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Most of it comes through my vantage point. I see myself as a facilitator of his curiosity, not someone who is here to feed him information. -If he's curious ab
by actfrench 6y ago
Most of it comes through my vantage point. I see myself as a facilitator of his curiosity, not someone who is here to feed him information.
-If he's curious about something and asks why, I don't feed him answers. I say "why do you think?" If he says, I don't know, I say, "well let's find out." and we find out together. We ask an expert. Eg, if we're walking my a neighbor's house and he wants to know why their dog is barking, I encourage him to ask the neighbor. I make sure he's intellectually satisfied. I say, does that make sense?
-I also ask him a lot of questions too. I read him a bedtime story every night. I try to get him to guess the words. If we're reading about a duck. I ask him "what sound does a duck make?" I ask him if he likes ducks, why or why not?
-I let him do what he wants to do. If he wants to watch Octonauts, I let him watch Octonauts (but I make sure to engage and ask questions). If he wants to go to the park, we go to the park. If our desires conflict. For example, if I'm tired and I need to go home, I tell him we're going home and I explain very clearly to him why that is my need.
-I model a learning mentality to him. I ask questions. I am curious about the world around me. I am curious about him and his interests.
-I'm not afraid of his boredom and his frustration. If he tries to draw a drone and is upset because it doesn't look like a drone, I encourage him to try again. I remind him that nothing great ever happened on the first try. I gently encourage him to keep trying, gently remind him how exciting it will be when he achieves it.
-I celebrate his learning moments. I notice when he mastered a new concepts. I point out to him how much his speech has improved. I even ask him how he learned all the words, so he can reflect on his own process.
-These are a few of the many ways I support his learning. They come to me naturally. I trust my natural instinct as his caregiver to support his growth into a happy, healthy, curious intellectual.
-I always allow him to engage him in projects he's passionate about, even if they seem difficult (like drawing a drone). If he's passionate about the outcome, he'll push through his frustration and in doing so, learn to learn.
-If he is upset with a choice I made, I always explain my reasons very carefully. This often forces me to reflect on my own actions as well - and models a type of being in the world that is reflective.
This might be interesting to you. It's a guide to types of inquiry, different ways you can use questions to guide children's learning:
https://elearningindustry.com/inquiry-based-learning-model https://elearningindustry.com/inquiry-based-learning-model