WEBVTT 00:00:00.921 --> 00:00:04.611 What if the most powerful thing you could say to your kids this week is, 00:00:04.821 --> 00:00:10.161 I wonder today we're talking about something that changed how I approach 00:00:10.161 --> 00:00:14.091 teaching, and it might surprise you to know that it has nothing to do with a 00:00:14.091 --> 00:00:16.461 new curriculum or a new teaching method. 00:00:17.061 --> 00:00:18.931 It's just about admitting 00:00:19.531 --> 00:00:20.611 what you don't know. 00:00:21.271 --> 00:00:24.811 So many children are afraid to take risks in their learning. 00:00:25.261 --> 00:00:28.831 They're afraid of being wrong or looking silly in front of others. 00:00:29.401 --> 00:00:34.981 It's like they, have this inbuilt pressure of always having to know the answer. 00:00:35.551 --> 00:00:37.441 We don't learn without failure. 00:00:37.801 --> 00:00:40.291 It's failure that teaches us valuable lessons. 00:00:41.011 --> 00:00:45.901 So how do we help children embrace failure as a stepping stone to knowing? 00:00:46.741 --> 00:00:50.971 I don't know where this comes from, but I have just never had an ego to 00:00:50.971 --> 00:00:52.831 admit when I don't know something. 00:00:53.491 --> 00:00:57.601 So with my own children and my students saying, I don't know. 00:00:58.336 --> 00:01:01.906 When they've asked a question has always been easy for me. 00:01:02.356 --> 00:01:06.496 Maybe it's because honesty came up as my strongest character trait when 00:01:06.496 --> 00:01:08.416 I did that personality test thing. 00:01:09.286 --> 00:01:12.886 But you know, it's not helpful for children to always be 00:01:12.886 --> 00:01:15.496 showing them how much you know. 00:01:15.946 --> 00:01:21.531 And sometimes even if you do know, say you don't. 00:01:22.471 --> 00:01:27.841 The children can see that it's okay to be uncertain that it's okay not to know 00:01:27.841 --> 00:01:29.881 something or to have all the answers. 00:01:30.691 --> 00:01:34.801 I remember so many times when my own boys were asking me 00:01:34.801 --> 00:01:36.481 something they were interested in. 00:01:36.811 --> 00:01:41.491 Maybe it was something about dinosaurs or something very sciencey, and I 00:01:41.491 --> 00:01:43.741 would just say, I really don't know. 00:01:43.921 --> 00:01:47.731 I'd love to know the answer too how do you think we could find out? 00:01:47.731 --> 00:01:49.381 What that does? 00:01:49.876 --> 00:01:54.376 Instead of defaulting to parent as expert know-it-all. 00:01:54.796 --> 00:02:01.426 You genuinely model curiosity and what happens next is that the child who 00:02:01.426 --> 00:02:07.726 is always watching and learning from your every move and word learns how 00:02:07.726 --> 00:02:10.816 to be curious and look for answers. 00:02:11.656 --> 00:02:16.751 This approach changes everything in the way children approach learning. 00:02:17.746 --> 00:02:22.756 When we position ourselves as co-learners, we give our kids 00:02:22.756 --> 00:02:25.006 permission to not know everything. 00:02:26.056 --> 00:02:28.006 Curiosity's contagious. 00:02:28.246 --> 00:02:32.806 Your genuine wonder makes learning feel like discovery. 00:02:33.046 --> 00:02:37.681 Instead of just checking those boxes, it changes the dynamic. 00:02:38.626 --> 00:02:43.276 Learning becomes an adventure that you're on together. 00:02:43.636 --> 00:02:46.306 Rather than something you're just delivering to them and 00:02:46.306 --> 00:02:47.656 they're just having to absorb. 00:02:48.586 --> 00:02:54.496 And what this looks like in practice is you saying, I don't know out loud when 00:02:54.496 --> 00:02:56.296 you genuinely don't know something. 00:02:57.106 --> 00:03:02.956 Sharing your thinking process as you work through problems alongside your children 00:03:03.556 --> 00:03:09.046 and asking real questions, when you're actually curious about something, not 00:03:09.046 --> 00:03:14.356 just the ones that you're always using to test their knowledge and let your kids see 00:03:14.356 --> 00:03:16.786 you make mistakes and figure things out. 00:03:17.476 --> 00:03:21.826 And what you'll discover is that they start taking more risks. 00:03:22.126 --> 00:03:26.806 They start asking better questions, and they start seeing themselves as knowledge 00:03:26.806 --> 00:03:32.776 creators and as inquirers instead of just learners following your lead. 00:03:33.256 --> 00:03:34.071 And if you are thinking. 00:03:34.741 --> 00:03:37.831 Well, how do I bring more of this kind of energy into my home school? 00:03:37.951 --> 00:03:40.891 Well, I've created a free guide just for you. 00:03:41.191 --> 00:03:46.891 It's called How to Nurture Natural Curiosity, and it includes questions 00:03:46.891 --> 00:03:49.711 that you can use to model curiosity. 00:03:50.071 --> 00:03:54.571 It includes a list of skills that children learn with simple, everyday 00:03:54.571 --> 00:03:56.376 experiences like going for a walk. 00:03:57.646 --> 00:04:02.206 It's got 10 easy provocations you can set up to spark, wonder, and 00:04:02.206 --> 00:04:07.726 curiosity and cross curricular learning experiences, for the picture 00:04:07.726 --> 00:04:10.246 book, I went walking by Sue Williams. 00:04:10.516 --> 00:04:13.096 I'll put a link for you in the show notes. 00:04:13.336 --> 00:04:18.466 It's free, it's practical, it's ready to use and implement today. 00:04:19.396 --> 00:04:21.136 This is a short and sweet episode. 00:04:21.511 --> 00:04:22.501 Thanks for listening. 00:04:22.501 --> 00:04:24.361 I'm so grateful for you being here. 00:04:24.661 --> 00:04:29.551 If you found some value in today's episode, please do me the honor of sharing 00:04:29.551 --> 00:04:35.341 it to someone you know and leave a review that will really help the show grow. 00:04:35.671 --> 00:04:39.211 And remember, you don't have to have all the answers. 00:04:39.361 --> 00:04:44.011 Sometimes the best learning happens when we're discovering things 00:04:44.251 --> 00:04:46.051 right alongside our children. 00:04:46.801 --> 00:04:49.201 Until next week, take care of yourself. 00:04:49.741 --> 00:04:51.271 Stay blooming, curious.