A curiosity journal for your kids

Children have an insatiable curiosity about the world around them. They love to ask questions, research answers, and explore the unknown. As parents, we can encourage the constant nurturing of that curious outlook on life with the following daily, summer activity.

As a congratulatory gift for an amazing finish to a school year, you could present a curiosity journal to your child to use each day in the summer.  Explain how a curiosity journal can be an awesome place to write down questions about our world and jot down observations of people, places and things.  Tell the kids how they can use this raw material to further their study at the library or with Google.  Through this activity, your child is honing not only their research skills, but also their critical thinking. 

Some of their topics of discovery in this curiosity journal could lead to a short story, a poem, a play, or inspiration for an art piece. Your child may find that this is a great source of inspiration during the school year too when the teacher asks for a personal essay or creative writing piece.

Not every kid loves to write or do homework. With this simple introduction of a curiosity journal, you may find that your hesitant student starts to feel more and more confident as a writer and debater.  Maybe you could spend time once a week with your child to connect and talk about the discoveries and observations recorded in the curiosity journal.

What a wonderful way to encourage personal reflection, scientific exploration, and creative brainstorming.  This can also be an awesome way to start meaningful conversations with your child and teenager.

The summer break can be the perfect time to build on the creative and critical thinking skills developed over the school year.

Possibly you could start a curiosity journal too! Your child would probably love having a "curiosity buddy" over the summer.  You both could learn some new things along the way.