STEMWerkz Online Elementary STEM Curriculum

My son loves science. He is always asking questions trying to figure out why things work the way they do. But, it can be a challenge to teach science in a way that is fun and engaging as a homeschool parent. Experiments take a lot of time and energy to set up, and it can be hard to find engaging lesson plans that teach the concepts he’s interested in. That’s why I was so excited to discover STEMWerkz from Werkz Publishing Inc. This online elementary STEM curriculum has made homeschool science so much fun for my son! Here’s what you need to know about STEMWerkz.

I received compensation and a STEMWerkz subscription in exchange for my honest review, but all the opinions in this post are my own.

What is STEMWerkz Elementary STEM Curriculum?

STEMWerkz is an online program that features STEM activities for elementary school kids ages 5-12. The STEM programs are available on their website or through an app for iOS or Android.

Engaging video lessons and over 1,000 interactive activities are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. Kids can learn through STEMWerkz Quests, build their town in STEAM Valley, or choose an online course of their own in the STEMWerkz Channel.

Why STEM for Elementary Students?

STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, is an important part of a well-rounded education for today’s students. Students who study STEM subjects develop valuable skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity that are critical for future careers.

Studying STEM fields like computer science, web development, and forensic science is a great way for students to practice solving real-world problems and to develop high-demand skills they will use in a variety of real-world applications in their future careers.

Using STEM courses and online programs like STEMWerkz is a great way to help kids of any grade level have fun learning experiences and develop their problem-solving skills.

Read more about the importance of STEM for elementary students here.

Using STEMWerkz Digital Curriculum

STEMWerkz is an online science curriculum. You can access the STEM content directly through their website, or you can download their educational apps that are available for iOS or Android. A single monthly subscription fee gives access to all of the STEM lessons on the STEMWerkz platform.

I love how easy it was to get started with STEMWerkz. We were able to play the games on the computer, my Android phone, and even our Kindle tablet from the STEMWerkz website.

Since we were signed into our account in all those places, the app saved my son’s progress and transferred it from one screen to the next.

I found that it was easier for my kids to use the computer or the tablet because it was easier to read the small text on a larger screen.

Reasons We Love STEMWerkz for Elementary STEM

My son fell in love with STEMWerkz. He begs to work on this curriculum daily, and he calls it “my game.” I love that STEMWerkz has helped him to see learning as a game.

Here are some of our favorite features of STEMWerkz.

Easy to Use

As a busy homeschool parent, I am always looking for a curriculum that is easy for us to use in our homeschool. I love how easy STEMWerkz is to set up. All my son had to do was open up the app, and he was ready to learn.

I also appreciated that there was no extra planning or prep work required for as a teacher.

STEMWerkz has organized the lessons into sequential paths designed to lead from one activity to the next. This means I don’t need to do any lesson planning to use the app.

If we want to use the app to learn more about the STEM disciplines in a different science curriculum, we can search for lessons about a specific topic as well.

Flexible

STEMWerkz has a variety of different options that are perfect for elementary students, no matter their grade level or learning style. Kids can practice their STEM skills with activities and fun projects in 3 different learning environments:

STEMWerkz Quests are learning paths that help kids develop a better understanding of a specific STEM topic. These paths include video lessons and interactive activities to help kids increase their STEM knowledge. Each path also includes quizzes to monitor student achievement.

STEAM Valley is a fun adventure game that allows kids to create a complex world of their own while furthering their science education at their own pace. Kids complete different levels of challenges to earn coins, which allow them to add buildings to their town.

STEMWerkz Channel is a library of elementary-level videos and activities about a variety of different subjects that students can explore on their own. Students can also search for topics they are interested in. This is the perfect way to add STEM instruction into another homeschool curriculum.

Navigation

I love how easy it is for my son to use the STEMWerkz app independently. Even though he is young, he was able to navigate through the app and figure out what to do next on his own. Large, consistent navigation buttons made it easy for him to use the app.

I also like how the STEMWerkz Quests organize the content into clear, sequential topics. This was a great option for my son because the path helped him stay focused on what he was learning about. The only option available to him was the next video on the path, and he couldn’t get distracted by other games or features.

