STEM Activities Inspired by Beginning Readers

Woman and child cooking together

Looking to develop your child's STEM and literacy skills? Check out one of these books and try the accompanying STEM activity to get your emerging reader excited about learning. Activities can easily be done at home with common household objects. 

Pizza Pig by Diana Murray book cover

From measuring to mixing, there are a lot of STEM skills to be gained from time spent together in the kitchen. Read Pizza Pig by Diana Murray and then follow up by making and topping your own pizza. 

The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat book cover

Math is always more fun with cookies! Read The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat and then break out a box of cookies to practice multiplication and division skills. 

What This Story Needs by Emma J. Virjan book cover

Giggle yourself silly reading What This Story Needs by Emma J. Virjan and then fill a tub with water to experiment with volume and displacement. Use a toy boat or bowl and objects of different weights and sizes. Encourage your child to ask questions and make predictions. For instance, you might both guess how many objects you can place in the boat or bowl before it sinks. 

Supertruck by Stephen Savage book cover

Supertruck by Stephen Savage takes place during a blizzard. No snow today? No worries! Create a sensory exploration bin with shaving cream. Add food coloring, paint, sand, glue and more to explore texture, color mixing, and more. 

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel book cover

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel is a wonderful introduction to the many ways animals view their world. Research the animals in the book as well as others to find out how they use vision to navigate and survive. 

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