Every Sprout Club session starts with a question and a guess. Children write their prediction on a sticky note and put it on the guess wall before anyone touches the kit. By the end of a term the wall is covered in wrong answers, and we are very proud of it.
Why guessing matters
When a child commits to a prediction, the experiment becomes theirs. They are no longer watching a trick; they are testing an idea. If the result surprises them, they want to know why, and that question is worth more than any fact we could tell them.
What we say when they’re wrong
- “Interesting. What made you think that?”
- “What would you change to test it again?”
- “Who guessed something different? Let’s hear it.”
We never say “no” or “wrong”. Scientists are wrong all the time; good ones get curious about it.
The best moment in any session is the silence just before a child says “wait, that’s not what I thought would happen”.
Trying it at home
Next time your child asks why something happens, try asking what they think first. Then find a way to test it together, even if it’s just dropping two things off the sofa. You might be surprised by how much they already know, and how much they want to find out.
