Hello and welcome to Blooming Curious, the podcast
that's all about nurturing that natural curiosity
in our earliest kids and students. I'm Edwina,
your host from the Ed's Lessons blog, a passionate
advocate for play and inquiry and on a mission
to keep children curious and questioning. The
days of talk and chalk are over. We're diving
into the world of integrated, inquiry and nature
-based learning and exploring those strategies
that create lifelong learners. So if you're a
classroom or a homeschool educator or even a
curious parent, then this is the place for you.
You know, it's so frustrating and heartbreaking
when you're faced with children who are not interested
in learning. In my own teaching, I regularly
come across kids who are just not interested
in learning. And when I've had conversations
with parents, they say, my kid's not interested
in anything. The only thing he wants to do is
be on his iPad. These are difficult times and
we as parents and teachers are in competition
with a digital device that produces an incredible
amount of visual stimulation. We can't get away
from digital devices, they're here to stay. So
the question then becomes, how do we ensure that
our children have a balance and remain curious
about the world around them? I think the trick
is to start early and then to create habits that
easily become part of our daily routines. So
today I'm going to talk about just five ways
we can help our kids stay curious. The first
step towards creating an environment rich with
curiosity is you and me. We are the facilitators
of learning. It's our enthusiasm for learning
and exploration that is the fuel that lights
the fire in our kids. Our responses and our questions
have the power to keep children's curiosity healthy
and flourishing. Our words, our facial expression
and our attitudes are the catalyst for instilling
a love for learning and curiosity or not. As
educators and parents, we have the power to open
up that world of awe and wonder and fascination
for children and to foster their natural curiosity
about the world around them. So if we want our
kids to be curious, and we really do need them
to be if we want them to enjoy learning and meet
their full potential, then we need to model curiosity
and an interest in the world around us. When
a child holds out their hand to us with a snail
or a bug or a worm perched perfectly in the center,
their eyes shining with excitement, at that moment,
we have an opportunity to foster their curiosity
and a lifelong love of learning or to just snuff
it out. Our feelings about spiders and snails
or worms are really not important. It's not about
us. It's not about our feelings. It's about them.
And when a child shows interest in something,
and we help them find out more, which of course
is the foundation of inquiry, it's not just children
who learn, but it's also the perfect opportunity
for us to learn alongside them. I can't tell
you how many times I've learned about different
animals and plants just by helping kids find
information for their various interests. So remember,
it's you and me people. The second way I think
that we can keep kids curious is to get them
outdoors. One of the best things we can do is
to provide opportunities that will allow these
kids to explore and be curious and nothing fascinates
children more than the natural world. Just about
any outdoor pursuit is the perfect opportunity
to encourage curiosity and wonder. You don't
always have to visit a zoo or a park or to go
on a bike ride. You just hang out in your backyard
or in the playground. All natural environments
provide wonderful opportunities for curiosity.
Just think about it. When kids are building sandcastles
on the beach or in a sandpit, They are learning
about the properties of a material, and in this
case sand, and how it gets to keep its shape
when they remove the upturned bucket, or how
sand or water is contained and takes the shape
of a container but then falls through when there
are holes. Not to mention children's fascination
with ladybirds and snails. Just this week while
on lunch duty I saw two little girls poking around
some plants in a shady area of the playground.
When I asked them what they were looking for
they enthusiastically replied, snails! They knew
where to find them. And then went on to tell
me where snails live and did I know that snails
ate paper? I so wished I was their class teacher
because we could have got so much fun exploring
why snails eat paper and watching their mouths
move by placing them in a transparent plastic
lid and looking from underneath. I've done that
so many times. Learning about spiral shapes and
where else we could find spirals in nature. Discover
species of snails and even explore art by looking
at Matisse's paper collage called The Snail.
and making snails out of clay and even making
a snail habitat which we could use to investigate
and explore and learn how to take care of living
creatures. So the outdoors and everything it
offers is a great way to encourage children's
natural interest. And the third way I think we
can encourage curiosity is through unstructured
play. Unstructured play is equally important
for nurturing a child's curiosity. The research,
by the way, is clear. Allowing a child to just
play without purpose is invaluable for healthy
social, emotional, cognitive and creative development.
In Maggie Dean's book... saving our children
from our chaotic world. She cites research that
shows that unstructured play, that's play where
you just leave the kids alone in the natural
environment, is not only important for growth
and development but is vital for that integration
of neural pathways for all multiple intelligences.
