Claiming the high learning potential brain to exist inquisitive, happy and flourishing.

What hobbies, facts or experiences intrigue your young person? Apply these as a springboard to further pique their curiosity. With sensitivity, challenge their opinions. Ask them "What would happen if…?" Advantage signs that they are willing to be curious and encourage them to question through hypothesising or (condom) experimentation.

Why Should You Encourage Curiosity?

Curiosity is associated with the development of many positive strengths in life, including:

  • Happiness: Of the 24 possible 'basic human strengths' identified in a large study in 2004i, curiosity was one of the pinnacle five strengths most strongly linked to life fulfilment and happiness.
  • Intelligence: Marvel can be both a sign of intelligence and a tool that promotes growth. Nearly ii,000 'loftier novelty-seeking' (very curious) 3-year-olds were studied. By the age of 11, they were found to have superior scholastic ability, more avant-garde reading skills and their boilerplate scores were 12 points higher on total IQ than peers with low levels of curiositytwo.
  • Relationships: Healthily curious people tend to ask more questions of friends and take a 18-carat and fun interest in them. This supports the evolution of practiced relationships.
  • Resilience: A child with high learning potential ofttimes feels anxiety around not knowing all the answers immediately. Helping them to develop their curiosity changes their mindset – it means that the answers are as however unknown – and that is the fun of information technology!
  • "Marvel and honesty": In the results, presented in 2016, of a survey targeting nearly 500 astronomers, earth scientists, biologists, chemists and physicists who had been honoured in their fields, marvel and honesty are the 2 leading core traits of exemplary scientists https://enquiry.msu.edu/survey-shows-scientists-value-honesty-marvel/ . Nurture these traits!

 Promote Curiosity with Fun Questions

  • Ask frequently: "Who? What? When? Where? How? Why?"
  • Extend these questions then that your child explores their own opinions. For case, "How do you think this would change considering of different amounts of coin / religious beliefs / being on (a named planet) / the time of twelvemonth / social distancing guidelines / ecology concerns…?"
  • "What if…?" Make information technology a habit to be inquisitive. When preparing tiffin, ask "Could we abound new vegetables from these end pieces or peelings?" Hash out your ideas in detail – and test out crazy theories! (Or, in this example, visit https://www.ruralsprout.com/regrow-vegetables/…)
  • Everyday objects can exist fascinating. Has your child ever seen a pair of binoculars, corkscrew, onetime-fashioned telephone or VHS tape before? What could it be? How might it piece of work? Would it exist ok underwater or in a cartoon…?
  • "Would y'all rather?" is a pop discussion game you could add to with follow-up questions such equally "Why?" or "Even if you were a dolphin…?"

Be Curious with Arts Activities

Storytelling: what happened next? Hypothesise on a real-life story or fable and reveal developments 1 at a time. Was information technology what you expected? Why (not)? Who might take appeared next and what effect would that have had?

Create a character to star in your own story. The British Library guides you on how to write an animal tale, using as examples The Gruffalo, The Tiger Who Came to Tea –and also a medieval book from 1240! https://www.bl.uk/childrens-books/activities/write-an-animal-tale All iii alloy amazing reality (e.thou. tigers, rhinos and insects) with the fantastical (e.g. unicorn and Gruffalo). How does your immature person feel about mixing things up similar this? Would their existent or imaginary animate being(s) talk in a human language? Why? Might the creatures acquire from each other? How? Where could they each become? What music would they like…?

Inspired past illustration? Watch Axel Scheffler draw a Gruffalo at https://youtu.exist/FcM7xERFttk, or see https://www.bl.uk/childrens-books/videos/axel-scheffler-how-to-draw-a-gruffalo. Is your child interested by his use of different media (e.grand. the initial outlines or later 'fur structure')? Why do they (dis)like Scheffler'south fashion? Let them find inspiration in The Tate'due south online art categories https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms and run wild with Salvador Dali or make Pop Art like Andy Warhol at Tate Kids, https://www.tate.org.uk/kids. Which manner(s) would be interesting for the cosmos of a graphic symbol or prop for a story or game?

