When our kids are younger, it seems that much of our time is spent following them around and keeping them out of harm’s way. Their natural curiosity compels them to open doors, turn knobs, flick switches, and chase almost anything that moves. We often get exhausted just trying to keep up with them during this phase of parenting. But it’s also a time we can start to learn about our children and the things that interest them.
As our children begin to read, it’s wise to expose them to a wide variety of topics. It’s exciting as a parent to walk into a library with your young child and realize that somewhere in these stacks of books is likely at least one book that tells about a profession or hobby that may end up becoming a lifelong passion for your child. It will help shape the friends they make, the learning they do, and perhaps even be the path from which they’ll meet their future spouse. We so seldom take time as parents to “big picture” things like this, but it’s important that we allow ourselves to dream big for our children and encourage them to do the same. Encouraging them to follow their curiosity is really nothing more than encouraging them to learn.
Riding Curiosity To The Stars
Where Will Your Curiosity Lead You?
We all watched in amazement recently as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory landed the Mars rover, “Curiosity.” It was an amazing feat and one that inspired many of us. It’s also a great time to show our children the exciting side of some school subjects that may be a struggle to them. Here’s a great video posted by NASA that asks, How Hard Is It To Land on Mars? Taking something from recent news like this is a great opportunity to show our children how they can pursue their curiosity and eventually accomplish huge things.
The people who were able to land the Curiosity rover on Mars came from all different backgrounds and virtually every area of learning. There were people who followed their math curiosity to learn how to calculate the exact speed and time it would take to land the craft on Mars. People who were curious about chemistry studied to learn the exact type of fuel that would be best to propel Curiosity. Engineers learned exactly what kinds of designs and materials they should use to build Curiosity. People who love to write asked questions and wrote stories about Curiosity to keep us all updated. Each person involved started out by being curious how something worked and wanting to learn more about it.
At Academic Learning Labs we love to take your child’s natural curiosity and encourage it to grow in areas that may be a struggle for them. We also delight in helping talented children excel in areas they’ve already demonstrated a skill. Call us at (949) 546-0800, and we’ll be happy to show you how we can help your child’s curiosity get them to Mars — and beyond.
