King’s Bangkok Early Years: “Curiosity as a Way of Being”

As part of our ongoing series sharing lessons from 'Bottling Joy in the Early Years', we're delighted to bring you this piece on ‘Curiosity as a Way of Being’ in our Early Years classrooms.

This content was written by Raj Ladva, our Head of Early Years. Raj was one of the founding members of King's Bangkok and has co-authored 'Bottling Joy in the Early Years', drawing on years of experience nurturing young learners. More recently, he has taken on a role as a guest lecturer with Chulalongkorn University's Education department, supporting the teachers of tomorrow.

We hope this lesson offers a glimpse into how curiosity shapes learning in our Early Years community.
 

“Curiosity as a Way of Being” 

The natural state of a young child is to be curious - to ask ‘why’, to wonder and to explore their own fascinations and interests. Within King’s Bangkok Early Years, it is these queries and questions that lead the children’s learning. Honouring each and every child’s individuality leads to incredibly varied and valuable learning experiences, for all children to join in with. Our skilled and experienced practitioners ‘tap in’ to these interests through genuine connection between home and school, creating special moments of learning unique to them.  

In a play-based environment such as ours, the role of the adult is to sustain the child’s natural curiosity, to extend their thinking and inspire the next levels of challenge. Particularly relevant is the adult's ability to be comfortable in ‘not knowing’ the answer to a problem, as this helps the child understand that learning is a process of trial and error and testing ideas. Together, adults and children go on a journey of discovery, with the process often far more interesting than the outcome! While our initial instinct may be to jump in to correct or help, it is often in these moments of productive challenge that create the most meaningful learning experiences. 

It is in this ‘productive struggle’ that the relationship between home and school becomes most powerful. Working together as parents and teachers, we are able to have the most positive impact on a young person’s outcomes, particularly when we work together. Parents are the child’s first teacher, and this fact is so important to remember when getting to know the individual nature of each child in our care. As we welcome families to King’s Bangkok Early Years, part of that welcome is an in-depth conversation with your child’s teachers and support staff, understanding them, their character and what helps them feel happy, safe and secure. 

Following interests, nurturing curiosity and growing the confidence to ask challenging questions is one of the privileges of an Early Years setting such as ours. We are so fortunate to have a wonderful community of teachers, parents and support staff who enjoy spending quality time with our eager young learners. With curiosity as the foundation of learning, it is the journey, not the destination, where the magic happens. 

We are proud to present 'Bottling Joy in the Early Years', a book that celebrates joy, play, relationships, and the power of early childhood practice. This project brings together voices from across King's College International School for the Early Years sector to explore what it means to nurture children through love, care, and meaningful early years pedagogy. All proceeds will go to supporting the Spring Project charity.

Available now at the link below:
Ebook: bit.ly/4vcqCiV
Paperback: bit.ly/4p0i11k

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