By
Maaz Mohammad A.Q
Children have great imagination and thinking. And when it comes to imagination, it is very important for child's thinking skills. As enstein too emphasized, 'Imagination is more important than knowledge'. We should create situations for children to imagine. Most adults feel that children know only the things which we teach them. But it is not true. Children self-learn many things by observing things around them. Children reflect and question themselves when they see things around them. They are the powerful observers. They are the little scientists. They don't have pre-assumptions as much as we adults have. This in one way makes their understanding clear.
How could we teachers and parents guide children to develop strong knowledge and understanding of the world.
- It could be simply by listening to them patiently.
- Being humble and polite during the conversation.
- Responding to their questions and answers even though it is silly.
- Asking open ended questions.
- Its okay to go beyond textbook if something is getting greater and interesting by going out of story. Because as a teacher we have atleast this autonomy.
- Let us not do a story and rhyme, just for the sake of completing it; we can touch upon vocabulary, important story plot, highlight main characters, and comprehend the text.
- Ask them to explain the scene in picture card/workbook.
- Connect the story to real life experiences and surroundings from which children come from.
With these few strategies, surely you will be helping your child to construct the understanding of the world.
'Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement'. – Ken Robinson