Take-Home - Inquiry - ECE Resource Hub

TAKE-HOME STRATEGY

Supporting Inquiry at Home

What It's About

Inquiry is all about using a hands-on approach to answer questions as children investigate their world. This includes observing, experimenting, gathering information, and trying to figure things out.

You can support your child with Inquiry by encouraging their curiosity and giving them plenty of opportunities to ask questions and find answers.

Here are some ways you can support Inquiry at home. Keep in mind that you can change these activities to work for you and your child based on their current abilities, interests, and what you have available at home. Make sure to use safe materials and watch your child closely during these activities.

Take a look, and try out your favorites!

Nature Walk

Explore nature by taking a walk or just looking out the window. Describe what you see, and pose questions to help your child make observations or compare/contrast.

Weather Watch

Check out the weather each morning and start a weather chart. Keep track of the weather each day on your chart. Then use this chart to talk about what you’ve noticed so far or predict the weather for the next day.

Build a Ramp

Build a ramp for balls, cars, or balled up socks out of materials you have around the home (such as boxes, boards, and tubes). Adjust the ramp’s steepness or materials to change the way the objects roll.

Sink or Float

During bath time, give your child different objects, and have them predict if they will sink or float. Test out their predictions by dropping the objects into the water.

Explore Light

Use lights or flashlights (or even just the sun) to explore and play with shadows! Talk about what happens to the shadow when the light moves. For more fun, trace the shadows onto paper. Or, have a shadow dance party!

Water Play

Let your child explore pouring and measuring with water during bath time or while doing dishes. Give your child cups, spoons, and containers to experiment with. Encourage them to move water in different ways.

Quick Cues for Supporting Inquiry

Some things you might do or say to help strengthen your child’s Inquiry skills

In-the-Moment Observations

Talk about the things that are happening in front of you.

This can sound like:

“You are using your hands to touch the parts of your face. Oops, you found your nose!”

“You are watching that worm. I see it folding up and stretching as it moves.”

“We are cutting the lemon to use in this recipe. What does it smell like?”

Promote Predictions

Help your child think about what they already know and make predictions about what might happen next.

This can sound like:

“Do you think it will roll down the ramp? Let’s find out!”

“I wonder what will happen if…”

“Why do you think that?”

Compare, Contrast, and Categorize

Help your child think about how things are similar or different.

This can sound like:

“Let’s put all of the leaves in this pile and the acorns in that one.”

“How can we sort these toys? We could put the soft ones together and the hard ones together!”

“How is this rock different from the others? How is it the same?”

Our Book Recommendations for Inquiry

Engaging stories that support children's Inquiry skills

Everything Grows

Written by Raffi and illustrated by Nina Mata, this story follows a brother and sister around a farm as they notice all the living things around them.

Have fun with it:
Observe and ask questions with your child about plants and other things that grow.

I Wonder

Written by K.A. Holt and illustrated by Kenard Pak, this book is filled with fanciful questions about the way the world works.

Have fun with it:
Head outside and take turns with your child asking questions and making guesses about the world around you.

More Take-Home Strategies

We’re creating a library of resources like these so families and other caregivers can quickly and easily promote children’s development at home. Be sure to see all the strategies we have available!