fbpx

Kristen Helmstetter

(Brisa Starr)

STEAMTEAM5

My Digital Nomad Life (So Far)

By

Me working on ipad

We’re living the dream we had. We sold it all and moved abroad to live a digital nomad life. It’s working, more specifically, we’re working. We’re making it happen.

We originally decided to live a digital nomad life, as a family, because we could. We both essentially work from laptops and there was no reason to stay tied to Arizona.

We homeschool our daughter so that wasn’t a factor either. In the following picture we’re investigating a dead bat that was brought to us as a gift from the cat of the house.

Homeschool with bat

We wanted to run and explore the world. We wanted to move around and change it up on a regular basis. And. We wanted to save money. Living abroad, in many places, makes it easier to save money if you’re living the digital nomad life.

So, here we are moving around Europe at a pretty quick clip, living a digital nomad lifestyle. Taking trains and planes (I can’t decide which I like better, though probably trains). We’re trying different areas and seeing if we fancy anyplace in particular to stay longer.

I think we’re traveling too fast though.

I heard someone describe it: speed dating countries.

[Read more…] about My Digital Nomad Life (So Far)

Similar Posts:

Have You Ever Heard of Subscription STEM/STEAM Kits for Kids?

By

Kamea with subscription STEAM kit

What the heck are subscription STEM/STEAM kits for kids?

Basically, they’re a parent’s dream come true. Imagine a box that’s delivered every month (subscription) filled with cool STEM/STEAM activities for your kid(s)! Turn-key awesomeness. They are a fun way that can make your kids smarter in the STEM/STEAM topics, with minimal effort on your part. 🙌🏼

This is great news, friends!

As a parent who usually ends up scouring the internet for STEM/STEAM activities, I surely appreciate these because they essentially come with everything we need! 👍🏼 There is no researching online for a project. There is no gathering of supplies. There’s no printing of directions. It all comes ready to go! Just open the box each month and get your kid(s) started.

[Read more…] about Have You Ever Heard of Subscription STEM/STEAM Kits for Kids?

Similar Posts:

I Hope We Change The World. Our New STEAM Book Is Here, STEAMTeam5: The Beginning

By

I have exciting news about our STEAM book, STEAMTeam 5: The Beginning. Whooohoo!

Remember when I wrote over the summer that my husband and his business partner, Pam, wrote a children’s book? An amazing children’s book with the goal of exciting kids, especially girls(!), for the fields of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math)? It’s been a long process with tons of hard work.

Greg and Pam have sacrificed so much to make this book a reality, and it’s officially DONE!

The beautiful softcover edition is NOW for sale on Amazon. (I’m grinning so wide as I type this.) And, it really is a beautiful work of art. The illustrations, the 8×10 heft, the story. It’s beyond exciting.

We’re not stopping here, though.

You see, this book is really important. This movement is essential. We need women in these fields, and one way to help get women in these fields is getting girls excited about STEAM fields when they’re young. Encouraging them that they can do it! Exciting them about the adventures that can be had by studying science, technology, engineering, art, and/or math. This book is only the first volume of a fictional universe built around these characters, designed to grow so they can serve as ongoing role models.

This book isn’t just for girls.

Boys love it, too. It’s important for boys to have great female role models as well. STEAMTeam5 does that.

When I think of my daughter and how she inspired this series I’m brought to tears because I want a world for her where she feels welcome in leadership STEAM positions. I want her to have both male and female role models who excite and encourage her for passions in science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

Is this just for boys?

This is still a challenge when our society doesn’t have enough good books, toys, shows, role models for girls who want to engineer or build catapults, etc. Heck, just the other day, I was looking for a kid’s gift and saw what looked like an awesome kit to build a catapult. (I immediately thought about how Kamea would like it even though it wasn’t a gift for her. She’s built catapults before.)

Then, I see on the box it says “Boy Craft.”

Why?

And then there was the incident last week…

I was with my daughter at Discount Tire getting our tire replaced. I took advantage of the counter space overlooking the garage for a place to sit so Kamea could watch the people in the garage working. We noticed that there were young kids working in there, too. Maybe high school kids.

