Great explorers

Right from birth, a baby demonstrates her desire to learn. She wants to make sense of the world around her and she does everything she can to reach out and explore it. Of course, in the initial weeks of life she has little control of her hand, arm, leg and body movements, but that doesn't stop her from actively building her knowledge.

The fact that a child has this inborn desire to explore and discover is terrific, because it means she is predisposed to improve. She deliberately seeks out new challenges and learning opportunities at every stage.

For example, when left alone in her cot, a week-old baby will perhaps pull the cot blanket up to her face so that she can study it closely, feel it, and even chew it. At the age of six months, she will do her best to pull her body along the floor to reach any object that attracts her attention. At two years, she struts about the house, exploring new areas that she couldn't reach previously. And from the age of three years onwards, her mind is like a sponge, absorbing all those new learning experiences in nursery.