The information in STEMWerkz Quests was well organized. Each section of the path included short videos that explained the concepts. These were followed by interactive activities that allowed kids to practice creative thinking and problem solving while reviewing the information they just learned. Each section ended with a quiz that students needed to pass to move on. This was a great way to make sure kids were learning the new science and math skills presented in each lesson.

Interactive Activities

As a parent, the interactive activities are my favorite part of STEMWerkz. I love that the app includes over 1,000 real-life activities and applications for kids to interact with.

My son loved the activities too. He thought they were games and he loved this method of STEM teaching.

As a homeschool family, these interactive activities are a great supplement to doing science experiments in our homeschool. We love science experiments, but there are some days when it isn’t practical to gather all the supplies or we don’t have time to clean up the mess that a science experiment would create.

Days like these are the perfect opportunity to use a comprehensive STEM curriculum like STEMWerkz. STEMWerkz allows my kids to experiment with an interactive activity, even when we can’t do a science experiment at home.

Learn more about how STEMWerkz makes learning fun here.

Short Activities

As the parent of a young student with a short attention span, I love the way that STEMWerkz keeps kids engaged. The short lessons and frequent opportunities to interact were perfect for my son.

The short video lessons also meant that it was easy to pick up STEMWerkz at any time. I could hand my phone to my son with confidence, knowing that I could get it back at a moment’s notice when the next activity ended if I needed to.

Explanations

I love the way that STEMWerkz explained complicated science topics. Engaging videos with both spoken explanations and visuals are the perfect way to engage kids with a variety of different learning styles.

This was apparent when we watched a unit about light, which has been a tricky subject for my kids to comprehend in the past. My kids had a new understanding of a complex topic after watching the videos.

Parents of younger elementary school students should note that the vocabulary words used in the explanations are more advanced in some spots. This makes for some great opportunities to learn new vocabulary words with a younger student.

Meet the expert developers and learn more about STEMWerkz here.

Critical Thinking Skills

As my son was playing STEMWerkz, I could tell that the app was designed to teach him critical thinking skills. Frequently, the app would ask an open-ended question out loud, and then include a pause so he had time to think of an answer and reply. My son would reply out loud back to the app.

Often, screen time is a challenge because kids zone out in front of the screen. I love that when my kids are playing STEMWerkz, they are engaged in critical thinking and problem-solving. This app is teaching them the kinds of thinking skills that are necessary for the job market and in future STEM careers.

Check out the awards that the STEMWerkz curriculum has won here.

Reading Practice

One thing we noticed right away about the STEMWerkz app is the amount of independent reading that is necessary when kids are playing the app. The STEAM Valley game, in particular, has large sections that function as an interactive comic book.

I love that my son has the opportunity to practice Language Arts skills and science skills at the same time. This app is a great way to get reluctant readers to practice their skills without even noticing.

If your child is not yet a fluent independent reader, they may need an adult or older sibling to help them read the text out loud.

Variety of Ages

When I choose a homeschool curriculum for my family, I am always looking for a curriculum that can be used by kids with a wide age range of ages, and STEMWerkz fits the bill.

Shorter lessons and lots of interactive games and activities are perfect for keeping younger students engaged. Older kids will enjoy the in-depth explanations of complicated science topics. The challenge of building a city in STEAM Valley is also great for older students.

Parent’s Page

As a homeschool parent, I always want to know how my son is doing and what he is learning when he’s using a homeschool app. STEMWerkz makes this easy with the Parent’s Page section. I could see which lessons my son had completed and which badges he had earned at a glance. I could also assign activities for him to focus on within the app.

Learn more about STEMWerkz Parent Resources here.

STEMWerkz Channel

The hidden gem in STEMWerkz is definitely the STEMWerkz channel. This section of the app contains a huge library of lessons, with over 1,000 interactive activities and games.

This section is the perfect resource for homeschool families because we can supplement a topic we are studying. I also used this resource for my son, whenever he started asking questions about how things work. We were able to type the topic in the search bar and find custom videos and activities, just for him!

Try STEMWerkz For Yourself

My kids love STEMWerkz! If you are looking for a fun way to incorporate more science in your homeschool, that will allow kids to explore and discover without doing science experiments, STEMWerkz is your answer.

STEMWerkz offers a 7 day free trial so you can check it out for yourself. This is the perfect way to try the app with your kids in your homeschool.

Learn more about STEMWerkz and try it for free for 7 days here.