This series of blog posts looks at learning a different way. Instead of what we can teach kids, it’s what kids can teach us. Thinking about what we can learn from kids, helps us to better support their learning and kindergarten readiness.
In this photo, 2 children are at an aquarium and show that we can learn by watching. The children are fascinated just watching the fish, their eyes following the fish all around. As they watch, they are also learning, noticing how the fish move, their sizes, colors, and shapes, looking at similarities and differences, picking out small details. Sometimes what kids do not see is just as interesting, “Fish don’t blink their eyes. Hey, they don’t have any eyelids.”
Brains make connections from just watching. “One really cool thing this tells us, is that when you’re watching things going on in the world, your brain is always working,” (Gribble, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience–UWO). As your child plays and interacts with his/ her world notice how your little one watches. By commenting on it, you support your child in using this learning strategy, “Wow, I saw that you really looked at that to figure out how it works.” Ask your child questions about what he/she sees. Learning by observing can be a powerful process for kids. Do you see the value in this?