Creating a Curious Environment: Our Journey with the Curiosity Approach

Creating a Curious Environment: Our Journey with the Curiosity Approach

At Imperial Way, we are continuing to work towards our Curiosity Approach accreditation. This is a way to enrich the experiences of the children in our care. The Curiosity Approach is a modern, child-centred methodology that brings together aspects of Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Steiner philosophies to create inspiring, meaningful learning environments.

We’re now focusing on ‘The Environment’, one of the key modules of the Curiosity Approach, and we’ve made lots of exciting changes within our setting to reflect this journey.

Transforming Our Spaces into Calm, Inviting Environments

One of the biggest shifts we’ve made is rethinking our learning spaces to encourage curiosity, creativity, and independence. We’ve moved away from bright, plastic-heavy resources and instead introduced more natural, open-ended materials that invite children to explore in their own unique ways. Think baskets of wooden blocks, real-life household objects, fabrics, shells, pinecones, and loose parts that spark imagination and storytelling. These beautiful, tactile materials not only stimulate learning but also create a warm, homely atmosphere that feels calm and nurturing.

Decluttering and Making Resources Accessible  

Part of our work on the Environment module has been to take a really close look at the resources we provide. We’ve been decluttering to ensure that everything we offer is purposeful and engaging. More meaningful resources allow children to deepen their play, rather than becoming overwhelmed by too many choices. In line with the Curiosity Approach ethos, we are designing our rooms to be environments where children feel confident and safe to explore freely. Everything is set up at child height, with accessible materials that empower children to make their own choices and direct their own learning. This has also meant rethinking our furniture and room layout to create cosy corners, discovery areas, and flexible play zones that respond to children’s needs and interests.

Adding Authentic Resources

We are also looking to introduce more authentic resources – real, everyday objects like metal teapots, old telephones, typewriters, and jars – to provide children with richer sensory experiences and a sense of connection to the real world. These items spark curiosity, invite questions, and allow for deeper imaginative play than traditional toys often can. We would be grateful for any donations of authentic resources such as those listed above, as well as fabrics, hats, scarves, plants and wicker baskets

A Work in Progress – With the Children at the Heart

This journey is very much ongoing, and we are constantly observing, reflecting, and adapting our environment based on what we see from the children. Their reactions, interests, and engagement levels are guiding our decisions every step of the way.

Our team is also working hard behind the scenes to document our progress, share ideas, and support each other through this exciting professional development opportunity. We are incredibly proud of the changes we’ve made so far and can already see the positive impact on the children’s confidence, creativity, and communication skills. The Curiosity Approach is helping us see the environment not just as a backdrop to learning, but as an active part of the learning process – a “third teacher” that plays a powerful role in how children explore and grow.

We look forward to sharing more with you as our Curiosity journey continues!

Imperial Way Team