Kids Are Born Scientists

“Kids are born scientists. They’re born probing the natural world that surrounds them. They’ll lift up a rock. They’ll pick up a bug. They’ll pull petals off of a flower. They’ll ask you why the grass is green and the sky is blue, and they’ll experiment with breakable things indoor a house. I think the best thing a parent can do, when raising a child, is simply get out of their way.”

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

You have to love those words, right?  Remembering back on my childhood, and I’m aware this may sound like wistful exaggeration, but I have little recollection, if any, of being bored.  Nature fascinated me.  There was a park a few blocks from our house, and that park was a fascinating place.  On trips to the ocean, turning over rocks and shells to see what was underneath.  Looking in tidal pools for the ocean’s treasures.  A trip to the mountain and a sight of a deer, an elk, marmots, lake waters so blue they almost seemed magical.

And always these wonders were followed by the simple question “why?”  Which led to learning, and more discovery, and more learning.  And all without a teacher to guide the process.

The next time your child comes home after a visit to our Farm, ask them what they discovered in the fields and small woodland.  And after they tell you, you can follow up on their information by saying one word: WHY?