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Cognitive Skills
Home » Early Learning » Kindergarten Readiness » Cognitive SkillsPosted by Your Guide on March 3, 2006 10:27 PM
Cognitive skills are those abilities that show we are able to learn and communicate that learning through speech, whether it is oral or written. In the kindergarten setting, the teacher will not attend to your child one on one as you are often able to do. The teacher will not be able to anticipate their every need, and therefore, cognitive and communication skills are absolutely necessary for kindergarten readiness.
Cognitive skills are those skills we use in thinking and processing information. You can watch for cognitive abilities during your everyday activities. If your child can manage these and similar activities, you will see that they are making progress toward kindergarten readiness
To help you get started, consider the following cognitive abilities.
Can your child:
• Attend to a story that is read to them without wandering off or interrupting?
• Recognize sounds that rhyme and repeat them with you?
• Listen to, understand, and follow simple instructions?
• Share with other children with little or no prompting?
• Understand who is in authority and who is not?
• Demonstrate age appropriate self-control?
• Separate from parents without tears?
• Sort various objects into like groups?
You can test your child by giving them a three-part instruction, such as, “Abbie, get your coat, put it on and come back to me.” You can check for rhyming ability by singing songs you learned when you were a child. Even children who cannot read are able to clap at the right time in the song, “BINGO.” If you have buttons, Leggo’s, or other small objects, give your child an empty egg carton and 10 or 12 objects of 2 or 3 different colors, and let them play the sorting game. Ask them to sort the items by color and then help them if they have trouble. The more they play this game, the better they will be able to sort the objects next time.
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