Activities to Support Your Child’s Cognitive Development
Children begin making their observations and piecing things together from the moment they are born. They explore, problem solve and try learning about the world around them. This is what we refer to as cognitive development and is a prime way that you can set your child up for success at school. In this post we share a list of activities from a nursery school in London that you can use at each stage of development.
Babies
Mobiles for Their Crib
Hanging items directly above their crib can enhance your little ones’ vision as their eyes draw attention to the different objects floating above them. They are encouraged to move their bodies to reach and use their motor skills.
Rattles
Rattles contain lots of small little objects that move in the direction they are shaken in. This gets them to follow them and explore how they move. Holding and shaking the rattles themselves also improves their hand eye coordination.
Infants
Hide and Seek
With infants on the other hand, you will need activities that are a little more challenging such as hide and seek which works on their spatial awareness and problem solving.
Family Photos
As another activity you might explore familiar faces they know through photographs and get them to exercise their memory skills.
Toddlers
Puppets
Puppets are a cool way that you can explore role play with your little one and tell stories. By getting them involved, you can use their imagination and develop their creativity.
Unstructured Play
This is an excellent way to help children of all ages with their cognitive skills. As the name implies, play activities are unstructured and there are no set guidelines for children to follow. It gives them complete freedom to play as they like, explore their own ideas and objects around them and thus develop their cognitive skills.
By working on these areas (a child’s memory, problem solving and creativity) you will help develop the skills for them to become a lifelong learner.
