The Curiosity Mission

Goal

Resources

• Pipe cleaners
• Paper
• Any materials needed to make glasses
• Activity Instruction Sheet (optional) click to download

Instructions

1. Plan your “Curiosity Mission.” Choose a task/routine you do often, it could be going to the grocery story, cleaning up after dinner, taking a walk in the park, etc. Your Curiosity Mission will be to find how many ways you can do things differently than you normally would. But first, you need to…
2. Make your curiosity glasses. Using paper, pipe cleaners, or any other materials you have on hand, make some “curiosity glasses” for each participant ( child and adult!) that will be completing the Curiosity Mission. Explain that while you are wearing these glasses, your focus will be on doing things differently than they’ve been done before – once you put them on, the Curiosity Mission has commenced!
3. Do your common task/routine in new ways. Encourage the children (and yourself) to find new ways of doing things. For example, can you open a car door facing away from the car backwards. Take a different route to the park? Get down low – what does the kitchen look like if you sit on the floor (from your child’s eye level)? Follow you and your children’s curiosity to see where it takes you.
4. As the adult, notice how you encourage or discourage curiosity. In particular, you can pay attention to how you communicate fear vs safety and disapproval vs acceptance. Of course, keeping you and your children’s safety in mind, become personally curious about what you say “yes” to and what you say “no” to. How do you decide what is “safe” and what is “not safe”? Did you know that many times, adults constrain children’s curiosity through 1) fear 2) disapproval and 3) absence. How can you encourage more curiosity?
5. Take a photo of you and your children in your curiosity glasses and share your Curiosity Mission with everyone on Facebook or Instagram!

Discussion

• How did it feel to explore your common task in curious ways?
• How can you make your life filled with curiosity?
• For the adult(s)– in what ways do you encourage or discourage curiosity with the children in your life?

Extensions

Write the story of your day with a curious slant– maybe instead of brushing your teeth with toothpaste, you use glitter! See how curious you can be.

Activity Source