Hello! Happy Monday! Can you believe we’re now in week 6 of quarantining? How are you holding up? We’ve had our moments but overall it’s been high spirits as we lay low at home. The official word is that school will be remote for the remainder of the school year, and so Adrian and I have been doing what we can to juggle helping the kids with their assignments while still managing our full-time job responsibilities.
We’ve tried to stick to their same school schedule even while at home which has definitely helped with the transition, but part of that also means that the kids’ day is done at 3:00 pm! Since Adrian and I have at least another couple hours before we can close our laptops for the day, we’ve had to figure out ways to keep the kids occupied and engaged independently so that we’re able to finish our jobs on time without too much interruption! One of which, is Stem games.
After the first week of quarantine, I knew we needed to add to our stock of activities for the kids. And while I am usually the first one to suggest non-screen time options to my kids, at a certain point, workbooks and craft activities necessitate parental supervision and it’s just not something that either Adrian and I are able to do as we also try to focus on our day jobs. Technology is such a big part of remote learning right now anyways, and so I just embraced it to find the best stem-based educational learning options out there to help my kids stay occupied and learn!
Osmo Genius Starter Kit | Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit
Osmo was recommended to me by several other mom friends, so after a post-dinner trip to Target, we ended up with the Osmo Genius Starter Kit for Dylan (suited for ages 6-10) and the Little Genius Starter Kit for Mei (suited for ages 3-5). The kids have been playing with it for the past 3-ish weeks at this point and spoiler alert, it’s been the best investment ever!
Our Favorite Stem Games
Osmo: Setup + Overview
Its easy to see why Osmo has won so many accolades (named Time Magazine’s Best Inventions and is a Parents’ Choice award winner, among many others). The emphasis with Osmo is learning through play and I personally was sold on the hands-on interactivity in the games were as well as the real-time feedback that is immediately given. Each kit comes with a base to place either an iPad or Fire tablet and a reflector mirror that allows Osmo to scan the table to detect the player’s creation and have it come to life on the screen!
As a parent, I love that Osmo offers games that challenge my kids in areas such as math, spelling, puzzles, and even coding. My kids can create a profile where they can save their work as they go. Best of all, there’s also an Osmo Parent app that tracks play time and gives stats on my kids’ progress and accomplishments.
Osmo Coding
Osmo offers 3 different coding game options:
- Coding Awbie (age 5-12): solve puzzles and navigate obstacles to collect strawberries for Awbie
- Coding Jam (age 6-12): code and compose music
- Coding Duo (age 5-12): pair programming at its finest — Awbie and Monster work together to overcome challenges
Hands-down, the favorite game for both Dylan and Mei have been the coding games. Dylan absolutely loves the idea that he can code like his mama 😜 and for me, I honestly feel like the earlier I can introduce some of the basic programming concepts to my kids, the better. Much of programming is understanding logic, and I love seeing Dylan manipulate the coding blocks to help him solve the puzzles in the game. Osmo provides instant feedback to his code sequencing, and I just love seeing him reason through his steps to figure out the answer! Having “grit” is something we’ve always worked on with Dylan, so seeing him hit stumbling blocks in Osmo, get frustrated, but then sit through and willingly work through it independently has been really rewarding to see.
I will say that at 5 years old, Mei is just slightly too young to really grasp some of the programming concepts beyond the basics. But, for us it’s actually turned into a great teaching opportunity for Dylan as he explains and helps Mei with the parts that she doesn’t quite understand. It’s actually been a great way for the kids to learn and grow from each other without having to get me involved!
Osmo Stories
The Osmo Little Genius Kit is targeted for ages 3-5, and comes with 4 different games including ABCs, Squiggle Magic, Costume Party, and Stories. Mei’s favorite is most definitely the Stories as she loves switching characters in and out of different outfit pieces to figure out he answer to the riddles. The same pieces can also be reused for the Costume Party and it’s an Osmo game that is all about letting their imagination get creative!
And finally, Mei has also been loving the Tangram game that came in Dylan’s Genius Starter Kit! This game is definitely a personal favorite of mine as I love seeing how quickly my kids get better at this game and improve their spatial reasoning in a matter of minutes as you watch them! There are different levels to the Tangram game that provide varying levels of difficult, so I love that it’s a game that challenges both Dylan and Mei with age-appropriate problems to solve.
I cannot recommend Osmo enough if you have kids that are staying at home now and need a way to challenge their brains in all the extra downtime. Dylan and Mei look forward to playing Osmo all day long — I can even usually bribe them to commit to not arguing at the beginning of the day too in order for them to get Osmo time in the afternoon! 😆 I’ve seen Dylan and Mei get better in how they work through problems and it’s been a lifesaver for Adrian and I as we have time to finish our work responsibilities for the day as well!
Have you heard of or tried Osmo before? Are there any Stem games that you and your kids love? Let me know in a comment below!
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These types of activities are so important for kids. As a former science teacher, I’m so glad that you are incorporating these into your day. So fab!!
