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Here are a few ways you can help children along on their journey of discovery of their world.

These tips are not for parents only. Teachers, daycare workers, camp leaders, aunts, uncles or grandparents – any adult with responsibility for a child can help provide an environment where there are opportunities to play, explore, paint, draw, collaborate, and grow.

1. Watch your child playing, doing, discovering

Too often, we are tempted to get involved in all aspects of children’s lives: organizing, planning and creating activities that we hope will help them. If taken too far, these can detract from all the worthwhile things children can do on their own. If you watch what your child is naturally interested in, you will uncover many opportunities for encouraging his or her interests and skill development.

2. Visit somewhere special, remembering that everywhere is special

You don’t need to have a museum, gallery or nature sanctuary next door...  Even a visit to your backyard can uncover a treasure trove of experiences and activities that can stimulate a child’s imagination and curiosity for hours. A visit to somewhere that you would ordinarily go anyway – like the grocery story – can become so much more than just a chore. What kinds of foods are sold in cans, versus those that are sold in boxes, bags, or without any packaging at all? And why? How many vegetables are red? How many are green? Do you even know the names of everything you see in the store?

3. Give your child what they need to record their experiences

Most parents provide pens, paper, crayons and paper to encourage their child’s imagination, but that’s just the start. Collecting things – say, rocks or fabrics – is another way of recording an interaction with the real world. Where did this rock come from? Is it different from the rocks coming from somewhere else? Routine tasks present similar opportunities. Have you ever asked your children to help you make a shopping list and to keep track of it while you go around the store?

4. Let your child represent their world in his or her own way

The sky is almost the limit when it comes to children’s ability to represent their experience or perception of the world. Different ways will appeal to different children. How about a recording device for your child to tell stories and play them back to the family afterwards?  Older children might want to act out a home movie and film it. Simply ensuring that paper, crayons and pencils are around the home will mean if your child wants to write and draw, she can do so.

5. Invite opportunities to share creativity and play with others

Children love to see their work being appreciated. When they have been studiously working on a drawing or telling a story, finding a way of sharing it (that the child is comfortable with) lets them know that their efforts are important and valued. And in the process of creation, if your child needs help, provide the help she wants – or if you can’t, see if you can find someone who can. Avoid doing things for children that they can do on their own. It’s a “helping hand,” not taking control. When children learn how much more they can accomplish with others, they learn their limits, but also how unlimited their potential is as part of a team.

6. Stop

Whatever your child is doing on his or her own, with friends, with you or other adults, make sure there is sufficient time to stop, sit back, and relax. No one can be active or creative all the time. You will find that children naturally know when they’ve had enough. Those moments are just as important as all the other more “productive” moments.

There are many more valuable insights at the Clearing House on Education and Early Parenting.