Those of us who have children want them to do well in life.
We hope that they will grow into happy, successful adults.
A great way to start your little ones on the right path is to pique their natural curiosity and ability to learn early, and critical thinking games for kids are designed to do just that.
Every child is an individual with their own learning pace and capacity. So, when is it appropriate to introduce critical thinking activities to children?
As the child’s parent or guardian, you must make that decision.
However, remember that your child is developing linguistic skills during the first three years of existence.
Of course, infants pick up on various other things, but learning language provides them with the first and most important instrument for communication.
After you’ve mastered that technique, you may realize that your toddler, around three and a half years old, is asking you endless daily questions.
It’s the ideal time to quench that desire by offering thought-provoking problems to help you build your critical thinking skills.
Why Games Are the Best Critical Thinking Activities For Kids
It won’t be long before your children begin formal education at school.
However, you may get a head start by teaching them the art of critical thinking, a technique that will enable them to examine challenges and problems in the future and come up with optimal answers.
It is a vital step in raising a toddler!
Introducing critical thinking games for toddlers is the best way to get started.
Why games? Because they are an entertaining way of getting kids to learn.
There will be plenty of time for more tedious learning when they enter the state school system.
5 Fun Thinking Games For Kids
If you need some help finding some critical thinking games for your children, we’ve selected five amusing kid brain games for you to consider below.
In the meantime, how about getting going with some critical thinking worksheets? They encourage and improve logical thought processes and good reasoning skills; you can download them free from the jumpstart.com website.
Okay, now for the 5 recommended games for toddlers to initiate thinking!
The Guessing Logic Game
This particular game is a bit like “20 questions” and is fantastic and fun for kids. The difference is that you give age-appropriate clues to your youngster.
All you have to do is think of an object in the room you’re both in. Give your child a few hints, such as the object’s color, size, form, and feel, as well as its location in the room.
Provide the hints one at a time until your child correctly guesses. It’s similar to a child’s rendition of “I spy.”
This is one of the most enjoyable games I have played!
The “What Happens Next?” Prediction Game
“What Happens Next” will help your little one to make predictions. An essential skill for kids of all ages. Kids begin to experiment right from the off. However, this experimentation is based on actual happenings.
This game is all about teaching your child to think hypothetically.
Cause and effect. What happens if you blow a balloon up too much? What happens when you stab an inflated balloon with a sharp object? These are the sorts of things you can engineer safely in the home.
Get your child to theorize what happens next. It is simple, influential, and instrumental learning.
Tangram Spatial Awareness Games
Tangrams are similar to building bricks in that they assist children in learning about spatial awareness and relationships.
They’re a 200-year-old Chinese creation that resembles a simple jigsaw puzzle.
They are two-dimensional and are made by cutting a square into seven geometric shapes, which are as follows:
- Two big right-angle triangles
- One medium right-angle triangle
- Two small right-angle triangle
- One small square
- One parallelogram
You can fit the pieces together when arranged correctly to make a large square, rectangle, or triangle.
But more interestingly, toddlers can be manipulated into various shapes, like a rabbit.
Traditionally they are puzzles, but tangrams for kids allow children to create multiple shapes.
Regarding thinking activities for preschoolers, tangrams are a fascinating concept. You can make them yourself or buy them from Amazon.
Encourage Your Child to Create Their Playground
This exciting idea is based on a children’s playground in New York City, USA.
Although the playground NYC example is a community-based project, it can easily be adapted for the individual child and parent, as long as the room is available.
It requires parental supervision, but you encourage the child to do most of the building.
The principle is straightforward. Tell your child to construct a playground in the garden or backyard, then stand aside and watch the sparks fly.
Your child’s imagination will run wild. Yes, you will need to supervise events, but your child will become more creative, have to think things through, and address difficulties as they emerge.
It’s up there in terms of brain games for youngsters.
The Take-Away The Tape Game
The last of our five suggestions are ideal for two to four-year-old kids. It’s one of those games designed to help your toddler concentrate and avoid distractions.
All you need for this game is masking tape and a flat surface to play on. Little kids enjoy touching, clawing, and pulling on items.
It’s one of the simplest kid’s brain games to boost thinking skills – especially for the younger ones – that satisfies all those desires while also forcing them to concentrate.
All you have to do is overlay some pieces of masking tape on a flat surface (a tabletop, an exercise book, etc.).
Then, demonstrate to your child how to remove a strip of tape by scratching the ends with your fingernails. Allow your child to try now.
It will captivate them, and you can make it even more intriguing by incorporating other colored and textured tapes into the mix.
Preparing your youngster to face and conquer life’s challenges
Encouraging critical thinking in your child at an early age is worth the time and effort.
The earlier your toddler develops problem-solving abilities, the more prepared they will be in later life to face the challenges that lie ahead.
By using kid’s brain games, you are helping to develop critical thinking skills!
Engineering toys for kids is another excellent way of developing critical thinking.
Conclusion
I have detailed 5 of the best games to develop and improve critical thinking skills in your child.
I cannot emphasize it enough; this is an essential skill, so feel free to try all these kids’ thinking games!
Good luck!
