Engage your child in fun hands-on projects that develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills. The STEM challenges and activities encourage your child to think creatively and explore different ideas to solve problems. Parents act as facilitators, guiding their children through the problem-solving process. Each unit includes stories and practice pages that help children understand science concepts and provide a foundation for completing each STEM challenge. A STEM journal activity helps guide children through the engineering design process: plan, create, test, and record. Topics within each STEM challenge target earth, life, and physical science. Each unit covers a specific scientific concept and includes: Science Story: Introduces each science concept Practice Activities: Support children’s understanding STEM Story: Fictional story with a problem to solve STEM Challenge: Hands-on activity to solve a problem STEM Journal: Provides a planning outline to help complete the challenge activity Includes answer key. PreK STEM skills include: Visual discrimination Fine motor skills Comparisons Letter formation Sequencing PreK activities incorporate scientific concepts such as: Physical science Shapes and sizes Magnets Floating/sinking Life science Animals Plants People grow and change Earth science Rocks Weather Air Use Smart Start: STEM for enrichment at home and help your child develop lifelong critical thinking skills.