As toddlers’ cognitive skills develop, they learn how to organize and make sense of information. This process helps to gain a level of understanding about the world around them. Around two to three years of age, acquiring language skills and developing logical thinking commonly fall behind children’s curiosity and energy to express themselves. This can frustrate both the child and parent, and even lead to tantrums. In order to effectively support your little one’s cognitive development during early childhood, it’s important for parents to incorporate play in educational activities.
Involving play typically produces positive results because children are engaged in the learning process. As you observe progress, your child is enjoying the activities. This post will share some fun mental activities that can enhance your child’s cognitive development during early childhood.
Activities for supporting cognitive development in early childhood
Role-playing. These are activities in which kids put themselves in real or imaginary situations. Role-playing helps to build empathy skills, creativity, socialization, communication skills, and so on.
Sorting. Sorting activities enrich cognitive reasoning skills with toddlers by requiring them to group similar items together. Objects can be sorted by shape, size, color, and more. For example, let children play with a few safe items from your kitchen and invite them to sort them by shape.
Creative arts. Activities like preschool music lessons stimulate cognitive development since they enhance sensory-motor skills in addition to the language. Cognitive learning happens when children are able to create drawings or take photos.
Cause and effect activities. Parents can promote cognitive development in early childhood through cause-and-effect activities that enhance children’s understanding of the world around them. These activities encourage your little ones to explore how objects interact with one another when they are dropped, pushed, or rolled.
Storytelling. Parents can also enrich their children’s cognitive development by reading stories aloud to toddlers daily. This form of storytelling has been shown to offer proven benefits for language development. Storytelling also gives you opportunities to bond with your child as you snuggle together and enjoy a story.
Role reversal. Cognitive development is boosted when you allow your child to be the expert on any given subject. For example, let your kid show you how to build a tower out of blocks, or ask your child to help you with chores at home.
Hand-eye coordination. Cognitive development in early childhood can be enhanced by engaging a child in various hand-eye coordination activities. These also help them to hone their fine motor skills. Examples include throwing and catching a ball, or folding origami shapes into animal figures.
Learning by observation. Cognitive development in early childhood also happens when children watch other people perform various actions or follow instructions. This requires spending time together and allowing your child to observe you and others. They may learn by watching someone stack blocks, build forts, make crafts, or play with toys.
Social-emotional development. It’s important to provide children with opportunities to play and interact with other children in a supervised environment. This helps them develop a sense of empathy towards others, and teaches them how to interact appropriately in social situations. If children seem reserved while playing with peers, you can encourage them by helping them feel safe and more comfortable around other children. For example, if your little one is shy or seems aloof around other children at the park, you could organize an activity that compels them to cooperate with their peers.
Bottom line
Cognitive development in early childhood is enriched through a combination of learning and play. It’s also essential to support children’s experiences by being a positive role model, and helping them feel secure and confident about themselves.
Cognitive learning happens when parents provide a safe environment in which children can learn. Furthermore, if you allow them to observe a variety of life events around them, it will help them to better understand the world.
Parents can also support cognitive development by allowing their kids to take the lead at times during learning activities, and giving them all the encouragement they need to excel.
Be sure your child gets plenty of rest, exercise, and eats a balanced diet for a healthy mind and body. These activities can help support healthy brain development during early childhood.
Launchpad Early Education promotes cognitive development during early childhood by combining fun games with learning. Call us today for more information!