3We are all born with a deep desire to understand the world around us . As babies we were all deeply curious . Watch how babies are fascinated with physical objects and use every sense at their disposal to find out more about them . So they feel it , kick it , try taking it apart , stick it in their mouth , in their ear . All the time they are gathering information about that object .
We never lose this desire to know about things . Unfortunately our education system is not designed to encourage this curiosity . Children begin to learn that the acquisition of knowledge is to help them pass tests not because it is interesting .
We need to remember that babies are great models of how we learn . It is not by simply reacting passively to our environment but by actively testing through observation , hypothesis , experiment .
How can you help your child ?
Join your local library . Books are windows into all kinds of worlds to delight the curious mind .
Let them choose their own books . Studies show that it doesn ’ t matter whether children are reading books about rockets or comic books , the key is that their interest is captured and that .
Stimulate your child with open-ended questions . These are questions that don ’ t have a right or wrong response , and can ’ t be answered with only one word like “ yes ” or “ no ”. “ How do you feel about …”, “ What was ( such and such experience ) like for you …”, “ Tell me about what happened in school today .” These kinds of questions encourage your child to develop reasoning .
Create an interesting environment . What interesting books , pictures , artefacts have you got around your home that are going to stimulate curiosity ? Rotate your supply to keep it “ fresh ”.
Allow time for open-ended activities . Ordinary materials like boxes , blocks , water , sand , pots and pans can be used imaginatively . Do not tell your child what to do with the material , how to do it or what it should look like in the end . Let your child ’ s curiosity be his guide .
Mike Jackson is a writer and recently retired Head teacher
Together Magazine 7