Dear Parents
For the next fortnight we are focusing on the school value of reflection. In the spirit of this, in assembly today, I read Oh the Thinks you can Think by Dr. Seuss.
What I love about Dr. Seuss, is that he is a children’s writer who constantly thinks ‘outside the box’ and he develops the reader’s ability to think outside the box too. Freeing up the mind is essential for unleashing creativity and enabling problem solving.
Sometimes, the journey is more important than the destination. It is so with helping your child develop their ability to reflect deeply. You can help them in the little things you do, say and engage in with them. For example, you can ask open-ended questions to guide them towards answering their own questions themselves. You can encourage them to experiment, to observe, to give their observations and to suggest what conclusions they come to, based on the evidence they produce.
Play is a great way to promote thinking, make sure that there are physical opportunities for play, making things, exploring and problem solving in your home life.
Patience and self-discipline are required of adults to give children the time to find solutions for themselves. Remember that they are not just finding the answer, they are learning how to find answers. Like in the adage, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.
You can deepen their reflection with open-ended questions such as, ‘What do you want to find out?’ and, ‘How can you find out?’
Then you can take them further with questions like, ‘If we do this, what do you think will happen?’ or ‘Let's predict what we think will happen next.’
Taking time to allow your child to create solutions themselves is a good step towards developing your child’s ability to be an independent thinker.
I hope you have a great weekend together.
Warm regards
Malcolm Wood (Mr.)
Head of Primary
