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 home school educator or even a
curious parent then this is the place for you.
Today's episode is especially for the parents
out there. The holidays are here and you're probably
wondering how are you going to keep those kids
occupied for the next month or so and to try
to keep them off technology as much as possible.
I've got 24 fun activities for you to develop
your kid's curiosity, even while they're on holiday.
So my top tip number one is to switch off and
put away the devices. Oh my goodness, that could
be a big one. Might be some screaming and shouting,
but hey, if you're prepared to just stick with
it and listen to my 24 activities, you might
just be surprised. So stick them off, switch
them off, put them away, do whatever you need
to do, lock them up in a cupboard. And today
or today's activity really is to get kids into
the car and visit your local library or bookshop
and encourage your children to buy or borrow
a picture book or a non -fiction book and topic
that interests them. You know, dinosaurs, insects,
animals, these are usually big hits with kids.
And books on National Geographic are usually
a firm favorite, and they certainly have been
with my own children when they were young and
even with my students. The second tip I have
is to go on a nature walk and pay attention to
the wildlife you encounter. Now, this is not
only just good for kids, but it's good for you
too. So get out the house. no matter what the
weather, if it's really hot like here in Australia
is right now, maybe go early in the morning or
later in the afternoon. And be alert and draw
your children's attention to even the smallest
creatures. Follow an ant trail or stay to look
at a bird and its features or whatever you find.
Your observation skills will be key. If you start
asking questions, you're starting to encourage
your kids to ask questions of their own. You
can download a list of my open -ended questions
in my free e -guide, which I'll link in the show
notes. Plant a garden together is number three.
Investigate potential vegetables or plants you
can grow in your garden and encourage your child
to observe the plant growth and record the changes
in a nature journal. In the PDF that I will include
in the show notes, I actually have put a link
there to a YouTube video of how to make your
very own nature journal. So be sure to check
that out and go to the website where you can
download that free PDF. Number four would be
to create a reading nook and somewhere that you
can encourage a device -free reading by creating
a cozy reading nook. Fill it with pillows and
blankets and even fairy lights to make it inviting
and take turns reading your favorite stories
to each other. You know we always underestimate
reading but if I've noticed that if you give
kids a really interesting cozy place where they
can just be by themselves and often just have
an opportunity to chill out they actually really
appreciate that especially when things are really
busy during the holidays and there might be some
you know chaos and everybody's running around
give kids a space where they can just go and
chill out and be quiet and stick a little basket
there full of their favorite books and you know
maybe perhaps some soft toys and as i said fairy
lights to make it a beautiful magical place for
chilling out and reading Number five is to prepare
some easy picnic food together and then just
have a picnic in your garden. Number six, go
on a bug hunt. Look under the rocks and stones
and flower pots in your garden. And then you
can draw and write about the creatures in the
nature journal. Number seven, what about dress
up? Encourage children to play dress up and act
out different roles. And you know what? You don't
have to go and buy expensive dress up clothes.
You just... give them old shirts and dresses
and hats and bags and visit op shops and secondhand
shops. Kids love old hats especially. Number
eight. When last have you played a board game?
Children love board games. Anything that encourages
them to think critically. Monopoly, drafts, Chinese
checkers, chess, if they're old enough, even
dominoes. Kids love games. So that's a great
opportunity to encourage, you know, being a good
sport and not allowing them to win just because
they're kids. So, you know, then you can also
encourage them to be good losers as well. Number
nine, go to a local park and let the children
run and climb and play freely. You know, so often
we as parents and even educators forget and we
want to protect our children and so we always
want to tell them to be careful and we want to
tell them what to do. Do you know what? Kids
need freedom. They need an opportunity to take
risks. They need an opportunity to just do their
own thing. And this type of free play, where
you're not descriptive, is really helpful to
children, not only for their muscle tone and
their gross motor skills, but it's also important
for fine motor skills, not to mention the sheer
happiness that comes from free play. And free
play also teaches independence and problem solving.
So really resist the urge to solve the children's
problems. Allow them to have a go on their own.
Number 10, go for a long walk along a creek,
river, or the beach if you live there. Investigate
the wildlife that live on the edges. Take a camera
and get children to take close -up shots of what
they see. And then you can have a whole, you
know, investigation into macro photography and
show them how to take a really close -up picture.
And that really can cause some, or trigger some
interesting conversations. B11. Encourage children
to build a fort indoors using blankets and pillows.
And once it's built, let them play and imagine.
You know, when we lived in the Middle East. It
was so hot outside we're talking forty eight
degrees celsius in summer kids couldn't play
outside and at that point you just have to sometimes
let it go forget about the house and being tidy
all the time give them the blankets and the pillows
you know leave it leave it up for a few days
they will build their own thing you know give
them some torches again books. pillows soft toys
whatever they need to make it a magical experience
for them it's not going to stay there forever
maybe a few days a week at most and then you
can take it down and who cares if it's a little
bit of a mess this is all about encouraging an
amazing imaginative childhood not just about
always being super neat and tidy 12 gather some
recycled materials like empty boxes and packaging
and let kids create an animal sculpture or a
monster and remember you'll need lots of tape
and I mean lots of tape and again Encourage that
independence. Don't solve the problems for them.
You know, if you fix things for kids, the message
you're giving them is you can't do it. I can
do it better than you. So it is not always about
what the thing looks like. It's the process.
