About Enthusiasm, By Paige Gordon, Principal
At Spark! Discovery Preschool, we define ENTHUSIASTIC as, “I AM EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING AND THE WORLD AROUND ME.”
Preschoolers are naturally inclined as enthusiastic learners, and our goal at Spark! Discovery Preschool is to continue this enjoyment for learning and life. We want our preschoolers’ interests to be developed and SPARKED. It’s important that they show personal interest and excitement about school, hobbies, and activities they are involved in. This important trait will sustain them through life-long learning opportunities. It will aid them in their curiosity, creativity, and eagerness to learn new things and ask questions. In terms of supporting the development of this trait in the home, here are a few ideas for developing this STEM trait in your preschooler.
- Give your child encouragement to try new things of interest. This sounds like, “I like how you tried something new today,” or, “What do you want to explore?”
- Praise your child when they complete tasks. This sounds like, “I am so proud of you for finishing. Even when it got a little difficult you stuck with it,” or, “I am so proud of you for starting something and finishing it!”
- Also talk about the tough days—days when things didn’t go as planned. Overcoming challenges and pitfalls are an important part of staying enthusiastic – this helps to build our resilience and be able to bounce back from failures.
- Help your child to follow and pursue their wonderings and questions. When they ask a question, let them know that you can help them to plan, think, and investigate their ideas. Pursue answers to these questions together in books, on the internet, with experiments, and with simple experiences.
- Model enthusiasm by showing them what it looks like and sounds like (For example, “Isn’t it going to be cool when we get to read this new library book? I can’t wait to learn about insects!” or, “School is tomorrow! Your teacher will be there waiting for you to help you learn new things. When I pick you up, I want you to tell me something remember about the day,” or, “I saw there is a cooking class being offered at school—do you want to take this? You love to help daddy with cooking so much it might be fun to take a class to learn more.”)
- Check out and read a book from the library. Here are some ideas:
- Amazing Grace (Mary Hoffman)
- A Nice Walk in the Jungle (Nan Bodsworth)
- Doodledum Dancing (Meredith Costain and Pamela Allen)
- Dr. Seuss Horray for Diffendoofer Day (Jack Prelutsky)
- Olga the Brolga (Rod Clement)
- The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews
- The Magnificent Tree by Nick Brand
- Not a Box or Not a Stick