Brain Boosting Activities for Your Little Ones Nurturing the setting which will create a positive learning experience for children is a part of the parent’s job description. In the first months of their lives, that can be done by reading and talking to them, listening to music together, etc.
Later on, as they grow older, your children will want to take a more proactive stand in their brains developments. Your role, in this case, is not diminished. It is even more important. You will have to be their guide through discovering their potentials and boundaries. It is a very responsible task, but not at all difficult.

There are many games and activities designed to challenge the children’s mind and help them grow and progress. Here are some of them.

Solving Problems
Nesting games younger children (one and a half and above). By giving your toddlers nesting toys of various sizes (different size bowls can also do the trick) that can fit inside each other, you are actually teaching your kids about different sizes and perspectives, being patient and solving problems through logical reasoning.
Participate in the game, in the beginning, by showing them how it is done, but after, you have to encourage them to do that by themselves. Matching games can also contribute to developing problem-solving skills (match cards with the same shapes, animals, etc.).

Thinking Skills Games
Stimulate your children to think because it contributes to forming or strengthening their neural pathways. Create optimal learning activities while being supportive, encouraging, but still challenging.

Use games such as paper puzzle (shapes made of colored paper should be placed on the board with the same shapes on it), guessing the opposites (matching the drawings with opposite things – up and down; happy and sad, big and small, etc.), guess what is next (read a book to your children and encourage them to guess what could happen next before you flip the page).

Imagination and Creativity Activities
Nurturing creativity and imagination with your children is contributing to the development of abstract thinking. You can do that through various activities which provide the possibility of creative expressions, such as drawing, painting, playing with sand or clay, or reading a storybook. Role-playing is also an important part of the children’s world of imagination.

Educational Toys
The toys that you choose for your kids make a big difference in their development. Educational toys are great because they encourage specific learning areas such as science, literacy, math, music, etc. They are also, usually, made to last.

Still, because you have to keep challenging your children all the time, they should not remain in one game for a longer period, and you will need to acquire new ones often. Do not worry, though, a vast range of educational toys can be found on swap.com, at very affordable prices, too.

Challenging Activities for Better Learners
As the kids are getting older, you will have to improve their learning ability by choosing appropriate and challenging activities for them. One of those activities can be chess, which can contribute to improving problem-solving, reasoning and math skills. Sudoku is also a great brain exercise aiming to enhance logical reasoning and math skills. Word jumbles, word searches, and crossword puzzles can expand children’s vocabulary.

Board games are ideal when the whole family wants to get involved in brain-boosting activities. Learning a new language or exploring different crafts such as crocheting, sewing and cooking can enrich children’s minds with new and precious experiences.

The ultimate advice is to always search for something new. The novelties will keep the children’s neurons growing and set a healthy pattern of continuous work on self-improvement throughout their lives.

Author BIO:
Sophia Smith is a freelance writer from Brisbane, Australia with a huge interest in beauty, fashion and graphic design. She could be described as a beauty addict and life lover. She writes mostly in beauty related topics, mainly through blogs and articles. Sophia is a regular contributor at High Style Life on topics related to beauty, fashion, and lifestyle.

Find her on:
Facebook
Twitter
Google +