She thought the tools looked cool and fun. She said, “Oh wow, that looks cool… I’d like to try that someday and maybe work in there.”

In that moment, I looked at all of the employees in the garage and noticed that not one was female.

I said, “That’s cool, Kamea, and, wow, look out there. There’s not one girl in there! It’s all boys and men. But, y …”

From behind me, a dad interrupts in a gruff voice (his own young daughter sitting a few chairs down from us) and says, “That’s how it should be.”

I damn near fell off my chair.

Wow. WTF.

I wanted to tell him he was an asshole, but that would be the old me (well, actually what I wanted to say was much worse). Instead, I turned to my daughter and said, “You can do anything you want. If you want to be the first girl working back there, YOU DO IT! Cuz ya know what? You can. We can vote now, too.”

Of course, my daughter knew better. We’ve spent a lot of time encouraging all of her passions including building catapults. She knows the story of STEAMTeam 5 and it inspires her. She loves it, and she knows she can do anything with her life. Her hope, like ours though, is that more women and girls find their way to passion and careers in STEAM fields.

A girl and her catapult.

Because they can. We need more awesome female role models to encourage that.

Well, we’re aiming to fix that!

Please join us.

Grab a copy for all of the kids in your life. Read it with them – you’ll love it, too. It’s SOOOOO good that I can barely contain my excitement!

Our test readers were of all ages and the common comments were…

“When is book two coming?”

“Those girls are so cool!”

Or, one of my favorites, “Wow, I want to do it all. These girls are making me love science, technology, engineering, art, and even math!”

STEAMTeam 5: The Beginning is going to be big.

We’re starting with this amazing story. Join us and get your copy of the softcover book on Amazon. We have a lot more in store for this clever and smart group of five girls who work together as a team.

Every kid will want this book.

STEAMTeam5: The Beginning makes a perfect holiday gift for all of the kids in your life. Happy Holidays!

SaveSave

SaveSave

Similar Posts:

Little K Talks About The Importance of Our New Book (Video)

By

Please watch as Little K explains WHY you need to check out our latest project, a life-changing adventure book for kids. (Be sure to watch ’til the end!)

We’re working hard to get the word out about our Kickstarter project book, STEAMTeam5: The Beginning because this is important.

Kids need more quality role models doing cool things with the topics of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and our book delivers that. It’s a GORGEOUS hard-cover book, packed with beautiful illustrations.

Kids love the book, but funny thing… adults are loving it, too.

We have 14 days left for pledges. Please pre-order your copy today!

Check our some of our testimonials from test readings…

It was such a delight to follow along with the STEAMTeam 5 as they take on their first adventure. My boys were eager to read the book because they were excited about the team using new technology, like drones, to solve mysteries. Finally, a smart series that uses science and current gadgets to problem solve. High fives to Pam and Greg for shattering gender stereotypes where it’s most needed. – Lisa

***
My daughter isn’t a big reader, but she absolutely loved STEAMTeam 5! Read the whole thing in a day. The first question she had after finishing it was “When is book two coming out?” Hurry up with book #2, you guys! – Tina 

***

I love being a grandma. You can tell your grandkids all day long to reach for the stars. This book backs that up. I pledged to get a few books because I want my granddaughters and grandsons to read it. The boys need to respect the girls and their accomplishments. A win win. – Sunny

We have 14 days left for pledges. Please pre-order your copy today!

 

 

Check out our FAQs…

*What ages is this book for? We tested this book with children ages 5-14, and they all loved it! (Their parents did, too!) That said, the content is most appropriate for ages 6-13.

*Is this book only for girls? Absolutely not! Our goal is to empower girls to become leaders in STEM/STEAM fields, and we believe the best way to do that is by providing all young people with positive female role models who have STEAM-related interests and skills in books they read.

*How many pages are in the book? There are about 250 pages in this book.

Will my child learn any actual science reading this book? Absolutely! They’ll learn actual science as well as a lot about technology, engineering, art, and math. Our characters use (and explain) these skills while problem-solving in this adventure book. (Even some of the parents who read it said they learned stuff they didn’t know.)

