Cognitive activities for 6+ years

Attention, problem solving, memory and early reasoning.

Build a paper bridge challenge
20 min
Design a better version
Design starts from a real irritation, which is why this produces better thinking than an open invitation to invent. Being asked to justify each change turns…
20 min
Draw a map of your room
20 min
Guess first, then count
Estimation is a distinct skill from counting and a better predictor of later mathematical intuition. Recording the guess before checking makes the gap visible…
12 min
If-then logic puzzles
15 min
Map the room from above
An overhead view has to be constructed mentally because it is never actually seen, which makes it a genuine act of spatial transformation. Using the finished…
20 min
Riddles and brain teasers
15 min
Simple addition with objects
15 min
Sink or float experiment
15 min
Work out my rule
Finding a hidden rule from examples is induction, the reasoning that underlies both science and mathematics. Keeping visible yes and no columns lets the child…
15 min
Complex pattern sequences
15 min
Nature journal observations
20 min
Program me across the grid
Writing the whole sequence before execution is what separates an algorithm from trial and error: the child has to simulate the outcome mentally. Returning to…
20 min
Sorting coins by value
15 min
Tell time on a clock
15 min