How to develop logical thinking in a child

The word "logic" in Greek is the science of correct thinking. In a broad sense, it is the ability to solve tasks without intuition and experience, but only on the basis of the theory of correct reasoning. 

Preschoolers and primary school children need to start doing logic as early as possible — there are many manuals, books and interactive platforms for this. Why to do this and where to start — we will tell you in our article, as well as give some exercises for the development of logic in children. The process of forming logical thinking

It is not easy to master the skill of logical thinking, but it is extremely necessary.

This is the key to the normal mental and social development of the child. It is only through logical thinking that children can analyze situations and determine cause-and-effect relationships. We can say that logic is the basis for solving life's problems and finding optimal solutions to all kinds of situations. 

Logical thinking is formed on the basis of sensory perception of the surrounding world. The stronger it is developed, the easier and faster the preschooler will be able to cope with logical tasks. 

What contributes to the development of imaginative thinking:familiarity with colors and shades, smells, sounds (music and more);

• active socialization;
• journeys;
• communication with nature and its inhabitants (animal and plant world).

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In addition to sensory thinking, the level of intelligence also affects the development of logic in children.

Studies have shown that the growth of mental abilities is most intense in the period from 5 to 8 years. Accordingly, mistakes in the process of intellectual development have far—reaching consequences - they are difficult to eliminate, as well as to prevent a negative impact in the future. 

To make the simplest logical conclusions, you need to know elementary reasoning techniques. And this skill is directly related to mental abilities. The conclusion suggests itself that smart children easily cope with solving logic problems.

Therefore, in order not to miss precious time, give children tasks for the development of thinking as early as possible — in the period from 3 to 5 years, the child must have a sufficient intellectual base for the development of logic. Exactly:

• distinguish between 10 or more colors;
• understand the causes of the phenomena of the surrounding world (for example, why it is raining);
• know 1-3 familiar routes (kindergarten-house, shop-house);
• telling meaningful stories;
• play a role (imitate the habits, movements and voices of animals);
• perform a sequence of 3 actions (take a candy, unwrap the wrapper, bring the candy to mom).

Also read: What you need to know about children's drawings and how to recognize disturbing momentsWhy develop logic in a child

An adult is almost daily faced with the need to solve problems of varying complexity: from ways to invest money to choosing the time of planting potatoes.

And we would not be able to cope with all this without logical thinking, because even the simplest analysis of options can be done only with the ability to deduce cause-and-effect relationships and patterns. 

But why develop logical thinking in children?✓ For successful learning.

Developed logic allows you to better perceive and process information, isolate the main thing and remember it, bypassing unnecessary data to the brain. 

✓ For communication. A dialogue between two people develops organically only if it is based on the basic principle of information exchange — question-answer. And the ability to ask questions and formulate answers is influenced by logical thinking.

✓ For critical perception. The ability to be critical of any information sometimes saves lives! But it does not arise by itself. At a minimum, you need to be able to distinguish truth from lies, treat contradictory information with doubt, compare facts and look for truthful sources of information.

✓ For making non-standard decisions. In many highly paid positions (top management, IT), the ability to find non-trivial ways to solve problems is appreciated. Almost any intellectual work is somehow connected with ingenuity, which is simply impossible without the ability to think logically. 

This is just a small list of reasons why preschoolers need to develop logical thinking. But there are much more of them, because it is on logic that all human activity is based. Without it, it would be impossible to deduce any regularity, not to come up with any rules, and not even pick up a stone, as primitive man did.

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7 logical exercises for children

If your child's sensory thinking and mental abilities are already sufficiently developed by the age of 4-5, it's time to move on to logic classes.

To help parents, we have collected 7 of the most useful types of logic tasks for preschoolers. 

1. Games with constructors. Children are excellent builders and creators. They have a developed imagination and so far there are no restraining fantasy restrictions. Kids build amazing things from an ordinary Lego constructor: fairy-tale castles, original cars, miracle mechanisms and even entire cities. 

Do not reduce games with constructors to a simple assembly according to the instructions. For example, from the sets of the Lego City series, you can build any kind of buildings, not just those that are depicted on the box. You can mix different game sets and create your own original story.

2. Chess. Since 2011, chess lessons have been made a compulsory subject for children of grades 2-4 in Armenia. And we have already received the first results of the experiment: 70% of schoolchildren showed an increase in efficiency and purposefulness. Children have become more balanced, academic performance in other subjects has improved.

Chess is probably the very embodiment of logic. Without it, it is impossible to make a single move on the checkered board. The game teaches you to analyze your actions and moves of the opponent, remember combinations, predict the outcome of the game, find the optimal solution for a limited period of time. A simplified version of the game is checkers. They are also suitable as a logic lesson for children 4, 5 or 6 years old.

3. Subject games. For younger preschoolers, games such as lotto, dominoes, modular constructors, magnetic mosaic will be useful. They teach structural and logical thinking, as well as develop memory and imagination.

4. Search for patterns. The development of logical thinking in older preschoolers is facilitated by the tasks of identifying patterns. The simplest of them is the association game:

• the adult calls the subject;
• the child names another object that is associated with what the adult called;
• with the help of several questions, the adult finds out which associative series the child has built to name his word. 

A more difficult game is with matches. You need to remove or move a certain number of matches to get another one from one picture. Collections of problems with matches can be found on the Internet. 

5. Causes and consequences. You can train the ability to identify cause-and-effect relationships with the help of such a game:

• an adult calls any event;
• the child guesses its cause.

It is better to start with simple phenomena (a cold, a broken cup, wet feet in winter). And gradually complicate — an accident on the road, a tan on the skin, etc. You can also play in the investigation:

• the adult calls the event;
• the child assumes what consequences it entails.

For example, to light a fire in an apartment — a fire will break out, to eat too much candy — a stomach ache, to miss the train — cancellation of the trip.

6. Board games. In any desktop store you will find many names of logic games. Choose any of them from the perspective of the tastes of the child and age — "Rummikub", "Ubongo", "Quiz", "Pentago", etc. In the game process, the development of logical thinking occurs organically and fun, kids do not even think that this is not just an exciting task, but a full-fledged logic lesson. 

7. Logical series. For primary school age, logical rows of improvised items are suitable — buttons by size, cubes by alphabet, elastic bands for hair by rainbow colors. 

Alternate items with different characteristics with a certain pattern. For example: two red sticks for counting and one white, then again two red and one white. Invite the child to continue your row. For older children, use numerical patterns (as in IQ tests)._________

Admiring smart and talented children, we sometimes forget how much work was invested by parents in their development and training. This is a painstaking and constant work, the fruits of which have a long-term perspective. At the same time, its goal is not to amuse the parents' self—esteem, but to give the child the opportunity to maximize his potential.

Those adults who have realized the benefits of developing logic in their children are already reaping the benefits in the form of successful studies and achievements in different directions. And they have even more life victories ahead of them. Join us!