The Future Engineers

Teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to youth is unbelievably important.  According to the Council of Canadian Academies, elementary school is the best time to start introducing STEM topics, like Ryves Up! does for Franklin Elementary students in Terre Haute.  Children at this age start to form their attitudes toward STEM subjects.  Developing interest and having fun with STEM, such as laughing third grader Carmen McMurray stating the red fluid from a white radish looks like a chopped off finger, makes kids more likely to pursue STEM in the future.

Kids that are taught STEM at an early age are set up for success in their futures.  The U.S. Department of Commerce says STEM occupations are growing almost twice as fast as non-STEM majors, at 17% compared to 9.8%.  An article from Engineering For Kids discusses the benefits of providing kids a STEM education.  This article mentions STEM taught children will be more likely to pursue STEM degrees, and that STEM degree holders have a higher average income even in non-STEM careers.  The STEM education from Ryves Up! helps teach kids problem solving, critical thinking, and sets them up for a more sustainable economic future for themselves and their future families.

STEM teaches kids about topics with real life applications, which keeps the kids interested and engaged, similar to this video. An article from Deseret News discusses the room for growth in the future for STEM.  All careers, especially as time goes on, will require basic STEM competencies whether they are STEM or non-STEM.  The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reports there will be a deficiency of 1,000,000 STEM graduates from now until 2025.  This means kids that pursue STEM will be in an advantageous position to obtain STEM careers.

 

How Does Gardening Benefit Children’s Lives

We live in a digital world today, and there is a growing concern from parents that kids are spending more time in front of the screens. The Ryves Up! Program can help you with it. We provide children with more opportunities to get in touch with the nature. In this process, they will learn how to appreciate the beauty of different natural species and harvest foods through their own hard work.

Gardening has a lot of advantages for kids. It encourages children to eat healthier. Through their engagement on the fields, children would cherish the foods they grow, and frankly speaking, half the fun of gardening is being able to eat what you grow. It will help them better understand the importance of keeping a balanced diet. Obesity is a less possible problem for them, considering gardening an increase in their outdoor activities.

Kids love to play with mud. Normally, parents might think that there are lots of germs in the soil, so it releases kids in an environment full of germs and pathogens. But lack of childhood exposure to germs may actually raise their risks of getting diseases like asthma, allergies and autoimmune in their grown-up lives. So getting dirty while gardening may strengthen a child’s immunity and overall health.

Recipe: Chili

One of my personal favorite winter meals in my dad’s repertoire is his chili. It is super easy to make, is a perfect winter meal to keep you warm, and you can eat for a whole week and not get tired of it.

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 lb. of ground beef (or 2 cups of corn for veggie chile)
  • 2 lbs. of beans
  • 1 large can diced tomatoes
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 can of tomato sauce
  • 1 packet of chili spice (or make your own)

Directions

 

Start by browning the beef in a pan and draining the grease (If not using ground beef, skip this step). Then add all of the other ingredients except the beans to a pot with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Then add the beans and continue to simmer for 1-3 hrs.

For a Well Rounded Diet Eat CPB*

*CPB: Corn, Pumpkins, Beans

Once upon a time people scavenged for food instead of going to the store and buying it. Then, instead of wandering around all day until finding something to eat, people started growing their own food. At Ryves Up!, kids are learning this important skill. Theoretically you can grow whatever you want, but apparently if you are from the Midwest you only know how to grow corn. Not to worry! Corn is actually better for you than what you are eating nowadays.

https://gifrific.com/hamster-eating-corn/

The kids at Ryves Up! grow corn, pumpkin, and beans together since this combo can create a thriving garden. These three foods just happen to create a thriving diet too (as much as a diet can be “thriving”). Researchers believe that changing your diet from the current standard American diet to include mainly pumpkin, corn, and beans can help reduce diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Basically, if you want to live forever eat some corn, pumpkin, and beans.

With the sheer amount of corn grown today providing carbohydrates, it is almost the perfect food to feed humankind. Unfortunately, like everything, it falls short in a couple categories. Corn lacks lysine and tryptophane (to save you the trip to Google these are essential amino acids) and riboflavin and niacin. These nutrients are provided by beans (thanks beans). Pumpkins provide Vitamin A and their seeds provide fats to round out the diet. Ryves Up! exposes the kids to the tactics of growing the parts of the power trio diet, which you can learn more about yourself at Mother Earth News.

Afterschool Gardening at Franklin Elementary