Being fully immersed in play is highly significant
for kids. It provides them that deep sense of
joy and well -being that is profoundly necessary
for healthy social and emotional well -being.
So just leaving kids to play without our interference
is crucial to them developing a host of skills.
Things like independence, problem solving, creativity
and cooperation to name just a few. The fourth
way I think we can keep kids curious is by creating
an interesting environment. So of course, as
I've just mentioned, being outdoors in nature
is really the perfect environment because nature
is full of interest. But how do we create stimulating
environments in our classrooms or in our homes
and gardens so that children can be curious?
There is a move away from all those bright colors
and plastic toys to create more natural environments
with tactile objects and toys often made from
natural materials and arranged or displayed to
provoke interest. and to bring the outdoors in
and to provide elements that kids would naturally
find in nature. Plants and sticks, yes, sticks,
they're okay. Stones and pebbles, wooden blocks
and shapes, interesting seed pods, pieces of
cloth or fabric, string, clay, water, cardboard
boxes, sand, and all manners and shapes of containers.
All these things provide opportunity for open
-ended play. They provide opportunities to be
creative. A stick can be a fairy wand, a magic
wand, a pencil. They can be used to build structures,
make patterns or flagpoles, and even hobby horses.
None of these are just one thing. For example,
a toy car is just a car. But a stick can be anything,
only limited by imagination. And apart from natural
objects, having plants and animals to observe,
be it a snail habitat or an aquarium or stick
insects, this opens up a world of inquiry projects.
We also need to be providing opportunities for
children to express themselves creatively. by
providing opportunities to create with paper
and paints and wool felt crayons of all types
charcoal pastels and of course then what about
opportunities for pretend play dad's old shirts
hats, old blouses, bags, all sorts from vintage
or second -hand stores make excellent props for
imaginative play. There's no need to go and buy
Snow White's outfit or, I don't know, Spider
-Man costume. There's nothing wrong with them,
have them absolutely, but you don't have to go
spend a fortune on ready -made costumes which
then of course only limit a child to that character.
So go and shop around some second -hand shops
and see what you can find there. And of course,
no interesting environment can be without books.
Picture books, chapter books, lots of non -fiction
books on a variety of subjects, atlases, children
love maps, all displayed so that they are in
easy reach for kids to access. Then of course
the question arises, well, how do we store and
display all these objects? Well, we need to do
it in a way that is attractive and interesting
so that children are drawn to them. Displaying
and storing these objects attractively in woven
baskets or wooden boxes and bowls on uncluttered
open shelves where children can access them easily
and independently is the way to go. Our outdoor
areas need to be attractive too. We need to incorporate
open shelves and milk crates attached to a wall
where old pots and pans and sticks and other
weatherproof items can be stored. Just browse
Pinterest for tons of ideas on inspiring indoor
and outdoor learning spaces and how to set them
up. My fifth tip on how to keep kids curious
is by asking open -ended questions and encouraging
children to ask questions too. Questioning is
fundamental to having a curious mind. I saw this
meme the other day that said, everyone saw the
apple falling from the tree, but only Newton
asked why. Makes you think, doesn't it? How little
we ask why nowadays. Asking questions is actually
the first step to engage our learners, to really
inspire our kids to be lifelong learners. that
need to cultivate curiosity and a habit of questioning
and then to encourage exploration to find the
answers to those questions. Hey, don't be tempted
to simply give children the answers to questions,
rather just help them to find the answers. Inquiry
invites a learner to take an active role in their
learning, so that they're not just sitting there
waiting for us to put stuff inside their heads,
so they actually become involved in their learning.
And when kids are encouraged to get involved
in hands -on learning, when they're experimenting
or building or creating, it puts a whole new
spin on their learning. And learning becomes
fun. And when we're involved in that inquiry
process, we educators, and remember, parents
are educators, are no longer talking at children,
but rather facilitating their learning. It requires
a mind shift on our part. and we'll be delving
into this world of inquiry in future episodes.
Okay, so those were my five ways to keep children
curious. Thanks for listening, folks. I hope
you enjoyed this episode, and if you did, hey,
make sure to click that subscribe button wherever
you're listening. And if anything I've said today
resonates with you, or you think my content is
awesome, then please leave a review, which will
really help me grow the show and keep going.
Thanks so much, and be sure to visit me at bloomingcurious
.com and listen out for the next episode next
Tuesday. And remember... Curiosity isn't just
a trait, it's a superpower. So until next time,
stay blooming curious.