YOU ARE YOUR CHILD’S FIRST TEACHER:

A child’s most important teachers are those closest to him. Her parents, educators, and peers will teach her much about how to interpret the world and where to find her place in society. Research tells us that children are born learning. Children will innately watch, take in information, and try to make sense of it. Children are born scientists, using trial and error methods to problem solve and put patterns together in their minds. The infant that drops his toy off the edge of the high chair is doing much more than inadvertently throwing an object. This child is questioning:

• What happens when I use my own will and hands to pick up and drop an object?
• What noise does it make when it drops?
• Will the same thing happen when I drop it again?
• Where does this object land?
• Who will respond to me as I do this?

While we know that children come into the world ready to learn, we also understand that children’s first relationships are important to their developing brain and capacity to learn. Between the ages of birth to five years, children’s brains are developing at a rapid pace; faster than any other period of their lives. During this time, brain connections are being made and most of these connections come from interactions with caretakers and the environment. Studies have confirmed that when children have stable, secure relationships with their primary caretakers, brain growth is positively impacted. When children feel safe and secure due to their caregivers’ consistent, nurturing responses, they are more apt to explore the world around them. While exploring, children are learning and laying down tracks in the brain as they go. Advances in brain imaging show us what we have always imagined….healthy, nurturing relationships impact the developing brain.

HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN?

The Children's Museum is a place for families to explore together. Our space is designed from the child’s viewpoint. It is a place that is meant for small hands and active learners,  and it is built with child development in mind. All of our exhibit spaces speak to the child’s innate curiosity to observe, investigate, and practice. Families explore with children, supporting their young scientists through the busy work of play. Here, parents and families can watch their children actively problem solve and figure out how something works in their own time. For example, when a child builds in the construction zone, they are guided by their own curiosity to find out how pieces come together to make a whole. Parents encourage their children by offering to help, commenting on their creations, and modeling basic skills. Through all of this play:

• Children build visual spatial skills and organization by envisioning an idea, finding the right tools, and then making this plan come to life in three-dimensional space.
• Children practice using their fine motor muscles through the actions of twisting, turning, and steadying.
• Children develop language both by talking about their creation, and by listening to family members make comments about their work.
• Children and families nurture relationships by practicing the give and take of communication and share in the feelings that creation might evoke; determination, surprise, frustration, and joy.

This is the true nature of early learning. Children have the capacity to learn by memorizing and rehearsing information. However, children are motivated to learn through things that are meaningful to them. When children are excited to investigate, it translates into lifelong patterns of seeking out new information and applying it in ways that make sense to them. This includes asking questions, practicing multiple ways of doing something, and analyzing the various results. This process of critical thinking is quite different than asking a child to memorize a fact that is two-dimensional and not connected to their interests. What we know about early learning is that children need to touch and experience things with all of their senses. Hands-on learning is such a powerful experience for children because they can actively participate in the things that they are witnessing, and because it appeals to every style of learner. The Children's Museum appeals to all developmental levels of children birth to ten as they interact with the exhibits in the ways that speak to them.

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PLAY

The work of the child is Play. Through play, children learn foundational skills. Here at the museum, we support and encourage active play. Here parents become the advocates of their child’s play, nurturing creativity and the motivation to follow curiosity toward discovery.

The Children's Museum, Seattle offers safe and inviting spaces for children to spend time to recreate experiences and make sense of the world around them. On-going programming increases a child’s opportunity to make connections between ideas and develop critical thinking skills. We offer programming for all developmental levels of children between the ages of birth to ten years.

Birth -3 years:

In the earliest years, there is an incredible rate of brain development and growth. Children in this age group need sensory stimulation. They need to touch objects, manipulate them, and experiment with all of their properties. Programming in this age group focuses on play that will strengthen emerging skills, such as fine motor skills or the awareness of different feelings, through interactive experiences.

3 – 6 years:

The preschool and pre-kindergarten age group is an active group where increased social interactions and the ability to see something from multiple perspectives challenge the developing child. Children in this age group love to investigate and explore in order to make sense of what they see everyday. Programming in this age group focuses on the roles that people play in our world and supporting children in building a solid sense of self.

6 – 10 years:

Grade school marks many significant learning milestones for the young child. In this age group, children come to understand more complex ideas and can manipulate things in their mind to consider several options at one time. Programming in this age group supports school groups and extends ideas that children are working on in the classroom. Hands-on learning is a powerful tool for all learners and the Children's Museum offers the chance for curriculum to come to life through exhibits and facilitated workshops.

SCHOOL READINESS

The Children's Museum supports the mission that every child in our state enters school ready to learn. Children are ready to learn when they have been motivated to explore, and when they are able to practice and develop social-emotional skills such as learning to cooperate and learning how to calm oneself in times of distress. These skills are as important as learning ABC and 123’s. Children build social-emotional skills by watching their caregivers’ responses and asking for assistance in organizing and making sense of their emotions. They gain these skills in the moment and practice each time they experience a challenging emotion and are subsequently soothed. The Children's Museum offers a safe environment for children to work on these skills by sharing space with other children, experiencing strong emotions in relation to stimulating material, and finding the balance between doing things on their own and asking for assistance.

Early learning encompasses the full range of what children need to know about the world. These are things that are best understood through practice and re-creation. The Children's Museum is a place where children have time and space to build social-emotional skills, family connections, and academic skills through real, hands-on experiences that are designed with children in mind. Here children are in charge of their learning, and families are the facilitators who guide children’s innate curiosity through play.