Lin Yue, who once worked as a toy designer, loves taking her children to take apart broken things and make toys from everyday objects. He believes that how adults guide children is at the heart of STEAM play.
Toys are not just toys, they are often a window into the world of children's imagination. Lin Yue, who has a ponytail and was once a toy designer, is also a real “inventor dad”. He loves taking his children to take apart broken things and create various handmade toys from everyday objects. For him, getting children to participate in the problem-solving process is the best STEAM family education.
“In my opinion, the best STEAM toys are those that can not only build an imaginary world but also solve real problems.” When talking about toys, Lin Yue's eyebrows are as bright as a child who doesn'tdoesn't do it. want to grow.
The Lego building blocks from his childhood are his favorite toys in his memory. They are open and versatile enough to allow him to constantly try and explore in the process of creating various scenes. on myself. When I grew up, I put all the toys away and all that was left was a large box of Lego, which was passed down to my children as a family heirloom that they could continue to play with.
In his previous work, he designed game consoles for adults and science toys for children. When it comes to choosing children's toys, he thinks: "There is no need to buy it, you can also make it." "I randomly picked up a homemade water rocket from the studio, made from a simple combination of PET bottles and cardboard. I used a pump to inflate it. After reaching a certain pressure, then have itreleased, the rocket suddenly went off. launch yourself forward with a “whoosh.”
One day, he took this toy camping, nailed the tent poles to the ground as a flight track, and began teaching the children at the scene how to play. Adjust the amount of water and the water rocket will fly at different heights. He asked: "Guess, how much water should be added to make the rocket fly as high as possible?" » Then he looked aside.
?There is no need to emphasize scientific principles in the game processInterestingly, a group of children from kindergarten to second grade played like this for over an hour. Lin Yuexiao said that at that time, a mother from the nearby camp wanted her children to come and play with her. She asked, “How much water should I add?” In fact, he didn't have the right answer. , the children replied: "He can't go beyond the line verte on the bottle."
It turned out that during this hour the child completed the experiment on the volume of water on his own. Remembering the scene at the time, he said: "I didn't actually teach them how to do the experiment. Instead, the children naturally observed, hypothesized, and verified through the guidance of this toy. can actually solve a complex problem. Simplified to the point that children can explore and understand on their own, it's a good STEAM toy."
Of course, there are rocket sets to play. most beautifully designed water on the market, with a beautiful tail. flippers and even flippers. To replace the body, “of course, the most practical thing is to buy a ready-made one, but it is not very difficult for parents to do it themselves. Disaster. » Ask him if he will explain the science behind it while playing? "Formally bylant, it is about the equation of ideal gases and the forces of action and reaction, but when it comes to talking about this, it is simply a 'recitation of names' for children . "
Therefore, he is not in a hurry. Instead of explaining, ask the child: "Why do you think he can't fly?" "Can -maybe there is too much water or too heavy? "Why does it fly higher when we add less water?" Lin Yue said it was not. necessarily necessary to rush to solve these problems at this age. Perhaps he should maintain this curiosity and ask these questions in middle school and high school. When he is really able to understand the answers, the doubts will naturally disappear. .