If you have a child in elementary, middle, or high school, you’ve likely heard the term STEM, and wondered what all the buzz is about. It’s all the rage in schools across the country – and is making giant strides in how our children learn and absorb information.

STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math through an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Rather than teach the four disciplines as separate subjects, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.

I’m no longer a teacher, but when I was I preferred my English Language Arts lessons over the STEM components. Looking back I think it was mostly because I was only able to teach each STEM subject in solidarity from a textbook. Back then, STEM was only just making its debut – slowly creeping its way into schools and classrooms of all kinds, allowing both educators and students alike to benefit from a much more integrative, hands-on approach to learning.

Now, instead of teaching by profession, I’m busy shaping and molding the little mind living in my home. Being a hands-on learner myself, I was thrilled when I found a book for my daughter that combined language arts with STEM-based principles. I’d like to say this book is one of many we read in my home each evening, but these days, it’s the only book we’re reading. Thanks to its technology component, my daughter is hooked.

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