Nurture Your Kid’s Curiosity, Collaboration and Ecology

Hi all! There is a guest writer this week! I am super excited for all the content she will be sharing with all of you ( Nurture Your Kid’s Curiosity, Collaboration and Ecology). I am excited for her share her home projects and perspective with us all on amomandherblog. Hopefully you will find her easy projects as a go to, to enjoy with your kids. Here are few facts about her:

Her Name is Lisa. Her blog is DoTHatAtHome.com. She is a mom of 2 lovely grown girls, and now 2 rescue dogs. Avid DIYer, remodeler, and crafter. Without any further delay I will turn it over to her.

So Lets Talk About – How to Nurture Your Kid’s Curiosity, Collaboration, and Ecology

Kids are naturally curious, and that’s a great thing. Curiosity helps keep us open minded about the world, helps us think outside the box when problem solving, and helps us be creative. Those are all good things in my book.

Strike While the Iron is Hot

Kids are very observant and want to do things that they see their parents doing. This is the perfect time to introduce them to all sorts of tools and machines. I know it can slow things down to let your little one help, but trust me, you can’t go back in time once those years are gone. They want to know how tools work, whether it be the mixer, hammer, screwdriver, or sewing machine. You can give them simple explanations encouraging them to ask questions and further their confidence.

You know your child better than anyone else, so you know their maturity level and attention span. Address their desire to work with tools accordingly. That being said, they may just be able to handle some tools that you thought were a little beyond their scope, so keep an open mind as well.

Help Your Kids See the Big Picture

It is really fun to try to bang a nail into a block of wood or mix ingredients in a mixing bowl, but you can also help them see the big picture. For example, we are going to add these ingredients, measure them carefully, mix them a certain way, bake them for this long, and when it is all done, we can share some yummy cupcakes with your friends. This will help teach them about planning, execution, and reward. The immediate goal is dumping in the flour or the joy of cracking the eggs into the bowl, but there is also the delayed gratification of completing the task and sharing with others.

Put Your Kid’s Work on Display

In this day and age it is really easy and convenient to post their masterpieces on social media. This will encourage them to try more things and cultivate a feeling of accomplishment. However, don’t forget the old school methods of displaying their work. Go ahead and wear that macaroni and paperclip necklace, I just bet someone at the grocery store will tell you (in front of your child) how lovely it is. If they make a birdhouse, paver, or bee waterer, make it a focal point of your garden. They will have that memory for a lifetime.

Let them Get Dirty

While researching these topics, I found some great advice that I wish I had thought of when my kids were young. 

1. Let them get dirty. I mentioned earlier that my son’s mom simply threw his clothes away after he completely wrecked them while using wood stain. Apparently, this is a good thing. Maybe not to that extreme, but it’s good to have a place and a time when a kid can worry less about staying clean and just enjoy the moment.

2. Get your child a set of “work clothes.” I would guess that most of us have clothes dedicated as outfits we wear when repairing the house, woodworking, gardening, or any other projects in which we get dirty. In keeping with the ‘let them get dirty’ theme, have some clothing items that your child can wear that they don’t have to worry about ruining while on their tool education journey. Having “official” work clothes will give them a sense of importance and relevance.

3. Think about getting them a tool belt or a tool box that they can call their own. This can be a great way to get them started on keeping their tools organized. Have them be responsible for keeping their tools clean and organized.

Keep It Fun and Light

We all like fun. Try to keep things fun and rewarding. We like to do things that are fun and shy away from things that are a drag. Our kids also pick up our attitudes as well as our habits, so show them how fun it can be do dance around with the Swiffer, make up stories about setting the dust free to go back and be dirt again and how they can tell their friends they used a real hammer! Feel free to pop over and see our post on Teaching your kids to use tools HERE

Teach Your Kids To Collaborate

We all bring certain skills and points of view to the table when we work together, even our kids. Let them have some choices, should we paint this green or blue? What do you think would happen if we tried it this way? If the situation allows, let them make a mistake or two and praise them for trying it a new way or letting them know how valuable it is to try again. Remember the story of how many times it took Edison to invent the light bulb?

Having kids help with household repairs or maintenance will teach them about collaboration, but also start them along the path of independence and self-sufficiency. You can feel good they will be able to fix a simple meal, change a lock, or sew on a button entering young adulthood. One of the best projects is to let them paint their own rooms, or make handprint designs on the wall. They could measure out a measuring stick on the wall, paint the measuring stick in a fun design and then mark the measuring stick as they grow. I let my kids paint their own rooms, one picked neon green and orange stripes and the other one picked teal and chocolate brown. They loved it and it didn’t hurt anything. I always figure you can repaint the walls and it allows them to have self-expression. Additional ideas at can be found HERE

Teach Your Kids About Ecology

A really great project to teach your kids about ecology is to make a bee waterer. Making the bee waterer is very simple, and it is a fantastic way to take a step towards helping out the planet. It is also fun for kids (who doesn’t like playing with water and rocks?) and a valuable way to teach them ecology and being good stewards of the earth.

Bees and other pollinators need water to live, just as other animals do. Water is also used to help keep the hive cool, for thinning the nectar that they feed to larva, as well as keeping  the humidity inside the hive at correct levels during dry times. The bees take the water back to the nest and the water droplets are fanned by worker bees, this cools the nest and keeping the conditions right for egg development. Bees need lots water when it is hot and dry out.  This project is very inexpensive, quick, and easy. Basically all you need is a shallow dish and some rocks. You could check out to see what you have on hand and maybe even go to the beach or park to pick up some special rocks that I’m sure the bees will love. For the full tutorial, please feel free to check out –

I hope you all have enjoyed this article on how to Nurture Your Kid’s Curiosity, Collaboration and Ecology. Thank you so much for having me as a guest on your wonderful blog! It has been so much fun.

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