Activities to Boost Spatial Intelligence
in Preschool
Recent studies in neuroscience showed that specific regions of the brain responsible for spatial thinking develop in early childhood. Children who have mastered spatial reasoning skills in early childhood have more opportunities to use them. In 2010 David Tzuriel and Gila Egozi tested the mental rotation skills of a hundred first graders. They then divided the kids into two groups. Half of the group was assigned to a spatial training program that was designed to visually observe and transform geometric shapes. The other half was assigned to an alternative, non-spatial training program. At the end of the study, the spatially trained students became particularly better in math compared with control-group peers. The researchers speculate that the spatial training improved the children’s ability to visualize and rearrange numbers in mathematical equations.
How can you train your kids to develop strong spatial abilities?
How can you train your kids to develop strong spatial abilities?
Here are some activities you can do with your kids:
Note that spatial ability is not a subject so teachers and parents need to realize where they can incorporate activities that require spatial thinking into the school day. You can “spatialize” some of your math, english language arts, and science topics. Or you can do spatial tasks with them during after-school programs. The important thing is that you help them improve their spatial skills through fun and meaningful activities.
If your kids continue to improve their spatial skills, you will find them having a great time manipulating and tinkering things. You’ll get to enjoy seeing them build, repair, dismantle, and reassemble things. What things will they be able to successfully create using their spatial skills and imagination? Well, the sky is the limit.
- Read spatially challenging picture books with them. The pictures or images will help the kids improve their spatial visualization ability.
- Give them pictures of unrelated objects and ask them to create a story based on these objects.
- Provide mechanical building toys and models. Have them design and build structures such as cranes, trucks, buses, and buildings.
- Have them play with colorful jigsaw puzzles, tangrams, and board games.
- Ask them to paint a picture of their surroundings. Have them observe a place and tell them to paint whatever they see in their mind.
- Play games with plenty of gestures and expressions. Games such as Pictionary and charades help improve visualization ability.
- Teach using spatial words such as outside, inside, out, in, front, back, middle, between, up, down, side, top, bottom, under, over, around, next to, here, and there. If you play puzzles and blocks with them, you will find many opportunities to use those spatial words.
- Encourage them to use maps. Children with age of 3 or 4 can already understand and interpret simple maps such as classroom floor plan. Hide an object in the room and draw it on the map. Ask the students to locate the hidden object in the real room by analyzing their map. Older children can handle more complex maps. You can give them an incomplete map and tell them to find unmarked features and draw these features on their maps.
Note that spatial ability is not a subject so teachers and parents need to realize where they can incorporate activities that require spatial thinking into the school day. You can “spatialize” some of your math, english language arts, and science topics. Or you can do spatial tasks with them during after-school programs. The important thing is that you help them improve their spatial skills through fun and meaningful activities.
If your kids continue to improve their spatial skills, you will find them having a great time manipulating and tinkering things. You’ll get to enjoy seeing them build, repair, dismantle, and reassemble things. What things will they be able to successfully create using their spatial skills and imagination? Well, the sky is the limit.
A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.
- Brad Henry
- Brad Henry
References
Dewar, G. 2017. Spatial Intelligence in Children: Making kids smarter through play, talk, and practice. https://www.parentingscience.com/spatial-intelligence.html
Newcombe, N.S. (2013) Seeing Relationships: Using Spatial Thinking to Teach Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies, American Educator, 37(1), 26-31 and 40
Newcombe, N.S. (2006) A Plea for Spatial Literacy. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 52(26).
Dewar, G. 2017. Spatial Intelligence in Children: Making kids smarter through play, talk, and practice. https://www.parentingscience.com/spatial-intelligence.html
Newcombe, N.S. (2013) Seeing Relationships: Using Spatial Thinking to Teach Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies, American Educator, 37(1), 26-31 and 40
Newcombe, N.S. (2006) A Plea for Spatial Literacy. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 52(26).