This repository contains a 16-session home STEM enrichment curriculum for a third-grade student attending school. It is designed for one 60-75 minute home lab each week during the school year and can be accelerated during summer.
The curriculum is organized by units, not fixed calendar weeks. This makes it easy to pause for school events, repeat a favorite investigation, or combine lessons during summer.
- Read the Parent Guide.
- Review the Semester Roadmap.
- Buy or gather items in the Materials and Kits Guide.
- Use the First Session Launch Guide.
- Print reusable pages from the Student Lab Book.
- Continue with Unit 1: Think Like an Engineer.
| Unit | Sessions | Main ideas | Major build |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Think Like an Engineer | 4 | Observation, fair tests, properties, measurement, iteration | Paper bridge |
| 2. Energy and Circuits | 4 | Energy, complete circuits, conductors, switches | Useful circuit |
| 3. Motion and Machines | 4 | Gravity, force, motion, friction, simple machines | Helpful machine |
| 4. Living Systems and Stewardship | 4 | Plant systems, responses, habitats, environmental design | Stewardship solution |
- Parent Guide: teaching method, scripts, faith integration, and help for adults who do not feel confident in STEM
- Semester Roadmap: sequence, pacing, preparation, and summer acceleration
- Materials and Kits: household supplies, purchases, and optional circuit kits
- Session Preparation Checklist: exactly what to gather and prepare for all 16 sessions
- Parent Science Reference: plain-language answers, vocabulary, misconceptions, and experiment limits
- First Session Launch: a ready-to-read script for beginning the program
- Reading List: optional books for an advanced reader
- Sources and Alignment: Florida standards, curriculum influences, and source links
- Summer Lab Sprints: optional weather, magnets, light, coding, and math-rich investigations
- Parent Session Sheet: reusable one-page preparation and reflection form
- Progress Notes: informal observation tool
- Student Lab Book: reusable investigation, design, data, reading, and reflection pages
- Unit 1 Pages
- Unit 2 Pages
- Unit 3 Pages
- Unit 4 Pages
The program follows the inquiry-rich approach described publicly by schools such as Bank Street, Sidwell Friends, Nueva, Friends Seminary, and Riverdale: students observe, ask questions, collect evidence, build, test, revise, and explain.
Christian integration is purposeful and age-appropriate. The student practices wonder before creation, honesty with evidence, humility when predictions are wrong, care for living things, and engineering in service of a neighbor. Scripture is used to frame purpose and character, not as a substitute for scientific explanation.