Today’s post is a guest post by our friend Meryl van der Merwe at Funda Funda Academy . She has a very sweet soul. Like me, she will be speaking at the 2019 Homeschool STEM Conference sponsored by Preschool Powol Packets and Teaching Without Chairs. It’s a 3-day conference beginning on March 7-9, 2019. If you have not already signed up, there is still time to do so by clicking here. There are over 30 sessions, which are sure to provide something for everyone.
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In 2003 our family moved from South Africa to Tennessee. We also moved from sending our children to public and private schools – to homeschooling!
Although I was an English and German major, and my husband a Business major, we both understood the importance of STEM (science, technology, math and engineering) and while we did spend plenty of time reading great literature and studying history and the arts, STEM always played a big role. With our world becoming more and more techie each year, this isn’t an area one can neglect!
3 ways I incorporated STEM in our homeschool:
1. I started a math club
My youngest daughter enjoyed math, was good at it but was also lazy. There was no way she would challenge herself by doing more than she needed to. So I started a math club in our home for 5th – 8th graders.
I made it fun. We played math games, solved math brain teasers and tackled problems that required them to think outside the box and really apply the mathematical principles they had learned.
I think all the students enjoyed the social nature of the time spent together – and they also enjoyed trying to be the first to solve something.
I encouraged them to further stretch themselves by taking part in math contests and we would spend time working on past contest problems to help prepare them.
It really wasn’t a lot of work and you can learn more about the resources I used in my “How to start a math club” session at the 2019 Homeschool STEM conference.
2. My children did STEM contests
As you know from my last point, we did math contests! But that wasn’t all. I found a variety of STEM contests for all grades. Some they did as part of a team (eg First Lego League). Others were contests they competed in as individuals.
They won money and prizes and trophies. Sometimes. Sometimes they didn’t 🙂 But the main result was they grew to love science and technology and math and engineering. They learned to build bridges and mousetrap cars and robots. They learned to “hack” and to work as a team to solve difficult problems. They had fun. They were challenged. And they learned so much.
You can learn about many of the contests my children and other homeschool students I know have competed in through my session on STEM contests at the STEM conference.
3. I taught my children to code
Because I had learned to code as a teen and because I worked as a programmer, I naturally taught my children to code when they were about 10. My 3 older children learned Basic, but my youngest was lucky enough that Scratch had come on the scene by then. Scratch is a “drag and drop” language that allows one to just join together commands to create games.
If your children don’t know how to code, be sure to catch my session on “Why every student should learn to code” at the STEM conference.
Do not be intimidated by the concept of teaching your children the STEM subjects. There is so much help you can find online and lots of fun activities you can incorporate into your homeschool. Enjoy learning alongside your children!
Bio:
Meryl van der Merwe homeschooled her 4 children and during that time started teaching at the local homeschool co-op. She still teaches there – as well as online at FundaFunda Academy. In addition, she coaches homeschool Science Olympiad and Quiz Bowl teams. She believes education should be engaging, relevant and challenging.
Meryl hosts the Homeschooling with Technology podcast where she shares tips on how to integrate tech in your homeschool. In her spare time, she loves reading and traveling.
Follow her on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
If you would like to join us at the conference, you to do so by clicking here. You may also be interested in our Stem in Color Unit Study available in our shop.
In addition, we also have a complete unit study curriculum bundle available, with 13 unit studies. Each one is over 100 pages of content.
Hasta Pronto!

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If you are a homeschool mom needing some new ideas and encouragement or if you are completely new to homeschooling and you are looking for ways to get started, click here to apply for a Strategy and Brainstorming Session with ME! Let’s work together to get you to where you want to be!
Hi! I’m Kat aka Mama Dot! Nice to meet you. I’m a homeschooling mom of three boys. By day, I run a mom’s blog (Being Mama Dot) and subscription service (Wombology). In my downtime, I create resources for families homeschooling children of color at Our Learning Curve. I love coffee, reggaeton (music in Spanish), knitting, and reading. My favorite thing to do is to feel my feet in the sand. #beachbum. Currently, I am an MA/Ph.D. student in Africana and Latin American studies. When I am not in school, I spend my days running my online business and taking care of my little ones. Make sure to check out OLC’s Instagram, Twitter, or join us over at Facebook.