8 Ways to Encourage Curiosity

Homeschooling has given me a new lens to look at the world of education through. Many times I have my own plans for what we are going to do, but my children and my husband definitely have shown me that there are may different ways to approach learning. My experience with my own children has revealed to me that I can let my children take the wheel more often than not, and I can encourage them to question.

My children have a strong desire to know more. They ask “why” constantly - more than I would like to hear!  It has made me think about ways to encourage children’s natural curiosity and desire to learn. Here are some strategies that I have found successful:

1. When your child asks a question or a series of questions, answer them the best that you can, and find the answers if you don’t know them. I like to think that since I answer my kids’ questions to the best of my ability, they are encouraged to be that much more inquisitive. If you brush off your child’s questions, s/he will simply stop asking.
2. If you are truly exasperated by the shear number of questions (and I am often), turn the questions back on your child. Find out if your child can make a hypothesis or a deduction based on the information at hand or prior experiences.
3. Ask your child lots of questions when you are out and about or in the middle of a teachable moment. Expect your child to use higher order thinking skills, too. For example, today we went to Plimoth Plantation. I asked my children to deduce what a room was used for based on the clues they found in the room. I also asked them to make observations about the houses and compare them to our home. What does our home have that these homes do not? Why do you think these homes do not have those things?
4. Ask your own genuine questions when your child is with you. For example, I have wondered why certain plants will not grow in particular parts of our yard, and I want to find ones that will grow. Then it is my job to find the answers to those questions. Remember that you are your child’s model. Children imitate adult behavior - even older kids - so give them a great example for what it means to be curious, and show them where you can find the answers to your own questions.
5. Go on adventures! Novel experiences stimulate the mind. Your child will be more likely to have questions if you give your child a wide variety of experiences to draw from. Go hiking. Go to museums. Try gardening. try something new.
6. Here is your chance to live vicariously through your children. Play with them and encourage imaginative play!Your involvement in imaginative play will change the play scenarios and encourage thinking skills.
7. Read to your child. Remember to read a variety of genres - poetry, nonfiction, historical fiction, science fiction, etc. Try reading aloud genres that your child typically does not read on his/her own to broaden his/her horizons. The new ideas presented as you read will open your child up to new ways of thinking. This is also an opportunity to ask more of those questions. Encourage your child to also ask questions while you read.
8. Let your child take the lead. Observe your child in one of those new situations. What is interesting? What is your child drawn to? Now take some time to draw that out of your child. Maybe you can also plan other adventures that incorporate more of your child’s interests.

Enjoy your children’s natural curiosity and let yourself be taken away by it from time to time.

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Homeschooling Woman of Faith

Homeschoolers can feel isolated from time to time especially when the children have gotten into a rhythm and routine. You often forget to look up and take a break. I was able to take a refreshing break that I truly needed this weekend. I went to the Women of Faith conference. I have been thinking about what Sheila Walsh, one of the speakers, talked about. She is a funny and inspirational speaker, singer, and author. Today she spoke about what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was betrayed by Judas. She was struck by the fact that although Jesus asked God to take away His fate if it was at all possible, He wanted to follow God’s will instead of His own.

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39

Seeking God’s will is such a difficult thing. I know that I often start out trying to seek His will, but instead I seek my own. Do you find that you do that, too? I don’t want to let go of my agenda, and I secretly hope that God will go along with what I want. My prayers often sound like demands. I want my God to do what I think is best. In this passage Jesus is showing us that it is all right to ask of God, but to expect that His will is done - not yours.

It is easy for homeschoolers to feel obligated, pressured, and unsure of what to do next about their children’s education. Sometimes you are not sure if what you are doing is right. You compare your home school to another. Have you asked God what He wants for you? God has a plan for you and your children.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

God’s answers to your prayers may surprise you, but you don’t know the whole story like He does. He is the author. His plan is better than any plan that you could come up with. Draw closer to Him during your quiet time in order to discern what His will is for you, your family, and your home school. Spend time reading the Bible, listening to God. Listening to God will give you wisdom about how to proceed, which may not make sense to you in the context of our world, but will make sense in God’s greater plan.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Try following Jesus’ example and pray. Ask God for what you hope for, but ready to hear what His will is.

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