Memory Boosting And Problem Solving
As you give your child time to explore the world around him with his five senses (seeing, touching, smelling, tasting and hearing) you are encouraging him to find new ways of thinking, to make new discoveries and to develop his problem-solving skills. Hands-on opportunities that build on your child’s interests helps deepen his knowledge and enhance his cognitive development as he prepares for success both in school and in life.
Children are naturally curious and eager to make discoveries. As you are playing with your child you can build your child’s mind by asking questions about what you see your child doing. If your child is busy creating a road with the blocks for his cars you could suggest adding a river or lake to the play area. Let your son decide how that could be possible. Could you use a piece of blue fabric to represent the water? Or how about a piece of blue paper? But then how will the cars get across? Will he want to build a bridge? Oh, the thinking is occurring and his mind is moving a mile a minute! He’s excited, you’ve taken his interest in cars and roads and you ran with it! He’s solving a problem as he builds a bridge that knocks right over. Time to try again. How can he make the bridge stay above the water? He’s discovering new things with each movement of the blocks and cars.
Let’s take his interest a step further. He loves cars and roads so it’s time to test his memory using similar objects. If you have two of the same cars or blocks you can easily play this simple matching game. Lay about six items on the table and let your child see the items. Then cover them up. Show him two identical items when you uncover the items. Next, take away the items and see if he can recall the two he was just hunting for. Switch up the items and repeat. His memory is developing as he takes note of the characteristics of each object and keeps them in his mind. What interests does your child have? How can you deepen his knowledge using memory activities?
