Human are curious beings. We are all drawn to new things. When we are curious about something new, we want to explore it. And while exploring we discover. And my children, minded with curiosity, has helped to open so much of learning opportunity to me.
“Creativity is not a talent, it’s a way of operating” – By John Cleese
The world of a young child is full of new foods to taste, new people to meet, new games to play, new toys to try and new adventures to be. It’s where infant and toddler will use their senses to touch, taste, smell, watch, listen, climb over and imitate. They explore, question, and wonder, and by doing so, learn. Curiosity is the fundamental in learning. It’s through questions, intuitive and imagination take place.
1. Curiosity is the best skill any children should have
There was a day my son enlightened me on curiosity. He is having music concert end of this month. I spoke to him “I’m excited about it, so how do you feel?” he said “Good, I just being curious.” I was surprised with his word actually “Oh yea, curious is the right word, yes, mummy too being curious.”, he was happy then “Yea, I am teaching you a new word today, yea I’m a teacher.”, gently looking at his face, I said “You have taught me a brand new thinking today, not only a new word.”
Curiosity is the interest in learning about people or things in the environment, it’s the core element in the learning-eco actually. My son is right, underneath my excitement, I am actually being curious of the outcome on the day, ‘curious’ is a word that I dun often used, or maybe I have had it forgotten long. It’s definitely new perspective showed to me, from a child. This conversation with my child started me in using attention and approval to reinforce my exploring child.
2. Encourage mistake
My sons once told me, he was the designer in the storybook he is making. I then asked him, “What can the designer do?” He said “Just design.”, “Why you want to be a designer then?” He then replied “Design is good, not right or wrong. Even if the design is wrong, it’s a designer’s piece.” Ended with an ‘Aha’ at the end of his sentence.
Curiosity grows from the safe and familiar environments, without much justice even if it’s a mistake.
3. Ensure environment are safe and inject with familiarity
Safe and familiarity will encourage a child to explore and ask dozens of questions, where they won’t tolerate with any interrogations that they want to learn more. It’s through the safe and familiar settings, we seek novelty.
The room for early childhood shall be a learning environment where safe and familiarity are planted, so to promote stimulation and discovery. The pleasurable results from stimulation and discovery is the ability to enjoy and share it with someone else. “Mum, let me show you!”, “Mum, come join me” are just regular conversation at home, be it a small sharing or big finding wondered from my children.
In my study in home-practice of playful learning, curiosity is definitely an attitude to play in the learning spaces, there shall be no-box in any thinker’s mind.
- Why we will get hungry?
- Whey the earth covered more in water than the ground?
- Who created the clouds?
- Does tree make dreams too?
Curiosity is also a game-changer in me towards being mindfulness about children’s thinker. A mummy being curious to understand my own children has develop ‘the eager to know more’ inside me, better understanding on my children needs and to be able to positively response to my children in their learning activities, this I see motivate them in their wholesome learning experience.
“Great ideas are often birthed by doing it in a fun, enthusiastic and motivated environment. Ultimately, best thing in creativity is to be just yourself enjoying curiosity”.