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best STEM toys 2022

Best STEM Toys 2022 for Your Classroom [ep.39]

Best STEM Toys 2022 for Your Classroom [ep.39]

best STEM toys 2022

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Episode Summary

The holidays are creeping in, and it's a great time to look for deals to purchase new items for your STEM space or even start creating your wish list of must-have items.

In this episode, I share five of the best STEM toys in 2022 for your classroom.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Sphero Indi
  • Items to improve video and audio production
  • Osmo Genius Kit
  • Lego Education Spike Essential Kit
  • 3D Printer

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith  00:00

The holidays are creeping in, and it's a great time to look for deals to purchase new items for your STEM space, or even start creating your wish list of must-have items. In this episode, I'll be sharing with you five of the best STEM toys in 2022 for your classroom. 


Naomi Meredith  00:49

Before we jump into all of these goodies, I have put together an extensive holiday shopping guide for 2022 that you can download for free and created some special Black Friday deals for you to check out and up your game and your STEM classroom. You can grab all of this at Naomimeredith.com/black-friday-22. Now the products that I am going to be sharing with you in this episode, I am not currently sponsored by any of these companies. But if you would like to, you can definitely hit me up. My contact information is below. But these are just some things that I have definitely seen success with students in my classroom or in other classrooms that you definitely want to get your hands on. So let's jump right in. 


Naomi Meredith  01:35

In no particular order, the first STEM toy to check out is the Sphero Indi. Now, most of us are familiar with the Sphero robot that is shaped like a ball, rolls around like a ball, and is coded. Well, Sphero has come out with a product that is fairly recent that is better suited for K through three. It is chunky and durable, which we love as STEM teachers because we know when we see a lot of kids, we want things that are going to withstand a lot of hands. This one is really cool. Think about it like the Ozobots, which are those really tiny robots that read colors to create actions. It's similar in the sense that this robot looks like a little car. There are colored cards that, when the Sphero Indi drives on top of the colors, will perform the action, the colors can go in next to each other, or they can be spaced out. Then students can problem-solve to see where the Sphero Indi is going to go based on the color that it read. Now it seems simple, but as I said, it does take a lot of problem-solving. Even your third graders might have a hard time with this at first. The cool thing about it is that it is geared towards the primary. So this is another great robot that you can add to your collection. They have different options for you to purchase these robots. They have class sets that you can buy individually. My recommendation always for robots is to start with four to six, you do not need a class set, the whole goal is to have students collaborate, and we all know that we're on a tight budget. So if you can even have a station rotation that students can go to test out the Sphero and that would be an excellent start. 


Naomi Meredith  03:20

The next best STEM toys for 2022 are a collection of items that I love to use with students to improve their video and audio production. When I first got started with video production with my students, I only used iPads in my classroom, which is an excellent start. But if you keep doing some videoing with your students, they're going to want to up their game, and you are, too, as a teacher. So these are some tools that I love to use in my classroom. Again, they're very versatile from K through five, so you will get a lot of use of them. And these tools that I'm going to mention aren't very expensive in terms of STEM tools. First are portable green screens. There are a lot of different options for these, the ones that I have really loved kind of look like a tripod where they pop up, and they have a long bar at the top, and then it comes with a big thick piece of fabric that is green on one side blue on the other, and you can clip on the side that you would like students to use. It is the perfect color green and the perfect colored blue. And it is so nice to set these up wherever you want students to record. We know it's a little bit hard to find a quiet space so it's nice you could spread kids out in the hallways or other areas in the building, but then you can clean them up and easily store them when not in use. Likewise, I like to use pop-up tripods in my classroom. Again, these are portable, easy to set up, and broken down if needed. I actually keep mine up all the time on the tripods because I do a weekly school-wide news that is pre-recorded. It really helps the improvement of students' video production because the camera is steady and not shaking around and making you feel like you're on a roller coaster. When you watch, I highly recommend if you have any tablets in your classroom and you're hoping to do video production, having tripods are an absolute game changer. Now we also know the sound quality can be a little bit iffy. And I realized the other day that, again, finding a quiet spot to record is very difficult to do in a school. When I moved kids around with the tripods and the green screens, I wanted to have the option of their sound to be even better. So I tested out these tiny microphones. And I mean tiny, they're about the size of your thumb. And you would think, Oh, that's just gimmicky. They don't work. No, they're actually really, really good. And the cord is really long, which is helpful because when you have the tripod a bit of ways, then the student can still hold the microphone. And the sound quality is superb. I was super impressed. And I was so excited because I could hear their sweet little voices. And I just know that our videos are going to improve immensely. I'm also going to be using these when I'm doing podcasting with my fifth graders again, it will improve the sound quality a lot. This is a side bonus when it comes to video and audio production. If you have any of those fabric cubes on hand, those big giant ones from Ikea that pop up, I like to lay those on their side. And when students are recording their voices for a video when it's not showing on their screen, I have them put their heads in the box with the script. And then they have the microphone, and it creates a little sound booth for them where their voice is echoing out. And it's really soaking in that sound inside of the box. It looks a little bit awkward, but it helps a ton. So that's just a little side tip, go ahead and invest in a few. But really investing in these video and audio tools, they definitely can be reused so much and really improve the quality of these things that you're creating with your students. 