*Is Sandia the leader of the group? Why is she in front? There is no leader of STEAMTeam 5. Or rather, each member leads the others at some time. In Part 2 (the adventure story) of “STEAMTeam 5: The Beginning,” each character has a dedicated chapter showcasing her leadership, skills, and unique approach to problem solving. The cover of the book depicts Sandia in front because this illustration was taken from a chapter in which the team requires the use of Sandia’s magnifying glass.

We have 14 days left for pledges. Please pre-order your copy today!

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

Similar Posts:

The Only Thing For Which I’ll Use Skittles… Science.

By

A good use for Skittles: science.

A fun and quick science lesson using Skittles.

Get a white plate. Position the Skittles around the perimeter of the plate, in any order. Get some warm water ready. Ask the kids what they think will happen when the warm water is added.

Pour a little warm water on the plate and watch the magic science. Observe how the warm water dissolves the sugary candies.

Observe.

Similar Posts:

Young Girls Lack STEM Role Models in Books So These Parents Created Their Own

By

STEAMTeam5: The Beginning – A children’s book to get girls excited about STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math.
 
Announcement from SteamTeam 5
April 26, 2017 
 
Young girls lack role models in children’s books and toys that depict girls being interested in and focused on careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, so these parents created “STEAMTEAM 5: The Beginning,” a children’s book that’s about to hit Kickstarter.

Monsoon Publishing announces the June 21st, 2017 launch date of their Kickstarter campaign to publish STEAMTEAM 5: The Beginning, a children’s book aimed at empowering young girls for careers in STEM/STEAM.

The book features five characters — Sandia Scientist, Treeka Technologist, Evelyn Engineer, Ariana Artist, and Mattie Mathematician — who use science, technology, engineering, art, and math to do amazing things.

STEAMTeam5!

The book’s authors, Greg Helmstetter and Pamela Metivier, embarked on the project for personal reasons. 

“When my daughter was born,” said Helmstetter, “like all parents, I wondered what the world would be like when she grows up. Would she get the education she needs to be competitive in that world?” When Helmstetter noticed a lack of books and toys oriented to girls in STEM, he started making up his own stories to teach his daughter during directed playtime.

“When other parents heard about these stories I was telling my daughter,” said Helmstetter, “they asked for copies to read to their own kids. That’s when I asked Pam Metivier to join with me to help write and publish the stories to make them available for everyone.”

Co-author Pam Metivier had her own personal reasons for publishing the book. “When Greg asked me to help him write and publish his amazing stories, I couldn’t wait to get involved,” said Metivier. “As a female co-founder of two Silicon Valley tech startups, I was well aware of the shortage of women in these fields. There are many structural reasons for the gender asymmetry, but one of the obvious solutions would seem to be hooking girls’ interest while they’re still very young, and providing role models intended specifically for them. And not just girls — we want boys to see girls in these roles, too.”

Initially, the writing duo set out to publish a series of short storybooks about each of the characters. But they soon realized that crowdfunding a larger, single volume through Kickstarter made more sense. STEAMTEAM 5: The Beginning is expected to be over 150 pages long and full of color illustrations. The first half of the book tells each character’s backstory. The second half shows how the girls came together to form STEAMTEAM 5 and sets the stage for future, large-scale, epic adventures. 

“This book’s basic concept is a perfect fit for crowdfunding,” said Metivier, an online marketing expert. “We naturally expected some support from parents, educators, and girls-in-STEM advocates, but the response has far exceeded our expectations. With that kind of energy, Kickstarter is the perfect vehicle to help us launch not only a more ambitious first title, but a whole new character universe.” 

Kickstarter is JUNE 21, 2017! Stay updated at STEAMTeam5.com

 

STEAMTEAM5 website

STEAMTEAM5 on Twitter

STEAMTEAM5 on Facebook 

About SteamTeam 5

STEAMTeam5 is a book series about a team of five girls who use Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math to do amazing things!

Press Contact:

Pamela Metivier

pam@steamteam5.com

(480) 319-0623

Interview Availability

Authors Pamela Metivier and Greg Helmstetter are available for interviews. Please contact Pamela Metivier to schedule.

Similar Posts:

Kristen's Raw © Copyright 2020 · This site uses affiliate links. I receive commissions for referring customers to products I use and recommend.