So allow them to make and glue and tape just
however they want and give them that wonderful
sense of satisfaction of creating something on
their own. Number 13, get your favorite cake
or cupcake. recipe and make a delicious treat
together and you know pay attention to the changes
in the ingredients when they're mixed and then
baked which is an amazing experience. Baking
and cooking with kids is really a hands -on science
experiment right there in your very own kitchen.
Make them aware of changes with your questioning.
Hey, what's happening to this now that we are
adding a liquid? Do you see how it changes? I
wonder what's going to happen when we add the
eggs. Just think about some questions that you
can ask just to get them thinking. They don't
have to feel like you... You're having a big
lesson. It's just normal part of the everyday
learning and everyday life. And before teen,
how about taking a rug outside and just laying
down and looking at the clouds? Children can
imagine they want a cloud and they can make up
a story about their adventures. Or how about
reading Eric Carle's Little Cloud? It's really
a great favorite with kids, especially for the
younger children. And older kids can then go
and have a look at books that are non -fiction
and talk about different clouds. And if you can't
lie outside during the day and look at clouds,
well then do it at night and look at the stars
instead. Number 15. Get a magnifying glass and
encourage children to look closely at objects
around your house or garden. This is going to
keep them busy for quite a time. Encourage them
then to draw and paint what they see. Number
16 follows really on and that is to get out the
paints and paint a picture. Perhaps a still life
with plants or fruit or find some examples of
still lives in a book or even better find inspiration
by visiting an art gallery. Another option is
simply just to allow your kids to paint and make
whatever marks they like on a piece of paper
using watercolors. You know, those paper rolls
you get from Ikea are perfect for this. And also,
I just want to say, you will be surprised at
how many kids I have taught that tell me they
don't paint at home because their mum doesn't
want them to make a mess. Guys, just get a plastic
sheet or plastic tarp or, I don't know, an old
garbage bag. put it out there, allow the kids
to paint and create and mess and afterwards just
wash it down and wipe it down and there's really
no harm done and you've encouraged kids to be
creative. You know, you can't make an omelette
without breaking some eggs and so you also can't
be creative without getting messy. Number 17
is get out those blocks or Lego and get your
kids being creative, building a structure. And
you know, it's also really important for kids
to also not always just be doing busy, busy,
busy things and running around. Sitting quietly,
stacking, building and creating is a great way
to encourage patience and perseverance and creativity
and problem solving. So get out those blocks.
Number 18. Have you got any old socks lying around
at home? Well, they make great sock puppets.
Just go onto YouTube and check out a tutorial
on how to make a sock puppet. I remember doing
this with my boys when they were little and they
absolutely loved it. And actually, I've still
got some of those sock puppets in a tub. You
know, maybe I'll bring them out one day when
there's other little children running around.
But it's such a great activity for kids. Not
only are they learning to be creative and not
only are they learning how to perhaps glue or
sew very simply. But it's a really great way
to get that critical thinking going and problem
solving and just be creative and having fun.
And it's something different. Number 19 is go
on a discovery walk. You know when you go for
a walk, right? Kids always inevitably they'll
pick up something, a feather, a stick, a stone.
It's just how we are. It's just human nature
well take a little bag with so that your child
can collect these interesting natural objects
and bring them home and then all those feathers
and leaves and rocks or seed pods or flowers
or whatever they find you can then do number
20 which is use all this these natural objects
and classify them Group them according to their
shape, their color, their texture. This is great
for developing critical thinking. Number 21 is
encourage your children to come up with as many
questions about a found object as possible. Perhaps
make a list. of questions that they can come
up with and this is great again to stimulate
that critical thinking that they're going to
need throughout their lives because you don't
want kids to just be sitting there like lumps
you want them to actually think and wonder and
so encouraging them to come up with questions
is amazing and you know what it's a difficult
thing to do especially if it's not something
they're used to so encourage questioning and
you can do this by modeling and you always asking
questions yourselves. And number 22 is to make
a nature journal to document your finds and discoveries.
And in the PDF that you will find in the show
notes, there's a great little video clip of how
to make your own paperback journal. So have a
look at that. Number 23, collect some sticks
and come up with as many creative ways as you
can with a stick. Allow your kids to decorate
them by winding twine around them. Perhaps you
can even attach some of those nature objects
that you found like feathers or flowers or whatever
and you can become a fairy wand or a talking
stick or whatever you want. And the last one,
lucky last, is to set up an obstacle course.
and challenge your kids to see how quickly they
can complete it. Now here's a way that your kids
can actually get active. If you're indoors and
you can't get outside, use your furniture, use
lots of cushions and pillows. Again, I saw some
great examples of this on social media, especially
during COVID. If you just Google, I guess, homemade
obstacle courses for kids, I'm sure you'll find
something there. And so that's it, my list of
24 fun things you can do with your kids these
holidays. So thanks for listening, I hope you
enjoyed this episode. And if you did, make sure
to click that subscribe button wherever you're
listening. And if anything I've said today resonates
with you or you think that someone else might
find it useful, then please share it and consider
leaving a review which will really help me grow
the show. So thanks so much and be sure to visit
me at bloomingcurious .com and listen out for
our next episode next Tuesday. And remember,
curiosity isn't just a trait, it's a superpower.
So until next time, stay blooming curious.