one that has not evolved and a classroom in 2022 looks a lot like a classroom in 1922, with the exception of a few technical gadgets.

A hundred years ago America was at the height of the greatest innovation age with greats like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Milton Hershey, Nikola Telsa. Somewhere we lost that innovation. My mission and passion are to see that spark of innovation reignited in this generation of children. We owe it to them to help them become all that God has created them to be.

SPECIAL OFFER

We are so excited to announce the launch of our new Challenge of the Month Subscription service. To celebrate we have a special offer that will only be available until January 20th, 2022. To help you finish this academic year strong we have a special 6-month subscription. You will receive the STEM Training Challenge of the Month for February, March, April, May, June, and July. You will also receive a lab coat and free shipping. This offer is ONLY AVAILABLE until January 20th, 2022. You can still sign up for monthly and annual subscriptions. You can sign up here.