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| Training for the Budding Einstein by Theresa Lütge-Smith |
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Intelligence is a skill that must be taught since children discover by experience not only what to think but also how to think. Being able to recall basic knowledge from memory is an important aspect of intelligence. A child may have all the facts needed to find a solution to a problem and yet fail to do so because he has no effective means of applying this knowledge and build an edifice of understanding.
| Parents can help their child to store and recall information by training him to create associations through creative visualisation and mental picturing. Children have great imaginations and live in a world rich with fantasy. Their ability to conjure up vivid mental images can be used to enhance their powers of information storage and recall. For instance, a young child draws from his memory an image to answer questions like “What shape is a badger’s tail?” or “How many legs have a spider?” Most children do their thinking in this way until they reach an age where words take over as the main instruments of reasoning. |  |
You can start the training by reading a short extract to your child from the kind of book he most enjoys. When this is done ask him to picture the scene as clearly as possible. Now ask a series of questions designed to sharpen the images still further and direct his attention to specific aspects of the scene. After a few sessions like this the child should be able to recall fairly long and detailed scenes with ease. Keep the atmosphere relaxed and do not force the pace. Keep the sessions within 5 minutes at a time.
Give your child simple opportunities to find things out for himself. It is far more mind expanding to provide the means by which the answer may be found than always giving him a ready answer. Provide toys which allow scope for imaginative play, in particular those in which there is no predetermined end result. A construction kit, for example, expands the child’s mind while an activity such as paint-by-numbers merely leads to a predictable conclusion.
The more helpful and constructive the teaching, the more likely your child’s inborn abilities will find expression in the thoughts he thinks, the knowledge he gains and the things he does. This ultimately builds a sturdy foundation for further opportunity and new rewarding experiences.
More Suggested Activities:
Board Games
Most board games require the use of basic numeracy, such as ‘Snakes & Ladders’, ‘Ludo’, Chess, ‘Monopoly’, ‘Go’, ‘Cluedo’ and Dominoes. Since the Logical-Mathematical intelligence gains from the handling of and correlation with objects, the child’s ability to think concretely about those objects is developed. Also introduce basic jigsaw puzzles, card games like ‘Snap’, and traditional building blocks; as well as different sized balls to arrange according to size or colour.
Beat the Timer
Once your child is familiar with a jigsaw puzzle or other construction activity, encourage him to complete the activity within a specific time limit, using a 3 minute egg timer (the kind one can see the sand running through from one end to the other). The limited time frame sharpens the child’s focus on organisation, revision of structure and recognition.
Scavenger Hunt
Take about 8 to 10 photographs of familiar items in and around the house. Give your child one photograph to begin with to search for the item that matches the photograph. At the place where he identifies the item, he finds a new photograph and the hunt continues until he has all the photos. This game encourages the child’s inborn ability to recognise and recall information.
Fly a Kite
Besides being a fun activity, kite flying is also a natural gateway into science. It encourages visual perception, and emphasises colour and pattern recognition.
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About the Author Theresa Lütge-Smith is a published author and writes extensively for print and online publications. A freelance research-writer, Theresa writes mostly non-fiction on a diverse range of topics including business, computer technology, education, health and parenting. She is married with four sons and resides in South Africa. |
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