Naomi Meredith  07:11

The third STEM toy of 2022 to try in your classroom are Osmo Genius Kit. I am so impressed by Osmo. And this is a tool I recommend to families all the time who have primary students, they are such a cool tool. And it creates this Augmented Reality experience where it is a self-checking app where students are using real-life objects and the Osmo. This little attachment, it's like a mirror that is reading what is being done with these little hands-on tools. And when they're in the app, it will self-correct and then read what they are doing with their hands. It is so amazing. And the kids aren't really staring at the screen, they're really focused on the materials in front of them. There are a ton of different Osmo kits to choose from. Just make sure that when you are purchasing, if you have Kindles, you can buy the Kindle Osmo. And when you have iPads, there's an iPad Osmo. They are different, they're not interchangeable. Pretty sure they have the same kits for both, you just have to make sure you buy the right one for your device. The kit that I have is the genius kit, which includes a number of tiles that students can add using the actual numeric form or the Dot version, there is a tangrams game. And then there's also a spelling game, which I still do in STEM, I think it's super important to have literacy within your STEM instruction. I have those three options. I use this as a STEM station, I have about five or six Osmos. And I love to use this with my primary students. It's super engaging, it differentiates itself. And again, it's self-checking, again worth your investment. The little tiles and pieces are super user-friendly. They're fairly durable, and they come in some nice containers as well. When you're done using them, you can keep it all organized, I highly recommend checking out the cosmos, I know that there's a kit that has some hands-on coding. So if you need some more coding elements, that would be a great addition to your space. 


Naomi Meredith  09:13

The fourth best STEM toy in 2022 to try in your classroom is the LEGO education spike essential kit. There are a couple of different versions of the spike. So there's spike prime and their spike essential I have this spike essential K I have a few of these kids, and I am utterly impressed and obsessed. If you love LEGO, we do point out you're gonna love the LEGO spike essentials even more. They're even more versatile than the LEGO we do to point out I'm not getting rid of those kids. I just like having a variety for all grade levels, so I try to build up my LEGO education kits every year. That's usually what I spend most of my budget on, to be honest. So these kits are really cool. There are so many challenges for Are first through fifth grade, they're completely different that use the same kit. That is pretty amazing. There are not a whole lot of tools out there like that. And so I highly recommend getting your hands on some of these because you're going to be super impressed. Like LEGO, we do point out there are coding elements, there is the option of picture-based block coding for the younger students like LEGO we do to point out, but for the older students, they have something like Blockly or Scratch where they have the words and more complicated coding for their level. So it's super cool. And the little hubs that are connected don't use batteries, they are rechargeable, like a cell phone. So I know that it can be really frustrating when you buy STEM toys when the tools aren't rechargeable. These are, and it's amazing. I am so excited to keep trying these with my students because they have so much potential. And the parts are a bit different. They're usually LEGO parts that kids don't often see in their own LEGO kits. This is a really great addition to your classroom if you're looking to buy more LEGO kits for your room. 


