Wonder is the beginning of asking all the questions.
And questions are how we make discoveries — about the world around us, and about ourselves. Wonder keeps us inspired. It is the spark behind every great idea that has ever existed.
And here’s what I believe deeply: everyone wonders in their own way.
Not every child gazes at the stars. Not every child crouches down to examine a beetle. Not every child spends hours building elaborate worlds out of sticks and stories. But every child wonders — in their own direction, in their own language, in their own beautiful way.
At Wonderkin Workshop, wonder isn’t just a word in our name. It’s the entire reason we make what we make. It’s the philosophy behind everything we are building – the mini flower press, the nature scavenger hunts, the fairy coloring books . We believe that childhood is not something to be rushed through — it’s something to be wondered through.
And over time, watching children play and create and explore, I’ve come to see that wonder moves in five distinct directions.
5 Types of Wonder
Wondering Down – The Observer
This is the child who makes every walk take three times longer than it should.They crouch down to examine a beetle crossing the path. They notice the spider web in the corner that everyone else walked past. A child who wonders in a downward direction are drawn to the tiny world at their feet. They are natural scientists.
If your child collects rocks, feathers, seed pods and interesting sticks — if their pockets are always full of small treasures — you have a child who likes to be “wondering down.”
This is where the observers live. And the world needs observers.
How to nurture “Wonder Down”: Go slowly on walks. Let them stop. Keep a nature journal. Press flowers. Build a bug hotel. Give them a magnifying glass and step back.
Wondering Up – The Dreamer
This is the child who looks up at the sky. They ask questions with no easy answers. How big is the universe? What is beyond the stars? Could there be other worlds out there? They are drawn to the vast and the infinite —to things that are bigger than anything they can fully hold in their mind.
Children who like wondering up are comfortable with mystery. If your child stares at the moon. If they want to know about planets and galaxies. If they lie on their back in the grass and watch clouds move and think thoughts they can’t quite put into words — you have a child who wonders in an upward direction.
How to nurture “Wonder Up”: Stargaze together. Get a simple telescope. Do a night sky scavenger hunt. Read books about space and the universe. Sit outside after dark and just look up — together.
Wonder Within — The Storyteller
This is the child who gives every single thing a name and a backstory.The stick is not a stick. It is a magic wand belonging to a fairy queen who lives under the old oak tree. “Wonder Within” children live in a rich interior universe. They narrate as they play. This is not daydreaming. This is world-building. These are your future writers, storytellers, directors, game designers. Children who know how to live inside their own imagination will never be bored — and will always have somewhere to go when the world feels hard. If your child plays elaborate make-believe for hours. — you have a child who loves to wonder within themselves..
How to nurture “Wonder Within”: Leave space for unstructured play. Don’t over-schedule. Create little invitations to imagination — a fairy door on a tree, a gnome garden, a mystery letter. Let the story unfold without directing it.
Wonder Beyond – The Explorer
This is the child who wants to know how other people live.What do children eat for breakfast in Japan? What animals live in a rainforest? How dopeople celebrate in different countries? They are endlessly curious about the world beyond their own experience — other cultures, other ecosystems, other ways of being human.
“Wonder Beyond” children are building empathy as they explore. Every question about someone else’s life is a small act of connection — a reaching out beyond themselves toward the wider human story.
If your child asks about people in faraway places. If they want to try foods from different cultures. If they are moved by stories about animals in distant ecosystems. If they ask “but what is it like for THEM?” — you have a “Wonder Beyond” child.
How to nurture “Wonder Beyond”: Learn about endangered creatures and their ecosystems. Read books set in different countries and cultures. Look at maps together. Celebrate different holidays and traditions. Talk about what connects us as humans, even across great distances.
Wonder How – The Maker
This is the child who cannot leave something alone until they understand how it works.They take things apart. They build things. They ask “but HOW does that happen?” about everything from a zipper to a thunderstorm.
“Wonder How” children are your future engineers, inventors, scientists and builders. They see the world as a series of fascinating systems waiting to be understood and improved. Give them materials and a problem and they will disappear for hours.
If your child dismantles toys to see what’s inside. If they build elaborate structures out of whatever is available. If they want to know the mechanism behind everything — how a clock works, how a plant grows,— you have a Wonder How child.
How to nurture “Wonder How”: Give them open ended materials — blocks, cardboard, tape,clay. Do simple science experiments together. Build them an age-appropriate workshop desk. Ask “how do you think that works?” before explaining. Let them figure things out before jumping in to help.
A Few Important Things to Remember
Your child might be all 5.
These types are not boxes — they are directions. Most children lean naturally toward one or two, but wonder is fluid and overlapping and messy.
Wonder evolves.
A toddler who might be wondering down a lot might become a child who loves to wonder up at seven. A “Wonder Within” child who lives in fairy worlds might discover “Wonder How” when they encounter their first science kit. Trust where they are right now — and stay curious about where they’re going.
Wonder changes with development.
Babies and toddlers are naturally “Wonder Down” —the world is at their level and everything is new and close. Preschoolers often bloom into “Wonder Within” as imaginative play explodes. “Wonder Beyond” tends to emerge in early elementary as children begin to understand that the world is bigger than their immediate experience. “Wonder How” can spark at any age when a child encounters the right question.
There is no best type of wonder.
The observer and the maker and the storyteller and the dreamer and the explorer are all equally extraordinary. The world needs all of them.
Why this framework is helpful
If we, as parents and educators, can see a direction that children are leaning to in that moment we can also lean into it and facilitate exploration. This will help keep our children engaged and interested in learning . This ability is so important when helping them develop their sense of self.
