The following is for the individuals who choose to have children as part of their Life Compass…
My purpose here is to introduce Critical Thinking to parents for their children.
"A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in school and in life."
Join me in helping your
child build a foundation
for critical thinking in the
early years...
For Starters…
Read below:
1. What Critical Thinking is.
2. The Why and Purpose of writing 3 children’s picture books.
3. How important asking open-ended questions is.
What is critical thinking?
Answer: to be able to make reasonable judgments, identify problems, come up with solutions, and filter reliable information necessary for independent learning.
Critical thinking skills come about initially with an atmosphere of trust...trust in those close to the child who respect and do not make fun of the child. It is where children are asked questions, especially open-ended questions, prompting them for an answer. The key to this is allowing the child to observe, make comparisons and form opinions.
The child’s answer is based on the child’s experience and observations. Since the young child is in the process of learning, this means the child might be wrong, which is OK. Depending on the original questions, if it was based on fact, e.g., comparing a straight or curved surface and the child answers incorrectly, then proceed to correct the answer non-judgmentally by demonstrating why the adult answer is correct.
Critical thinking skills ultimately aid in the development of logic that begins at approximately the age of 12.
Critical thinking also results from encouraging children to problem-solve through activities such as the more obvious, working puzzles and mazes, but also the less obvious as follows:
- Asking open-ended questions
- Pretend play
- Explorative activities
The WHY behind Creating My Books and Website:
I taught and tutored math to high school and college students for 20 years and loved it. However, students often asked me: “Why do I have to take math? I’ll never use it!” It appears that no one ever explained to these individuals that math is an important foundation for logical thinking and that the disciplines of math transfer to the disciplines of life.
There is a lot of information available on the web relative to building a foundation for critical thinking in the early years of a child's life. Still, I wanted a medium that more quickly reached parents or guardians. So, because most parents like to read to their children, I decided to write children's books with an emphasis on helping a child develop critical thinking skills that closely relate to decision-making and problem-solving.
The Purpose for Creating My Books and Website:
To entertain children ages 4-7.
To share with parents and/or guardians through the medium of books how they can help their children lay the groundwork for critical thinking.
To do my part to act upon a definite problem that exists with many of our students...that is, many children who are not prepared to “think” beyond what they are already familiar with!!!
By the time of middle school, many children find math overwhelming. They have often convinced themselves that they aren’t “smart enough” for the subject.
Ages 4-7 is a great time to establish the following attributes in children:
- How to think: use one’s mind actively to form connected ideas.
- Gain confidence and positive self-esteem
Examples of open-ended questions or statements:
Below are examples of open-ended questions to ask your child that encourage your child to "think." However, the following points are important considerations when interacting with your child:
Readiness is everything. Your child may not be ready to answer the question. In this case, do not criticize, but use prompting questions that might help the child. For example, regarding the question: Tell me what is the same about these objects? What is the difference? Relative to what is the same, you might start with the basics: What is the color of these objects? Isn’t this what is the same about these objects? Then, ask what the difference is for the second time. If the child still cannot answer, share the difference and explain why. This is a soft way of getting your child familiar with inquiring questions.
Please note: Just because you’re using these techniques to help your child lay a foundation for critical thinking doesn’t mean he/she will like math, but at least when your child is learning mathematical principles, he/she is more comfortable with the process associated with solving a problem.