Naomi Meredith  11:07

And finally, the fifth best STEM tool to try and 2022, if you can swing it, is to invest in this pair of 3D printers. There's so much talk about 3D printers and what to buy, there are so many complicated options. I've seen teachers on Instagram who have received 3D printers, and they have to build the 3D printer. Girl, I don't have time for that I can figure it out. But I'm all about like, let's open the box and be ready to go. I researched and found this pair of printers, I actually received them a week before the shutdown in the spring of 2020. So I was able to take the 3d printers home and play around with them. And I was actually printing some projects that kids were completing with me online. But I love these printers that I got. The brand is MakerBot, which you may or may not have an opinion about that. But I love this. It's the MakerBot sketch classroom. And I am not kidding you. You get two printers for under $2,000. But on top of the two printers that are plugging go, you get six ginormous spools of filament that will last you forever, I have so much filament left, I haven't really had to buy any since then you get six giant rolls you've also got a teacher training, which is so helpful because we don't always get that when it comes to STEM tools. And there's student training. So if you're thinking about having an after-school club, they can go through this as an after-school club and learn with you. So that would be a really cool club to do. What I love love love about these printers is they are cloud-based, you do not have to set up a device and have it chillin by your printer while it reads the prints. You don't even have to plug in a USB drive, you can have the option to send it all through the cloud-based system. So I can literally sit at home and log into Tinkercad. So Tinkercad is what students would create their 3d prints in, I download the prints at home if I wanted to. And then put it into the MakerBot platform, the cloud-based printing, and I get all of my prints queued up and ready to go. And then, when I log into my work computer, everything is there, and I can print and feed everything throughout the day. I have print 1000s and 1000s of prints for my students. And I have not had one single jam are any issues whatsoever. I am very picky about the filament I am still using their MakerBot brand filament. I haven't bought any other off brands off Amazon. I'm really iffy about that. But I'm telling you, I print things for K through five every single student creates a project, and I have been absolutely impressed. They aren't anything fancy. So I'm not doing overly complicated projects before in elementary space. They are wonderful. They are quiet. They're these cute little clear boxes like you can see everything that's happening. And so, coming from someone who had zero experience when it comes to 3d printing, I am super impressed. They should literally sponsor me for this because if you're not going to buy the 3d printers after listening to this, I don't know what you're gonna do. But I recommend these to everybody who's looking to upgrade the 3d printers. They are so so so so easy. Perfect for elementary, I'm telling you, so good. 


Naomi Meredith  14:35

As a recap, here are my recommendations for the best STEM toys of 2022 that you should definitely get for your classroom or just put on your wish list. We have the Sphero indie robot Osmose all the awesome video recording tools, LEGO education spike Essentials Kit, and the MakerBot sketch classroom 3d printer combo When it comes to shopping for items, I am all about how I can use things for multiple grades for multiple years and things that will age out super quickly. I am very, very picky when it comes to the things that I buy from a classroom, and I'm all about durability. You can even go back and listen to a past episode, I have a whole episode about purchasing things for your classroom. But I have seen great success with these tools. And I know you well, too. Now don't forget I have that free holiday shopping guide I put together for you like a beautiful magazine side. Now I always wanted to work for a magazine company when I grew up, aside from being a teacher. So when I'm creating things for you guys, that's just like the magazine editor and me, the creator, that I just love doing this. So make sure you go and check out that free guide and all of the special Black Friday deals that have going on for you. They've been going on, and they've been open up and early, but you definitely want to check those out, so you don't miss out. So make sure to grab that free guide and all of the awesome deals at Naomi meredith.com/black-Friday-2022

 

best STEM toys 2022

best STEM toys 2022

best STEM toys 2022

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

How to Start a Makerspace

How to Start a Makerspace

 how-to-start-a-makerspace

Are you wondering how to start a makerspace in your classroom? What are some simple steps when getting started? Whether you are a classroom teacher or teaching in a STEM space, these go-to tips can help you set up a Makerspace by the end of the week!

