UPDATED JULY 12, 2021
As the summer months approach, it’s more important than ever to focus on helping your child build their critical thinking skills. These are the higher-level thinking skills in which students make decisions, evaluate information, synthesize and apply what they have learned. When your child masters critical thinking it sets them up for a successful learning experience for life.
Here are some ways to build your child’s critical thinking skills, even when school is out for the summer.
Play strategy games
A great way to build critical thinking skills and have fun at the same time is to play strategy games that require patience and multi-step thinking.
For example, checkers and chess are great games for critical thinking skills because children need to be able to think about each move and its repercussions several moves later. Think about how much luck is involved in each game you choose to play with your child. The less luck, and the more skill, required the better. This forces your child to rely on strategy to win the game. Games with lots of interaction and collaborative goals also help children learn how to think critically when in a group.
Pay attention to current events
Adults use critical thinking skills to read the news and form opinions about what is happening in the world. Your child can do this too! Find relevant, appropriate articles and ask your children what they think about the issues presented.
Some questions kids will be excited to answer include whether kids should have cell phones, whether kids should wear uniforms to school, and whether kids should have homework. Ask your child to form an opinion on each issue and back up their opinion with at least three solid reasons or examples. This will teach your child to really think about their thinking and decide why they have the opinion that they do.
Complete logic puzzles
Independent puzzles and games also help build critical thinking skills, while also building verbal and math fluency. These logic puzzles show students how to think methodically and eliminate wrong answers. They help students see patterns and the relationship between parts and the whole. They’re also fun activities that the whole family can enjoy!
Not sure where to start? You can find logic puzzles designed with critical thinking in mind by heading here.
Get creative with your playtime
A great way for students to really show what they know is by giving them the opportunity to create something new. This could be a literacy-based activity, like creating their own comic book. It could be a STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) activity, where your child is tasked with building a new machine for a specific purpose, like creating a roller coaster for a new amusement park.
Projects like these aren’t just engaging for kids. They encourage them to apply their knowledge and synthesize their learning, engaging critical thinking.
Involve the arts
You might think of art as just painting and drawing, but this is just a starting point. Incorporate the arts into your critical thinking sessions by having your child create a new song, dance, or skit to share about a topic they love. You can even have kids practice emotional awareness by asking them to physically show how they feel about a certain issue. Have them show the emotion of “joy,” for example, or give a situation and have them show their reaction. This is a great way to involve children that don’t want to do traditional reading and writing activities; the creative aspect is very different from what many kids get in school.
Building critical thinking skills with your kids over the summer is easier than it sounds. Think about using what’s already in front of you: arts, current events, and projects, and you’ll have fun and build thinking skills at the same time!
ENROLL NOW IN SUMMER LEARNING
