ABSTRACT
In this chapter I discuss the gradual emergence of biological interest and investigative behaviour as children learn about the living world and environment. Learning begins before birth. A human baby learns the sound of his mother’s voice and hears other sounds, muffled through the abdominal wall, but her voice is generated inside her body and is thought to be more clearly heard by the foetus, who recognises it when born. Once in the outside world, a baby learns to recognise their mother’s face and gradually those they most often see. Babies rapidly learn about this different environment and their surroundings. They become aware of their own bodies. Babies learn more in their first year of life than at any other time. Babies who are around three months begin to follow moving objects such as mobiles or branches of trees. They become aware of other living things such as people and animals, clouds, shapes and colours, sounds and smells. Gradually, they learn about the outside world and explore the earth’s surface: soil, grass and plants. Through play they explore the world with all their senses, particularly sight and touch!
