As parents, we want the best for our children and we want to
protect them. Not just from harm but from the harshness of failure. It’s hard
for us to let go and allow our children to discover life on their own. But whether we like it or not, they need to be allowed to
make mistakes. It is through their mistakes and life’s experiences that they
become a thinking person. Our children need to know that it’s ok to fail and
that they will be loved no matter what.
We spend so much money building up their intelligence via
tuition and enrichment lessons that sometimes we forget to build them up to be
strong, confident, and thinking individuals who will succeed in the real world.
Dr Edward de Bono, a guru in lateral thinking, once wrote that there is “nothing to prevent intelligent people from being excellent thinkers. But this does not follow automatically. There is a need to develop the skill of thinking.”
Children think and learn by being engaged, and not by sitting behind their desks. Give them an opportunity to play and see their eyes light up! It begs us to ask why is it that children are so alive at recess but become zombies once they are back in their classes? And if they are engaged while at play, why aren't schools designed such that they also learn through play? Thankfully we are now beginning to see an active change to incorporate more interactivity into our schools' curriculum.
Kids Invent! is a program that embodies this concept of learning through play. Kids are engaged in science based projects that also help them acquire life skills that are in line with the outcomes of a 21st Century Education, that is creativity, innovation,
collaboration, communication, problem solving, critical thinking and
entrepreneurship.
The uniqueness of the program is that it allows the learning
process to evolve through play. Children create and innovate with little or no
adult intervention, using things that they can find in their household or
recycled items. In so doing, they learn not only about science based concepts
but also about themselves. Just as in play, they will fumble and fall, make
mistakes and deal with the frustrations of failure, but they also learn how to
pick themselves up and move on.
You can’t find a learning experience in which children will
learn more at a faster rate. They learn how to work in a team; how to use
tools; materials; how to solve problems; and how to observe, measure, report
and graph. And, they develop an understanding of the science and how it works!
The learning is real – meaning that not only will they pass
the test in school, they can pass the test in life by being able to apply what
they have learned.
The learning also continues in the home as the children are asked
to improve their designs by making models at home. That’s where we come in. We
as parents need to support this continual learning process, providing our
children with a secure and supportive environment to develop to their
potential, and in doing so, we experience the joys of helping our children
discover more about themselves through play.
Life’s short – do the best stuff first!
Join our online community at www.facebook.com/KidsInventJLPC and LIKE our page to keep abreast of our upcoming activities.
(Writer is a trainer with the Kids Invent!, the world's
leading provider of innovation based kids science activities that stimulate the
creative interests and abilities of children ages 7 - 15yrs. Kids Invent! was
created by Prof. Timothy Stearns, Executive Director of the Lyles Center for
Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fresno and Prof.
Ed Sobey, President of the Northwest Invention Center.)
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