Curiosity is the desire to learn, to understand new things, and to know how they work.
Curious people ask questions, read and explore. They actively seek information and experiences, and are willing to meet challenges and to broaden their horizons which are important skills for life. Curiosity is important for learning at every age and something that is nurtured at nursery and in school.
Here are some ways in which we are developing and deepening our curiosity in the nursery setting.
As three and four year olds we have many interests. The nursery staff team understand the importance of observing our play and to “wait, watch us and wonder” as we play. This allows the adults around us to recognise our individual and shared interests and to encourage curiosity through these by selecting resources and activities that will connect us to our interests.
Harry loves diggers and trucks. He likes to spend time outdoors digging holes. He was excited to find an indoor quarry with different textures of “gutter”, differently sized stones to organise and count and other objects around to use for construction. Once the diggers had finished work Lucas and Jessie-Anne were on hand to clean them and make them ready for another day. Lucas and Jessie-Anne love to play in water and were very focussed on following the cleaning regime. Expanding upon our ideas and interests keeps us curious and deepens our play and learning.
Our curiosity can take us down different avenues of learning. The adults around us in the nursery try hard to adapt to, and respond to, our play in the moment using our curiosity to explore and deepen our learning.
Harry, Tommy and Lewis spent part of an afternoon developing play with small cars. They discussed the need for ramps and garages after following chalk roads and creating their own roads. They noticed Lyn had some blocks and bits of wood nearby which they used. Adding these into the game extended their language and ideas as they used words such as “up, across, down”, “put it on top”, “this bit has a hole so the cars can go in”.
We continue to be fascinated by nature around us. This week there’s been a lot of Spinwullies outside. We’ve learned that they are also called Craneflies and Daddy Longlegs! It’s great when our curiosity leads to learning new words and teaches us that our island is unique. Thea, Ali, Elsie and Annie wanted to know what they felt like to touch. They learned how to gently handle the insects and spent time discussing their features. “Dis wan has lang leegs” (Annie) “My wan is sitting right still. I’m no going to spray him becis he’ll no lik dat on his wings” (Thea) “Can I tak my pet home? It’s a peerie Spinwullie so he could fit easy” (Ali).
Annie and Thea were curious about colour mixing this week. They asked for green and red colours to paint the pavement. They were interested when a tray of powder (cornflour) with liquid colour (food colouring) appeared. They experimented with how to make the powder into paint, deciding on how much water to use. After some painting they decided to mix the colours which interested Ali and Annie. “Look” the green is going red and it’s turning broon! (Annie). The paint started running down the hill. Thea figured out a way to change the direction of the flow using her brush. Being curious about mixing colours and having adults around us to respond to our wonderings led to deep learning experiences linked to science, literacy and numeracy.
In order to develop our curiosity we are asked open ended questions as we play. This is to encourage discussion and conversation and helps us to become even more curious. We are asked questions like: “Why do you think the chalk disappears when you squirt water on it?”, “I wonder what is in the box?, “Who has some words to tell us what the jelly feels like?” and “Where do you think the box of treasure is buried?”.
During our time at nursery we also ask many questions ourselves. This is an important literacy skill. It’s important for us that adults around us answer our questions thoughtfully and help us to seek out answers using the internet, real life contexts and books. Being listened to and being part of the process of finding answers develops excitement and enthusiasm for learning and keeps us curious.
Over the past few weeks many of us have been asking questions such as “Where do you live?”, “Is doo near d beach?” We’ve been learning more about Whalsay to help answer our questions. We’ve used googlemaps to take virtual tours of the island and this week we even got to go on the big bus, stopping off outside our homes to take photos of where we live. We are also very interested in where our food comes from asking questions such as “What boat caught this fish?”, “Do bananas grow on trees?”, Does idder animals give wis milk?” “Can I bake bannocks at nursery?”. Last week Lottie baked bannocks with help from Mrs Williamson and we visited local pigs to discover what they provide for us and how to look after them.
In the nursery we are provided with loose parts and open-ended resources to play with. This ensures that we are offered endless possibilities for curiosity and play. Loose parts encourages us to create our own toys to play with, using our imaginations to figure out what each item is for and how to use it. By engaging in loose parts and playing with natural open ended resources allows us to control and shape our play. We naturally collect items that intrigue and fascinate us such as seashells or smooth unusual pebbles or natural resources. Encouraging these collections enables us to see how valuable our finds are and this in turn sparks curiosity and the desire to search further.
And lastly we are encouraged and supported to develop our curiosity by using tools for exploration, such as magnifying glasses, buckets, measuring tapes, sand, water and containers for our investigations. We are given time and space to explore and investigate our world using these resources, which nurtures a curious mind.
We look forward to sharing more of our learning with you next week 🙂 If you are curious and want to learn more about any specific topic or subject that you would like to be a focus for the blog please get in touch with us.
