Developing Best Brains

03/13/2014

Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
E.E. Cummings

In her article, "Best Brains in Science under Five: Helping Children Develop Intentionality," which is included in the Exchange Essential — Supporting the Development of Scientific Thinking, Judy Harris Helm offers suggestions such as these to teachers for helping children learn to be thoughtful:

Listen carefully to children’s conversations and identify topics of interest.
Pay attention to what children are doing.
Add materials to the classroom related to children’s interest as they emerge. Encourage children to contribute materials.
Don’t jump in and tell children answers or go immediately to a book or the Internet. Today answers can be found in seconds, but this creates child dependence on adults who have mastered the skills of reading and writing and not how young children learn.
Don’t be afraid to provoke children’s thinking. Challenge them to find an answer, create a model, or do observational drawing.

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