Charlotte is a Scientist

Bruce is a Biology teacher. That means that we talk about science in our house sometimes. Apparently, Charlotte has been paying attention and now I have taken to calling her my little scientist.

I was inspired really though, by this post at API Speaks. She shared this quote from Jan Hunt:

A two-year-old is a very curious person, always experimenting, always exploring. He is in fact, a scientist! And if you look at his activities in that way, it can change your perspective and allow creative ideas to emerge, making life easier for you and for him. I’d like to suggest an exercise to try. For one day, picture him not as a small child, but rather as a visiting scientist. Pretend this scientist is staying at your home for a day. This person needs materials to use, needs time to do his research, and will need your assistance from time to time. If we had a visiting scientist at our house, wouldn’t we feel curious ourselves as to what he is doing, and wouldn’t we feel honored to be helping when we can? That’s exactly the right attitude to take with a busy toddler.

And you know what... it has made all of the difference in how patient I am with her. I can tolerate her repeating mundane tasks over and over again knowing that she is really just repeating her experiments - like any good scientist would!

Comments

  1. DocTue Jul 01, 12:24:00 PM EDT

    I like thinking of Charlotte this way and hope we can encourage her inquisitiveness. One of the most disappointing things about being a teacher is seeing how most students have simply lost the desire to learn. Few students are actually interested in the world around them and fewer are willing to invest much energy into finding answers to questions, even their own questions. Charlotte doesn’t need a reason to investigate something; she doesn’t worry about whether it’s relevant to her life. She is simply curious about the world.

    “A large volume of adventures may be grasped within this little span of life, by him who interests his heart in everything.”
    Laurence Sterne (1713 - 1768)

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