Hello and welcome to Blooming Curious, a podcast
dedicated to reimagining early childhood education
through the power of curiosity. I'm Edwina, your
host, and here to explore the strategies that
inspire a lifelong love for learning in children.
So if you're homeschooling, or you're a curious
educator looking for creative, meaningful ways
to engage children and move beyond the talk -and
-talk traditional classroom approach, then this
is the place for you. It's Saturday morning.
Your child walks into the kitchen and says those
words that make your heart sink. I'm bored. And
immediately, you feel the urge to fix it, to
suggest something, to pull out the craft supply,
to turn on a screen. But what if that moment
of boredom is actually one of the most valuable
learning opportunities your child will have all
day? Remember that saying, boredom is the mother
of invention? Unfortunately, in trying to fix
things for our children, we've robbed them. of
learning skills to fix things for themselves.
Think about how different childhood looked 20
years ago versus today. Kids used to have hours
of unstructured time and now their calendars
look like a CEO's schedule. They have every hour
of their day planned out for them. So it's no
wonder they don't know what to do with themselves
when they have five minutes of nothing. So then
those unstructured minutes Of course, they're
going to become what is perceived as boring.
But boredom is actually really important. When
kids experience boredom, their brains are actually
looking for solutions. This is what we call executive
function in action. Boredom creates space for
creative problem -solving, for self -directed
learning so they can come up with something to
do on their own. for understanding their own
interests and motivations, and building tolerance
for frustration, because life isn't always just
unicorns and rainbows. I remember hearing something
years ago, someone saying that their child had
complained of being bored. And so this person
said, well, there are leaves to rake, bathrooms
to clean, laundry to fold. In other words, there
are a million chores to do, so pick one. And
I think it's really important that children do
have chores in the home, that they do contribute
to keeping the home tidy, that they play their
part in the family. But at the same time, having
that empty space of having nothing to do also
creates opportunities for creative thinking,
for problem solving. You know, I remember many,
many years ago when my brothers and I were children,
we spent a lot of time at our grandparents' home.
and behind the house was this empty plot of land
and for some reason or other there was a discarded
piece of kitchen furniture like a kitchen counter
thing. And us kids, we went around and what we
did was we found empty bottles, we filled them
with sand, we found some stones and a whole bunch
of other bits and pieces and we set up a pretend
shop. No one told us to do this or no one showed
us how to do it. We were just left to own devices
to figure things out. And it took time to scour
the place for the things we needed that we wanted
to pretend sell. It took time to set this shop
up. And then, of course, we had our roles as
shopkeepers and customers. And it was hours of
playing and entertaining ourselves. And the key
point to this is that no one jumped in to tell
us what to do. If there was ever a need to fix
it, they certainly resisted that urge. So I want
to give you three practical strategies to use
boredom as a teaching tool. Number one is just
normalize it. You can say something like, I hear
you're bored. That's just your brain telling
you it's ready to learn something new. So what
do you think you can do about it? And notice
you do not offer solutions. Number two is you
create the conditions. You make sure that the
children have access to open -ended materials,
cardboard boxes, art supplies, books, and outdoor
space. But you don't tell them or direct them
how to use them. And number three is you just
wait it out. Those first minutes can be uncomfortable.
Kids will test you. But after 15 or 20 minutes,
a shift happens, and they will start creating.
But only if you do not offer them a screen, because
screens kill creativity. Because they have to
create something on their own. But the screen
has already created it. It's entertainment on
tap. So our children have become passive consumers
instead of active creators. So what can we as
parents do to shift our mindset? Our job isn't
to be the entertainment director. It's to be
the guide that teaches them what they're capable
of, to create their own engagement. So the next
time your child says, I'm bored, take a breath.
See it as an opportunity, not an emergency. If
you found this helpful, and you want more practical
strategies for raising independent creative learners,
please subscribe to the podcast so you don't
miss an episode the next time one comes available,
next week, for example. And if you're feeling
generous, please leave a review. It really helps
other parents and educators find these conversations.
And besides the weekly podcast episodes, you
can also subscribe to Get Curious. It's my weekly
newsletter where I provide inspiration and strategies
for keeping ourselves and our children curious.
So thanks for listening. It's been a short and
sweet episode. And until next time, stay blimmy
curious.