"A Place for Wonder"

I was working Saturday and would have lapses of time between work sessions. I pulled out a book that caught my eye-it's called "A Place For Wonder" by Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough. This book reminded me how important it is to encourage a child's (particularly a GT child's) natural curiosity for the world around them.

I get questions pretty much all day long from my students (which I always love, by the way). Where to chairs come from? Why are flamingoes pink? (actually had to look that answer up because I didn't know). What else is in space? Why is the sun so hot? It amazes me sometimes how their little minds work.

I am going to start implementing some of the ideas from this book and make a "Discovery Center". A place for kids to bring in their treasures from nature. I feel like in the past my-nothing comes in from outside rule-was doing them an injustice. (You wouldn't believe what their pockets were full of some days). And we are also going to start a "Wonder Wall" a place where they can post their questions and have other kids attempt to answer them. How much will this help them later in there education? Being able to model for them how to find the answer to a question or how to critically think about what the answer may be. I'm so excited to tell the kids about this tomorrow-I know they will just adore it.