Medieval manuscripts and their design styles or philosophies may pique your kid'southward interest. The British Library's colourful resources are a true 'A to Z' of everything from the Arabic tenth-century Qur'an written in Eastern Kufic script … to Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living earth-religions, https://world wide web.bl.great britain/sacred-texts. Why are they curiously absurd to study or recreate? What links are in that location to other art styles, languages or historical reference points?

Investigate through Due south.T.Eastward.M.

Light Labs are perfect for curiously mixing projected colours, shapes and light patterns and employ only simple elements like coloured-water, glass jars and torches https://www.tate.org.u.k./kids/make/performance/make-light-lab.

Dyson's Claiming Cards bring together 44 engineering and scientific discipline scenarios, downloadable for free from The James Dyson Foundation, https://world wide web.jamesdysonfoundation.co.great britain/resource/challenge-cards.html. Spark curious discussion with questions like "Can yous build a spaghetti bridge that'south strong enough to concord a handbag of saccharide?". Attempt the experiment or watch online equally Dyson engineers tackle some examples.

Questionnaires composed by your high potential learner on any subject of particular interest to them could exist put to friends, family or neighbours – even over e-mail or video chat. (See besides 'Family' below.) How do they want to interpret and brandish their findings? Smashing mathematicians might plot the results on a graph or Venn diagram and so lobby their local MP! What other options and 'next steps' are there?

Explore Your Family unit

Find out more most your friends and family. Play '20 Questions' to learn fun facts most them and 'when', 'where', etc.

Interviews or questionnaires can start with your kid'due south own interests and then go them curious! For instance, if they are fired up by football or fashion, inquire if their carers or grandparents wore 'club' shirts, branded t-shirts or lycra? Why (not)? Is this what they expected? How do their siblings and friends dress? What might their ain children wear or ask in the time to come?

Birthplace and belonging. Where was the young person built-in and to which country(ies) or civilisation(due south) do they feel that they belong? What practice they remember makes a family? How is their ain family put together? The British Library celebrates the diverse bonds in today's club and can provoke discussion through stories nearly the nature of Home, Family and Belonging in Children's Books, https://www.bl.uk/childrens-books/articles/home-family unit-and-belonging-in-childrens-books.

A 'friends or family unit' tree tin can be a fascinating project for those curious about their heritage or sense of belonging. How would the near important people be selected?

High Learning Potential

Why not run your own 'Exist Curious' weekend? Create your own version based on Potential Plus UK'south 2019 weekend (Exist Curious Weekend 2019; Being Curious at Beaumanor Hall).   Some activities could be tried at home, in the garden or a school playground.

  • Indoors: try a Victorian school twenty-four hours; code-breaking; exploring the Census; and living life before 'mod cons', such as paw-pumping water, tub-washing clothes and squeezing out water with a 'mangle' or gadget you take made yourselves!
  • Outdoors: create a shelter; build a bridge; construct and race basic 'barrel and pole' buggies; or explore ancient Celtic behavior and pigment yourself blueish!

Blogs from Potential Plus United kingdom

Potential Plus UK's blogs often include great ideas for stimulating curious thinking. Why not try the following and if they make yous curious then explore our site for more:

  • Creative Thinking: Become for a Flare-up sets you upwards for 'conversational brainstorming'!
  • Firework Activities spark ideas for a huge range of cultural, scientific and creative projects all year round.
  • Grow Their Giftedness: Tips and Activities for Children with High Learning Potential

Go on Curious – and Be Happy!

[i] Christopher Peterson & Martin Seligman, (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and nomenclature.

[two] Raine, Reynolds, Venables & Mednick, (2002). Stimulation seeking and intelligence: A prospective longitudinal study. Periodical of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(iv), 663–674.

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Virtually the author:Gillie Ithell is a writer and editor for Potential Plus United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland with a B.A. degree in Modern Languages & Advice. Having worked internationally as content manager of archetype board games and 'edutainment' software, Gillie at present writes to inspire others like herself; on a daily journeying with High Learning Potential.