June 10, 2019

Question and Investigate to Learn

2yo: what is there "inside" cotton? Why is it bumpy? (while touching and poking it)
2yo: why is our body moving downwards when we sit in a moving auto?

5yo: (mixing some murmur chat) Why do we add lemon juice?
Me: Maybe to get some of its taste and also to act as adhesive for the murmur and salt. salt is all separated from dry murmur as we can see here.
5yo: If it is just to make salt and Mirchi powder to stick to the murmur, we can as well add water, why should we add lemon juice?
Me: Sure, we could try and taste. Maybe for those who like the sour taste can add lemon juice and those who do not can sprinkle some water and mix?
5yo: But, I even want the sour taste, I prefer it with lemon juice only.

So much of thinking goes into children's brains. Is the child being provided with an environment that encourages questions? Or just an environment where the child is asked to do what is asked to be done? Let the child question and learn.

When an adult is shown a photo album, the adult looks at just the photo and maybe recalls his memory.
When a child is shown a photo album, the child thinks of how the photo actually went into the transparent cover, try to move it with fingers, open it, take the photo out and insert it again.

When an adult shows a rattle to a child, the adult may focus on the sound that the rattle makes or how the child is amused with the sound and movement.
When a child is shown a rattle, the child actually questions how the smaller balls that create sound went into the rattle in the first place, may even try to break it open to see how the rattle works.

When an adult gifts a child with a ball that glows when it is hit to the ground, the adult may just focus on how the child would play with it in a bouncy fashion.
When a child gets a ball that glows when it is hit to the ground, the child actually, squeezes the balls, pushes, presses, tries to touch the smaller ball that contains light (that glows upon hitting), hits the ball while pressing the smaller ball and do many more things.

If in all the above and similar other scenarios, the adult has hushed the child away in order to not tamper with the photo album, rattle, toy, ball, or whatever,
 Congratulations! You have just managed to get the child to do what you want him to do. Congratulations! You have just managed to make the child follow 'your' thoughts rather than his own thoughts.
Congratulations! You have just stopped the child from thinking further 'on his own' and even achieved to make him believe that what he has just thought about and tried exploring was redundant and unnecessary.
Congratulations! You have just managed to make the child believe that thinking unique or exploring is not needed to quench his curiosity, just being with the crowd around is sufficient in life.
Congratulations! You have managed to keep the child away from his own curiosity.

-Sujaya | https://www.facebook.com/embodimentoflove/ | www.www.nurturinglove.in

#RethinkParenting #RethinkEducation #children #learning #playing #playingislearning

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