I love these! I do not have children yet, but I know quite a few parents who would benefit from this post – especially during times like these! Thank you for sharing!
This is so fun! The coding games seems so cool! Hope you are doing okay!
They sound like amazing games to keep kids entertained during this quarantine
It must be so tough to have kids at home right now – you have to be both teacher and parent!! It seems like these programs are a great tool though. Hope you and your fam are staying safe! xx
This is so cool! My niece would definitely enjoy something like this. I’m going to look into it!
Lizzie
http://www.lizzieinlace.com
Wow this is awesome! I don’t have kids yet but I do have nieces and nephews. I’ll have to mention this next time.
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
wow these sound like great ways to occupy their time! I don’t have kids, but will pass along to friends who do!
xx rebecca // thecrystalpress.com/blog
How cool!! What a great idea for making learning fun! WIll have to share these ideas with my sister for her son!
These games look like so much fun. I love that they are fun for kids but also help teach them to code-so perfect for sheltering in place!
Talk about fun! Man, sometimes I wish they’d had things like this available when I was a kid. I spent my time dressing up Polly Pockets or reading, but I know I would’ve loved this if it had been around! I’ll have to tell my sister about it for her kids.
I haven’t heard of Osmo before! My daughter is 2 and we have an app that is somewhat similar, helping her learn letters and colors and shapes. But we’ll definitely try this out once she gets a little older!
I don’t have little ones but this sounds like a great resource! Will be forwarding to my mama friends! xoxo, Sarah
I don’t have a little one myself but have several finds with them and this would be such a great resource for them. Sending their way!
xo Laura Leigh
http://louellareese.com
Your kids are so cute and looks like they are really enjoying these learning games! Going to share this post with my sis in law 🙂
Katie | http://www.meshkomoments.com
Love reading about this program! I’ve been looking at getting this for my children, I think this just gave me a push
This is such a great post for those with kids!
I love that there are so many STEM resources available like this. I’ve not seen these ones!
These seem like great games! I know it’s so important for kids to learn with fun ways like this! Xx.
They sound like some really great games! thanks fro sharing this! super helpful
What a great option for educating and helping kids learn at home!
Saving this for when my toddler gets just a bit bigger. I love anything that blends fun with learning!
This is so awesome! I love that STEm education is becoming so accessible and fun!
STEM is so important for kiddos. This will be a valuable resource in our homeschooling day.
How cool are these?! I wish these kinds of toys existed when I was a kid. I love how there is such a focus on coding and technology. This generation of kids is going to be amazing!
This is a great resource! There are so many wonderful STEM games out there and they teach kids such important skills. I don’t have kids but I’m a children’s librarian so we are always recommending things like this to parents (or purchasing them to use in the library when we can have programs again!).
STEM is so important for kids! I think it is so cool to have so many people creating games where STEM is involved, making it fun and enjoyable for kids. Thanks for the recommendations!!
The company I used to work for had a program called “women in STEM” – it was about women in tech.
I had no idea it’s a learning method too and that there are games based on it, it’s so cool!
These look awesome! I’m going to share this with my sister-in-law for my nephews!
xoxo,
Amanda | http://www.TheChambrayBunny.com
These activities are perfect for keeping the littles occupied AND having them learn at the same time. Thanks for sharing this!
I’ve seen this!!! I have been wanting to get it one and now I think I am sold!!!
I need to try this with my nephew! He’s in kindergarden and loves learning!
I need to try this! My daughter is two but I think she would love this.
Stephanie | SPV Living
I’ve been seeing so much about Stem, and hope to use them down the road when I’m a mama! x
Good to know that works too! I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
These games sound so fun and educational. I will check them out for my next purchase.
I bet this post is SO helpful for all the momma’s out there!
these are all such great ideas! My little girls would love trying them out. It’s been hard to keep them busy for sure!
These games sounds so fun and entertaining for kids! Kids need that right now to keep them busy. They look like they are having fun which is so adorable! ❤️
This is are awesome. I’ll recommend them to my close friend for her kids.
These sound (and look) fabulous! My sister has mentioned getting into these games once her son his old enough to do them! What a blessing to be able to even more fully experience these games + soak up this time with your kids – due to all the circumstances, right now. Always a silver lining (and a blessing) in the midst of the chaos. 🙏🏽
✨Morgs*
We are obsessed with Osmo in our house!
I have seen this, I have been wanting to get it one and now I think I am sold. These games sound so fun and entertaining for especially kids. my sister has mentioned getting into these games once her daughter is old enough to do them. I need to try this with my niece. she is in kindergarten and loves learning.
I think it is so cool to have so many people creating games where STEM is involved, making it fun and enjoyable for kids. Thanks for the recommendations!!
it’s just cool. I saw it so comfortable and wear with any dress. I have also my eye on a few pairs of Sarah Flint shoes. love how versatile those flats are. flats are always comfortable to wear. and I always wear a flat because it’s easy to walk.
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