Inspiring Curiosity and Wonder

Each purple link in this post will take you to an ECE blogger 
that has inspired me in some way. Check the blog roll on
the left for more inspiration.

Young children are fascinated with anything that stimulates their senses. Consider the newborn that is drawn to human faces and the sound of Mommy’s voice, or the toddler who delights in blowing and chasing bubbles, and the preschooler who can’t get enough of GAK or OOBLEK. These experiences not only delight multiple senses, they inspire curiosity and wonder.

Childhood should be filled with the kinds of experience that engage the senses and challenge children to expand their thinking. Musings such as “I wonder what will happen if…” should be a mantra in any early childhood setting. To observe a child and see the concentration on his face, or the deliberateness in his hand movements is utterly fascinating. As an adult, watching this exploration from the outside makes me wonder what this child is thinking and what is motivating him. I wonder about what this child is wondering about.

Will he figure out how to make the mobile move?

Will she discover how to make a bubble land on her hand without popping?

Will he find a way to re-create the sound of crashing blocks using the musical instruments?

Then of course, my thoughts turn to how I can support this exploration.

• What other materials can I provide to encourage the process of discovery?
• What provocations can I set up to continue to spark this child’s curiosity and wonder?
• How can I engage this child, either through an experience or a conversation, to learn more about what she is thinking or what motivates her?
• How can I support the process of discovery without taking over, gently finding just the right words or interactions to extend the learning?

I am constantly fascinated by the depth of a child’s thinking and understanding. While their language skills and vocabulary may not provide a means of expression, their actions certainly do. This takes me back to the look of concentration, the focus of their attention, or the engagement of their hands.

When I visit a program where the teachers share this fascination, it’s obvious. The wonder and curiosity of the teachers, about the children, is so clearly evident in the layout of the environment, or the documentation that is displayed. How a teacher or caregiver sets up an invitation for play and learning is directly related to the value that caregiver places on capturing the hearts and minds of the children in their care.

I shared my excitement in a previous post about how fascinating it is to watch teachers truly engage with young children. I so truly enjoy watching teachers have conversations with children. I love to see their descriptions of various experiences through photos and written documentation. It’s especially gratifying for me to see (hear) the teachers voice in the documentation, opening the door to what makes that teacher wonder about the children.  To see the reflections of the teachers, and of the children is so delightful. Margie Carter and Deb Curtis from Harvesting Resources have written great articles and books about this kind of reflective practice that engages curiosity and wonder in teachers.

Sometimes, I don’t have the opportunity to be in a program with a caregiver to see all of the engaging experiences that take place, but I get to live it second hand when these caregivers share stories during a workshop with me. I live for the opportunity to talk with caregivers about what inspires them, what creates that sense of curiosity and wonder within them, and what they can do to continue to engage and inspire the children in their care. So a shout out to all my teacher friends who have allowed me the opportunity to question and challenge them about why they do what they do. The questions aren’t always easy, and they don’t always lead to answers, but the process is invigorating for me. I hope it is for them too!

So tell me what inspires you? What creates a sense of curiosity and wonder in your work with young children? I’d love to hear your ideas!

What is DAP?

There’s an old Jewish parable that says if you have 10 Rabbis in a room, you get 11 different opinions. I believe the same is true about early childhood educators and Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). If you ask 10 early childhood educators to define DAP, you’ll probably get 11 different answers.

What is DAP? In it’s simplest form DAP is

• identifying each child’s developmental level
• providing experiences that help each child blossom

There are many more detailed and complex descriptions of DAP, but the basics are the same.

Each child has their own developmental journey. As educators, our goal should be to help each child be successful on their journey. Finding the right teaching strategies to support each child’s journey is part of the process. Our challenge is recognizing that a strategy that worked for one child may not work for a different child. Or, strategies that are successful in one setting are not successful in a different setting.

What qualifies as a DAP experience?

• open-ended
• everyone can be successful
• multiple entry points (all children can participate in a way that is comfortable for them)
• hands-on
• interesting to the child(ren)
• active and engaging
• captures a child’s attention

DAP experiences also include these elements:

• choices for children
• opportunities to build language skills
• opportunities to develop social skills
• creativity and problem solving

But, I would say that one of the most important elements of DAP is

TIME

Children need TIME to play. Children need to TIME to explore. Children need TIME to create and explore and build and take apart. Children need uninterrupted TIME to test out their own theories of how things work. Children need uninterrupted TIME to discover new ideas and explore new materials.  Children need uninterrupted TIME to build relationships with others, both peers and caregivers. Children need uninterrupted TIME to practice new skills and share their ideas. But most of all, children need uninterrupted TIME to just BE!

Let me know your thoughts on DAP. How do you define DAP? Would you add or change any of the elements I’ve listed? What do you consider to be the most important element of DAP? Is it TIME, or is it something else?

The Wonder of Being Two

Imagine what it would be like to see a creepy, crawly caterpillar for the very first time. You notice it’s striped colors, and how it’s inching its way along on a piece of grass.

Can you find the creepy, crawly caterpillar?

If you were noticing this caterpillar for the very first time, what thoughts might be going through your head?

• Would you stop and spend some time watching to see where it goes and how it moves?
• Would you want to immediately reach out and touch it, maybe holding it a little too tightly (oops!)?
• Would you turn and run the other way the moment the caterpillar begins to move ( a scream might escape your lips, a tear from your eye)?
• Would you wonder how it tastes?

If you’re two, you might do all of those things.

For a two year old, the world is filled with wonder. So many sights, sounds and experiences are brand new. What we as adults take for granted and think of as familiar is utterly fascinating to a two year old.

The senses of a two year old are constantly firing. Their minds are always wondering:

• How does it feel?
• What does it taste like?
• What can I DO with this?

Some moments, the concentration of a two year old is endless. Other moments, their concentration is fleeting.

But in order to answer all of those questions floating around in the mind of a two year old, we need to provide multiple opportunities for them to explore and discover the same materials over and over again.

As caregivers, the best gift we can give to a two year old is time. Time to explore, time to discover. Time to make a mess. Time to sit and watch. Time to play. Time to be together with our full attention. Time to just be.

It takes time to wonder. There is no rushing the magic of new discoveries.