Supporting Kids’ Curiosity & Higher-Level Thinking Skills

Creative, critical thinking, reasoning, and problem solving are the focus of state education standards, because they’re the skills employers value the most in today’s knowledge economy. More importantly, they also happen to be key to an empowered, fulfilling adulthood. Curiosity is foundational to higher-level thinking skills, because when we’re curious about something, we’re motivated to investigate, puzzle, understand, and learn. Using intentional communication prompts like the ones in this guide, we can support kids to not only be successful in school and work, but also to be rational, expansive thinkers who respect others’ ideas, seek out diverse perspectives, make informed decisions, and value learning, growth, and connection over having the right answer.

Connecting to people and ideas sometimes requires us to stretch ourselves!

Adults can use these prompts to engage with kids about school, relationships, hobbies, and everyday life, and to practice our own curiosity; and remember, it’s about learning, growth, and connection—not about getting it right—for us, too!

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