Problem Children

My children are still young and go to public school, but I wonder what I can do to help them develop on the side and on holidays, problem solving and critical thinking skills. What kinds of games and activities to encourage that?

Play. Reading is everything. Give them time to read, encourage them to read, reading is fun reading model before them. Play. It expands their vocabulary, keeps his active imagination, and allows them to see many well-written sentences. As a former high school and now university professor, I get a lot of students who arrive unable to specify, can not decode words, have a severely limited vocab, and imagination paralyzed. All they know what they see and hear on their iPod.

If you want to work very loosely structured, work on things which involve metacognition. Google "inquiry learning activities.

Read books and discuss the actions of characters such as "Did Little Red Hen make the right decision when she does not share the bread? Help to strengthen critical thinking. Kudos for recognizing this essential skill!

Doing "authentic type activities" such as cooking something and having the child will "double" or "triple" the recipe. Give the child 17 witnesses and have them "share" with 5 people and decide Then what to do with the "weird" cookies ... Many things you do not have to be carefully planned activities and problem solving and critical thinking skills can be made real with daily activities.