Rafiu Ifetoyosi Ogunleye

What I tried to do, is to find something the kids were interested in; say animals for example, and I would point out interesting things about them, explain which ones were dangerous, human friendly etc. This can make them have more and more interest in study and can take away the irrational fears, yet reinforced their healthy respect toward the ones that could hurt or cool to play with .

In the same way, if they showed an interest in more technical things; how does a clock work or, once, what happens when you hold a beard trimmer under water(!), I took that as an opportunity to explain the potential dangers of water and electricity (it was battery powered, but the warning was necessary). I’ve taken apart clocks and other machines to show the inner workings while trying to keep the excitement level high and the understanding simple.

I’ve always been a big fan of reading. When I would read to kids, I would try and make it fun - different voices, pauses to increase suspense, etc. As they discovered reading on their own in school, they would get all excited about it. I would hear them read to each other in different voices - deep voiced giants, higher pitched females, etc.

This, to me, helped children become interested in learning. They found things exciting and mysterious, but realized that they could figure things out on their own or in groups, rather than having to rely on rote repetition or boring rows of numbers.

Find what they like and make it interesting to whet their appetite for more.