They say curiosity killed the cat, but I am at least thankful the cat had a look... 
Children need to have a look. Grab it. Squeeze it (unless it is a cat, they don't like it!)

I want a child to develop a lively and inquiring mind - so how can we encourage curiosity?

Curiosity is…
“in the small moments of discovery that big dreams are born. When little fingers are buried in the earth, an archaeologist has made his first dig. When curious eyes peer at stars through a paper-towel roll, an astronaut has made her first spacewalk. When chubby hands wrap a washcloth cast around a cat’s tail, a doctor has healed their first patient… Let the children play. Our future depends on it.” L R Knost

Do you have things to make children curious?

I don’t mean Challenge Based Learning/Games Based Learning/Mantle of the Expert and so on. All of these approaches have various benefits and like any system or approach to teaching and learning can work well and help children to succeed academically, socially and personally.

I mean ‘Curious’.
Puzzled, Perplexed, Inquisitive, Intrigued, Eager… [Insert thesaurus link here…]
I mean getting a genuine WTF?! Moment. (Perhaps not literally, but most certainly figuratively!)

Sometimes, I like to give children a ‘thing’.

Ø  A Bird’s Nest
Ø  A Skull
Ø  A Plant/Cactus/Leaf
Ø  A Piece of Wood/Bark
Ø  A Deer Antler
Ø  A Unusual Artefact

Anything which I think will spark a little interest from the children.

Children are inherently curious creatures! 

This goes without saying, but I have sometimes met children who aren’t. They just want to be told the answer, the explanation, they aren’t seeking the answer themselves. I worry that some times the answer is “Google it”. As though the internet has become to children (as adults – Guilty Your Honour!) the sole, all-encompassing fountain of all the required knowledge and understanding available. I recently taught a child (11) who referred to himself as a ‘Wikispert’ – he had everything he needed to know on WikiPedia – now that is scary! 

Although I was impressed with his noun creation.

When presented with a ‘Curiosity’, children’s discussion can be very powerful indeed.

Towards the end of some work on Teeth, I showed the children (Y2) a Skull (it was a Sheep). 
I asked them 1 question and 1 question only, the rest came from them.

My question: “What is it?”

Discussion grew organically and followed a sequence including all these responses, talking to each other, not me …

• It’s fake
  
• Definitely not real
  
• It’s a skull
  
• Not a human one
  
• It’s got teeth
  
• They’re big teeth
  
• They’re big, flat Teeth
  
• They’re Molars
  
• No canines though
  
• It’s from a Herbivore
  
• A what?
  
• A herbivore only eats plants
  
• Is it a Goat?
  
• Or a Sheep?
  
• It’s too small for a Cow or a Horse
  
• My dog has sharp teeth
  
• So does my cat, it’s teeth are REALLY sharp
  
• Yes, they are the canine ones, for gripping
  
• Dogs aren’t herbivores
  
• No, they eat meat
  
• A dog is a Carnivore, like a Lion or a Crocodile
  
• What does a dog’s skull look like?
  
• I bet it is different to this one….

                                                         And off they went!

The vocabulary they used, understood, shared and modeled together then led to some purposeful research, done both online and in the library just outside the classroom. The written and Art that was produced was excellent and was scientific in nature and saw the children applying the language that had been used in discussion.
                                                                                               (On a small aside – The OfSted Inspector at the back liked it too!)

I only asked 1 question, 3 words, 8 letters…

The rest came from curiosity.

We had the initial “Ewwwww!”, “Gross!”, and an internal “WTF?!”
They could then draw upon and apply knowledge and understanding and use it to build more.

Getting children to investigate and utilise that inherent curiosity they have in spades is important, the guidance is important too.

Remember the Nature Table?
I do – so many fond memories.
I find they aren’t as common as they used to be. What with Health & Safety, cleanliness and other such protocols – all of which have such valuable learning and experience value for young children, have limited its use.

Bring it back I say!
Either that or a ‘Curiosity Table’.
Something that could easily be changed for different themes and topics, gives the children time and opportunity to work out objects origins, uses, materials, ages etc.

They can question, practice and investigate. They can get it wrong and try again.

Sticks, tools, rocks, fossils, bones, egg shells, flowers, historical artefacts, nests, feathers, crops, various leaves…
Anything that allows you to start with “What is it?”

The simplest and one of the most powerful questions you can ask!
Second only to “Why?”

And aren’t these the 2 questions that children ask the most?

Let’s ask them instead!

I have transferred this post from an old blog post from July 10, 2008

I arranged a Maths Week in school, which was well received by all and thought I’d share.

I based it around the ideas in this document which might be useful if you are doing or planning to do the same.

Document Updated for download (June 2015)

Please leave any further ideas you might have as comments.
I would love to build up a bank of ideas for future years to make it bigger and better!

I also created a Maths Trail around the local church which the children really enjoyed:

Here are some ideas for Maths Trails for different age groups:

The end of the Easter break, the sun is out and even though Outdoor Learning can and does take place all year round, whatever the weather, this is the time when the more reluctant teacher ventures out of the classroom. 
I’ve been there, we all have.

When the sun shines everyone is more inclined to go outside. It is natural. I like to try and do it in cold, wind, snow, rain, fog - every weather type has its benefits and challenges and they each lend themselves to different learning experiences... be it writing letters home from the trenches with freezing fingers leaning on wet grass or if you are lucky, a friend's back. You might be surveying minibeasts and sampling different plant types on the field in light drizzle or building grass igloos in the bright summer sun!

The summer term is a term that comes with many pressures on top of those that come as standard. Testing and the Leavers' Show (Y6 teachers, you know it, right?) are just two, Y6 Prom (if you are that way inclined), residential trips (though not always). Summer is busy!

This post was inspired by a colleague who asked me what basic resources I thought should be on hand for use outside. 
Good question.

They wanted simple ideas to build on what they had already and so they could start collecting.
I went away and had a think...

This is a list of the resources I think are the easy difference makers.
They are all easy to find and source. They are relatively Low cost and High Impact. 

I wanted to include items on the list that could easily be used with children of any age (EYFS to KS2), for a diverse variety of learning experiences in different curriculum areas.

It is not a perfect or complete list. I would encourage reflection and discussion. 

I wanted to do a Top 10, but ended up with a top 27, I pared down and combined and ended up settling myself on a Top 12. Close enough!

I selected each item because they have a variety of uses and applications. 
Use your imagination. 
I am simply not going to patronise anyone reading with a suggestion list.

After I first published this list on my website I recieved feedback - I was glad of it.@SollyKathryn suggested: 

Tarpaulin to make a shelter or den or to sit on, Gutters and pipe, Water carrier, Light weight short ladder, fir cones, conkers, leaves etc.

I couldn't agree more - most were on my long list, but were combined or switched in favour of others.

I also had a long Learning Outside the Classroom brainstorm session via Twitter with@MissSMerrill, it was the sort of chat I need to go back and read again - Everything from Making Charcoal, books and growing plants to make dyes... Great stuff.

If you can do it inside, you can probably do it outside too... Bring the Outside In.