* Collect those observations and share them with the child's parents. Alert parents, if necessary, that their young child has 'really started thinking'.
* Give children plenty of hands-on experience through play and happy involvement in daily routines.
* Comment in a relaxed way on what you and the children can see, smell, touch, hear or feel. Let them experience the words in a context that has meaning for them.
* Avoid questioning young children in a testing way. If they have made sense of some ideas, you will be able to hear and see their understanding through your relaxed observation.
* Step aside from the notion that some abstract ideas are more 'important' than others. Instead, relish with young children all the ideas that they want to share with you right now.