This video originally aired LIVE on my Facebook Page; Naomi Meredith: The STEMTech Co. 

Come and join in on the fun on Facebook, or watch the recording of this episode.

How to Start a Makerspace | Watch the recording down below:

How to Start a Makerspace | #1 Space

Before collecting materials, create a designated space where Makerspace materials and access will be stored in the classroom. By choosing the location, this will help determine how much materials you can actually have, not the other way around.

In this space, ensure that there is room for bins, shelf and/or drawers that are easily accessible for the kids. The goal is to have students be independent in this space; when choosing materials and cleaning up.

Also decide if this Makerspace will be an actual work area or a grab and go type of system. With my K-5 STEM classes, the grab and go method has been successful. However, some classrooms can be more conducive to the Makerspace being an isolated station.

how-to-start-a-makerspace

How to Start a Makerspace | #2 Storage

Once the designated location has been chosen, decide how materials are going to be stored. Materials can pile up quickly and look like a trash heap! While having an abundance of resources is helpful, you don't want your classroom to look like another episode of Hoarders.

Keep like items together instead of a free for all. Items like thin cardboard, cardboard tubes and egg cartons can have their own bins. Smaller knick-knacks like beads, googly eyes, and buttons can each have their own smaller container inside of a larger drawer.

Having a system as to where items go, again, helps with the student independence and cleanup.

 

how-to-start-a-makerspace

How to Start a Makerspace | #3 Labels

Create labels that include the name and the picture of the items in that location. Even for older students, I've found this method to be extremely helpful. Even for me as a teacher when I find random items in the classroom!

Also, think about how labels can be added and removed easily. Printing, cutting, then laminating the labels, and attaching with Velcro can be an easy method. Stocks of some items, especially specialty items, can change quickly.

Having a stock of material labels on hand will save time in the long run. That way, extra labels don't need to printed and created on the fly. In fact, this would be a wonderful classroom job! Designate a students to be in charge of organizing the Makerspace and labels at the end of each week.

 

stem-materials

how-to-start-a-makerspace

How to Start a Makerspace | #4 Collect

Now that overall systems are put into place, it's time to collect materials. Since the majority of items in the space are recycled, families are usually very willing to gather materials at home. Sending home a list of requests, print or digitally, is extremely helpful.

Also, make sure to let families know to clean out any food containers and take extra bits off toilet paper rolls. Seems like common sense, but trust me, it's not!

I even create my own Makerspace collection system at home and bring to school. It isn't pretty, but we all know that those sparkling water boxes are magic for building. Unsure of what type of items work well for Makerspace? Just out my STEM Supply List blog post HERE. 

Check out this editable Makerspace Donation letter that will save time and help you gather materials quickly. 

how-to-start-a-makerspace

stem-materials

How to Start a Makerspace | #5 Upkeep & Replenish

As the Makerspace is being used, you'll notice which items are popular with students. Thin cardboard, masking tape and cardboard tubes run out the quickest in my room! Sending out supply requests every so often can help replenish the space.

Also, enlist in your co-workers! There have been times when I've been in need of bubble wrap and have gotten piles of it the next day.

Keeping a donation box by your classroom door and by the front of the school can also help. Students, teachers and families will be reminded when they walk by. This also serves as a great holding area for when you're ready to organize the new materials. Make the donation box extra fancy by using a recycled box!

 

Products mentioned in this post:

Other blog posts you might enjoy:

how-to-start-a-makerspace

 how-to-start-a-makerspace

What questions do you have about setting up your Makerspace? Have any other ideas to share? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ or send me an email, contactnaomimeredith(at)gmail.com, and I would love to chat with you!