How children think and learn – according to Piaget
Jean Piaget, was a Swiss psychologist who studied child development. He was interested in the field of cognitive development and is still very well respected for his contributions to how children think and learn. In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, he believed that children move through four different stages of thinking and learning.
Piaget’s four stages:
Pointing out patterns is part of progress!
When you think of patterns you probably think about a visual image, perhaps artwork, or something you would see on a rug or set of curtains, but in fact we are surrounded by patterns of all kinds. Understanding patterns and sequences allows you to predict what might happen next or know what to do in order to get to a final goal. It helps us to count, to organise our day, to take turns and much more.
One study published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology[1] has reinforced the idea that understanding repeating patterns can help children’s maths knowledge by showing that for children aged 4-6 years, those whose knowledge of repeating patterns was stronger at the start of kindergarten went on to have better broad maths, and general numeracy, knowledge at the end of kindergarten.
Sometimes comparison is important... and that’s when you’re talking maths!
One of the ways you might notice your child comparing items, and so learning about the world around them, is by seeing them adjust their plans based on the weight or size of items. You might notice it when they choose to pick up the lighter box of blocks, or place a light item on top of the bridge they build instead of a heavy one. You can help them to distinguish the differences between items by talking about them in more than one way.
It’s quite natural to point out measurements your child is noticing, like when one tower is taller than the other, but did you know that a simple way for you to help them process this information is to also say the opposite statement? So in this case you might say that the yellow tower is taller, and the blue tower is shorter.
“Look, that’s my name!” How understanding symbols helps your child notice important letters
As children’s cognitive development progresses, they start to be able to enjoy symbolic play, as they can understand that what they see is representing something else. Although it might not seem closely linked to learning about the alphabet, developing an understanding of symbolism is in fact an important step towards being able to read and write in the future. Here’s why.
Your child might have started out understanding symbols using physical items which can be held and moved, perhaps by holding a toy brick to their ear as a phone. As their understanding of symbolism grows, they will be able to make more abstract links like realising that the numbers on a clock are showing adults what the time is and that the squiggles on a page which we call letters represent sounds, and even words.
Learning through stories – our top three books to help your child think about colour
Have you noticed that your child is becoming more thoughtful about the colours they use when they draw, paint or make artwork? We love to see the emerging ideas and preferences that can be seen, or talked about, as they pick the colours they most want to use.
One way to start a conversation about colour, and what it might mean to you, is through stories and there is no shortage of books which explore colour in interesting ways. Here are three of our favourites.
How remembering past events shapes your toddler's actions and behaviours
Remembering things that have happened in the past can change how we act in the future. Our memories can shape our perceptions, influence decision-making, and affect how we interact with others. Your toddler has been forming episodic memories for quite some time now about what they’ve been doing, the people they know and emotions linked to events and experiences.
Memories can make your toddler feel happy or scared, and they can help them understand the world better.
How toddlers remember: growing and learning through life experiences
When you ask your toddler what they’ve been doing in their day, it can be hard for them to think. They may say they’ve been doing nothing or that they simply don’t know, yet they are able to remember things from a while ago and tell you about them out of the blue; this is because their memory and language skills are still developing.
Memories are formed by neurons that fire in our brains
Puzzles and jigsaws – where did they originate from and why are they so good?
Puzzles and jigsaws have been around for centuries, with evidence of puzzle-like games dating back to ancient civilizations (it’s believed by some that Greek mathematician, Archimedes, created the first puzzles around 250 BC when he cut up a square of wood into 14 different shaped pieces and tried to reassemble them).[1] However, the modern-day jigsaw puzzle was invented in the 1760s by John Spilsbury, a British engraver and mapmaker, who pasted a map onto a wooden board and cut out the shapes of the countries with a jigsaw.[2]
Initially used to teach geography, Spilsbury’s idea caught on and evolved from map-based images to interlocking images of animals, historical images and other things around the mid-1800s, and really took off in the 1930s; thought to be popular as they were reusable as well as entertaining.[3]
What research tells us about counting – and what it means for your toddler
Lots of children love counting, they might enjoy the excited responses of people around them, or the rhythm and music of chanting numbers – and researchers found even young toddlers preferred a correct counting sequence to an incorrect one.[1] But there’s more to understanding numbers and quantity than saying the numbers in order.
There are several skills involved in understanding numbers and counting, and some your toddler will have had since they were born. Researchers have found that babies have an awareness of quantity from birth – this seems to be quite accurate for small amounts (up to two or three items), and more approximate for larger ones.[1]
Can we fix it? Helping your toddler understand that sometimes we can’t
Sometimes it’s hard to understand the world from your toddler’s point of view, but a bit of knowledge about child development can help to make sense of what they do!
Does your toddler seem shocked when the flower they took off a plant can’t simply be placed back on? They might be devastated when they can’t put a bit of a broken toy in position and see it magically fixed.
One of the ways we all learn about the world is through cause and effect, and one thing your toddler has learnt is that somethings can be changed – then changed back again.
