Did you ever watch Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as a kid? I have to admit that I was not a big fan. But after reading When You Wonder, You're Learning, I feel like I missed out on so much by not watching as often as I could have!
Authors Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski take lessons from the children's program and apply those lessons to today's parents, caregivers, and educators. How can we help today's children be curious and creative, work together and effectively communicate, connect with others, and learn from their mistakes? It all seems so obvious, but we as adults might have been taught different things when we were little. (Not all of us watched Mister Rogers' Neighborhood!) So before we can begin to help our children, we have to retrain the way we think and respond to situations in order to model the right behavior.
As a Genius of Play ambassador for the Toy Association, one passage in the book really stuck out. In the chapter about creativity, the authors write about how "play has grown increasingly absent from children's lives" (62). This is due in part to afterschool activities and screentime. This means that kids' lives are also missing out on problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity, which are all skills learned through play.
At the end of each chapter, there are some take-action suggestions to help adults reinforce these important concepts with their children or students.
If you are a parent, caregiver, or educator, I highly recommend reading this book!
When You Wonder, You're Learning is published by Hachette Go and is available to purchase now. I received a free review copy.
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