Wonder is more than a fleeting emotion—it’s a powerful tool for learning, emotional growth, and connection. When children engage with the world through a lens of curiosity and awe, they build skills that will serve them for life: resilience, creativity, empathy, and a lifelong love of learning. In this article, you’ll discover how to inspire awe and wonder in your children this summer through simple, meaningful moments. Drawing from my own parenting experiences and backed by research, I’ll share four practical strategies—and introduce the magic of nature play—that will help your family embrace curiosity and rediscover joy in the everyday.
On the last day of school this year, my son’s second-grade teacher gave a homemade certificate to every child, highlighting one of their strengths.
“Most Inquisitive!” I said, looking at the paper he proudly handed me. “Why do you think your teacher chose that word for you?”
“Well, I do love asking questions,” he responded.
I love that my son asks questions. I love that his teacher honors his questions. And I love how my children’s wonder for this world fuels my own. In fact, the questions that fill my picture book, You Wonder All the Time, all came from my own kids—from my daughter wondering why flips were called “somersaults” (e.g. summer salts) instead of “winter peppers,” to my son wondering “Where does color go at night?”
Wonder is a beautiful word. It corresponds with the emotion of awe. As I wrote in an article for The Washington Post:
“Awe is what we feel when we encounter something vast, wondrous, or beyond our ordinary frame of reference. It evokes a sense of mystery and wonder. And, given its documented benefits, awe might be our most overlooked, undervalued emotion.”
Awe strengthens curiosity, collaboration, and humility. Experiencing awe—especially in nature—has been linked to improved mental well-being, including a decrease in PTSD and stress levels. It also deepens our relationships and makes us feel more connected to something greater than ourselves.
So how can we help our children experience more wonder this summer? Creating space for wonder doesn’t require elaborate vacations or expensive activities. Wonder thrives in the small moments: when kids get bored, explore on their own, or dig their hands into the dirt outside.
In the following sections, you’ll find practical ways to nurture wonder in your children this summer in the everyday.
I love the PDF acronym from Stanford University’s Challenge Success. Their research reveals that emotionally healthy kids need:
Wonder is often playful. It can strengthen family relationships as you get curious together. But wonder also requires downtime.
When my kids claim they are bored, I usually respond, “Brilliance is born of boredom.” It’s a gentle tease with a deeper meaning. As they wrestle through the lack of structured activities and the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what to do, they (usually) eventually find their way. They become curious and creative out of necessity, pulling out a craft or making up a game, inventing a gizmo for the dog or concocting a “potion” from the spice cabinet.
One Saturday morning, my “bored” kid noticed a woodpecker carving a nest in a dead tree near our house. Three months later, he still checks that nest every day. Now it’s occupied by two noisy chicks. This small discovery sparked a passion for birds. With a little help from a birding app and bird books from the library, he’s becoming an expert on the creatures in our backyard.
Psychologist Dacher Keltner, founding director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, said it best:
“How do you find awe? You allow unstructured time. You wander. You drift through. You take a walk with no aim. You slow things down.”
Here’s another reason I don’t always rescue my kids from boredom: sometimes the key to wonder is simply adults getting out of the way.
Did you know that giving kids explicit instructions on how to play makes them less likely to make their own discoveries? When children are shown exactly how to use a toy, they’re more likely to stick with that one method. But when we let them explore—especially with open-ended toys like blocks or art supplies—they’re more likely to get curious, take risks, and find new, creative ways to play.
Some of the most wonder-full toys come from the recycling bin: a cardboard box, paper towel tubes, egg cartons, cardboard boxes. My daughter’s kindergarten teacher called these items “beautiful junk.”
Let your children tinker. Give them space to build, break, reimagine, and explore.
Few experiences elicit more wonder than time in nature. And you don’t need to plan a big trip to the mountains or ocean to enjoy it. Nature play is a special kind of play that happens outside, often using natural materials like sticks, mud, stones, and water. It encourages children to engage all their senses and to interact directly with the environment around them.
Nature play has many benefits, including:
You don’t need fancy gear or a big backyard. A pile of leaves, a fallen log, or a neighborhood trail is enough. Let your child lead. Let them climb, dig, splash, and imagine. Nature play helps kids build confidence and inspires a sense of belonging in the world around them—a critical foundation for a life filled with awe.
Here are some ways to enjoy shared adventures outdoors:
Kids learn most by watching us. When we model curiosity, they’re more likely to stay curious themselves.
Take your kids to the library this summer and fill a bag with books that spark their interest—and yours. Even if you don’t read every page, flipping through books on dinosaurs, outer space, ocean life, or ancient ruins can expand their understanding and ignite new questions.
One of the best ways to nurture wonder in your kids is also the simplest: listen to their questions. When we take them seriously, they feel seen—and inspired to keep exploring.
Awe and wonder aren’t something we need to manufacture. They are already inside our children—and ourselves. We just need to make space for them. This summer, embrace unstructured time, let your kids explore freely, model curiosity, and reconnect with nature. Whether it’s spotting a bird, asking a big question, or making a potion from pantry spices, these small moments of wonder can have a big impact. Let awe and wonder be your guide—and watch your family grow closer, more curious, and more joyful together.