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Although success in school is wonderful, fostering a love of learning is even more important to me.  School will eventually end, but learning can be a lifelong and rewarding endeavor.   Luckily, kids come prewired for curiosity and learning, and all we have to do is encourage them.

Play into their natural curiosity

Sometimes, after a long day, it can get tiresome to answer the endless questions a 6 year old can generate.  My son is a master questioner.  “Where do rocks come from?  Why do eggs look like that when you cook them?  Why did it snow in April when it’s supposed to be Spring?”   My daughter, almost 2, isn’t quite as sophisticated yet, and her questions are more of the “What dis?” variety.  Still, they both naturally ask questions and wonder about things.  When I can, I answer them.  For my oldest, I sometimes send him to a book for the answer.  I try to be as encouraging and open to questions as possible, although since I am human, I fully admit to occasionally setting a limit of 5 questions per hour!

Build on their interests

Children often gravitate to something particular: trains, animals, construction, babies, outer space.  A child’s interest can generate a lot of learning activities.  My son got interested in space around age 4 and at 6.5, that interest is still going strong.    I got him a bunch of space-themed toys and books, and then just let him do his thing.  He learned the planets (and some of the moons).  He learned various facts about the solar system and stars.  He learned about rockets and telescopes and the seasons and gravity.  One thing just led to another.  My daughter is too young to really get involved in a subject, but I still surround her with things she loves.  She is fascinated by animals, so we have books featuring animals, and realistic animal toys.  Outside, we look at bugs, birds, and turtles, and I imagine a trip to the zoo is in our near future.

Think about multiple learning styles

If we were unfortunate enough to attend unimaginative schools, we may picture learning as a passive activity where a teacher imparts knowledge and we repeat it back.  Learning, however, should be a dynamic and active experience.  Kids (and adults) all have different ways of learning.  Exposing them to different experiences in different ways allows them to learn more easily.  Kids are hands on.   One day, for instance, my son and I decided to learn more about rocks, so we spent an afternoon drawing with them on cement and sorting the rocks by hardness.  My son still talks about that, and it was such a simple activity

Play is learning and learning is play

For young children, everything is a learning experience.  There is no separation between learning and play.  Helping bake cookies teaches measurement, following a recipe, and even physics.  Card games teach counting.  For my toddler, endlessly throwing a ball in the air teaches her about gravity.  By allowing them to participate in our day, kids learn.

Turn off the tube

I’m not anti-TV by any means, and my kids have learned a lot from some good shows on tv.  But I do limit it so that they can get out in the world and learn about it.

Let them see your curiosity

Don’t forget your inner child!  Read, go to parks and museums, look up the answer to questions.  Share your own learning with your children.  You won’t regret it.