Hi Reader,

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Today, we are kicking off our email series about supporting your child's growth through play and everyday activities. Each week, we'll focus on a key area—discovery, creativity, and imagination—that helps children develop and learn.

This week, we're starting with discovery. Let's look at simple ways to encourage your child to explore through their natural curiosity.

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What Does Discovery Mean?

Discovery means to explore, find, and reveal—to learn something new. It's the start of cultivating interests and sparking new ideas.

For toddlers and preschoolers, discovery often looks like engaging and playful experiences: feeling the texture of leaves, noticing what floats or sinks in water, or figuring out how to stack blocks higher. These everyday explorations encourage curiosity and help children connect with the world.

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Why Is Discovery Important in Early Childhood Development?

Children are naturally curious, and discovery is essential to their early development. Encouraging exploration, problem-solving, and experimentation during play builds communication skills, confidence, and creative thinking.

Toddlers and preschoolers are curious and rely on all their senses for exploration and discovery. They love to smell, taste, listen, touch, examine, and even take things apart to understand how they work.

Did you know that young children learn best through self-guided play? When we create an environment that encourages discovery—by offering time, materials, and opportunities to explore—children learn to ask questions, observe, and analyze information—all of which are key to cognitive development.

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How to Support Discovery in Your Child

You can nurture your child's curiosity and love of discovery with a few simple ideas:

• Offering sensory experiences, like a food-tasting activity, where they can describe what foods look, feel, and taste like.
• Experimenting with hands-on activities, like exploring "What Do Magnets Attract?"​
• Introducing new materials to their play area, such as magnetic blocks or unique tools like a garlic press, in their playdough activities.​
• Ask open-ended questions like "What might happen if we try this?" to inspire curiosity and conversation.
• Visit a science museum or a hands-on discovery center. These places often offer interactive exhibits where children can experiment, observe, and engage directly with concepts like motion, light, and sound.

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Books to Inspire Discovery

Reading together is another way to foster curiosity. Here are a few books to explore with your child:

• ​What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada​
• ​The Curious Garden by Peter Brown​
• ​The Adventures of Nonna and the Little Red Truck in Winter by Kathy Brandon​

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Want More Activities?

Explore our blog post: 41 Indoor Activities. It has easy, engaging ideas to keep your child busy, curious, and exploring.

Make time this week to explore with your child. Whether you uncover little details or make exciting discoveries, these shared experiences can lead to new adventures.

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What will you discover next?

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All the best,

Kimberli and Joseph

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