I love building with you Dad! You are so open to my ideas and we can always try them out.

These words come from my kids at home and are pivotal to how my wife and I parent. The statements that come from inquisitive children bring warmth to my heart. It shows the influence that taking chances bring to our children’s learning. 

Our son has been using hammers and nails since he was 3. Our daughter has been using scissors since she was 2 and a hammer too. Our 1 year old watches her older siblings and takes many chances. Standing on chairs to play the piano, building with blocks and knocking them down, reading books, drawing with glue, creating fairy houses, and sandcastles are ways that children can take chances. You can see the spark of imagination in their eyes as they go throughout their day. My hope is that the spark stays strong and bright while at school too. We believe in giving our kids chances, not dangerous chances, but opportunities to explore.

We need to give our students opportunities to choose every day. Chances that create a spark that will ignite their imagination and encourage them to become part of a community of explorers and innovators.

What kind of explorative chances would students have then?

The Chance to:

Build ideas without someone saying that won’t work

Hear someone say let’s try that

Create a fort and imagine it as something else

Wonder why something didn’t work and investigate why

Engage in authentic research, driven by their own inquiry

Imagine a story that becomes published

ASK QUESTIONS

If we truly want chances we have to pocket our own anxiety and be willing to let learners be learners, not followers. We need to create a sense of positive deviance where our students can be both divergent and convergent thinkers. The environment of our schools need to incubate this ability to take chances. How many of our students come with questions and leave with answers?
What would happen if they came with questions and left with even more questions?

What kind of explorative chances would students have then?