Stillfire:


A pastor somewhere told his congregation to eat grass and they did, and you say critical thinking is overrated?
I'm a Christian, but I'm would be stupid not to know that Christianity has been bastardized.

then teach them from the bible so they wont be taught by bastards preachers.
they will believe ur version of the story

Stillfire:


You've said everything I wanted to say.



Anyway, for academics, avoid cramming. A child making good grades might not necessarily mean she understands the principles behind the subject, she might just be cramming. At that age she would be relying on how good her memory is, but as she grows older memory reduces, so it's best to develop her brain at that age so that she can be able to apply the principles she has learned.

One of the best ways to teach a child to understand concept than cramming is telling the child to explain in his/her own words content of whatever read while preserving the main message.

If she grows up understanding concept, she wouldn't have to deal with "la cram, la pour"...


which of the two ladies is Stillfire?

greatgod2012:
1. Sightseeing and nature seeing.
2. Video games for their ages also helps.
[b]3.Involving them in decision making also as well helps.
You can involve them when taking decisions. Also ask them to take their decisions and just make modifications where necessary having told them the need for the modifications.
You can as well sometimes ask them to suggest what you can do when faced with life situations. Something like "I'm faced with so, so and so, what do you think I should do, you can give me your suggestions after dinner, it will amaze you how they will give you very very useful suggestions. It may not be what really happened to you, it may be from a movie you just watched, a book you just read, etc. You would be amazed to see that they can actually think outside the box and give very useful suggestion.
We parents never know how intelligent these kids are until we involve them in critical thinking.
I am not saying you should involve them in your office management system o, but at least we all know what their levels are suppose to be. [/b]

4. Puzzle and word searching.
5. Ludo and paper games.

I wanted to write an epistle about 'decision making' then I saw Greatgod's post. ( making them part of the team)

My dear you have no idea how effective that ^^ is in kids life. If you do then you're on the right track.

#6.. Sudoku and cross puzzles.
#7.. Piano ( I don't know about anyone else but keynotes reading is one of the most strategic skill that involves critical thinking , I've ever came across especially performing in a crowd of audience).

naijababe:


Folks I need some suggestions as regards the above for my two kids are aged 8 and 5.

I already have a routine nailed on reading and mental maths but I feel like I need to be doing something on the above. I just need ideas, I plan on buying a chessboard and teaching them both to play, other ideas welcome.

[b]Reading(general knowledge and novels) , music,games, questioning, and meditation are the fuel for creativity. every kid is creative and an artist with unique abilities so we should not teach them what to think but rather how to think.

instead of taking for granted the way you view things, think for a moment from a different perspective, do not assume you are the ultimate reference frame, put yourself in their shoes, how are they viewing what you are also watching, what contradicts and whats similar in the two views, this will help in relating with them much more with emotional intelligence and also help them identify the invariant of their unique identity

emotional intelligence is an essential factor when relating with them, ability to recognize their emotions and feelings and never to repressed them(also note that the opposite of negativity is creativity) ,this way they can freely see the objectivity of the truth,not how they are told to generally believe, but how the imagination of the thought present it to their reality for creativity lies in the imagination

take this for example in the world of physical science, in order for Johannes Kepler to determine the laws governing all the planet, he had to get of from earth to view what was moving it, he mentally put himself on mars to view himself back on planet earth, which was his key to figuring out the earth motion and hence the invariant which move all the planets

a creative mind can therefore be said to be a mind that can boldly pierce to the domain of the unknown where sense perception break down and answers cannot be gathered by simply adding things together but through dealing with the complex relations of thoughts


i am still so much inspired by this quote from Albert Einstein till this present moment

"i believe in intuition and imagination, i sometimes feel that i am right, i do not know i am, i am enough of the artist to draw freely from my imagination. imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited but imagination encircles the world"[/b]

Stillfire:

You've said everything I wanted to say.
Anyway, for academics, avoid cramming. A child making good grades might not necessarily mean she understands the principles behind the subject, she might just be cramming. At that age she would be relying on how good her memory is, but as she grows older memory reduces, so it's best to develop her brain at that age so that she can be able to apply the principles she has learned.

Please never stop a child that can cram from doing so, only go extra by making the child understand and explain what he crammed. Cramming is a gift/talent, not everyone has it. I say these words with experience and because its life. The child that can cram and understand, has it as his greatest study tool for spontanity-future, memory-past and possibly any goodness that is associated with learning, craming makes his learning 95% easier. Even the one that crams without understanding despite efforts to make him understand it, has it as the gift God has given him to bring him before great men, it is one of the amazing things that i have seen so that the dullest has the best paper. It is what God has made to lift some, he uses the weak, lift the low and shows it his grace at end of the day where the race is not to the swift. I know many that has crammed to be at the top, bad as it may, i know not one yet amongst them that it has benefitted less than their understanding counterparts. Cramming is no small work itself, you can justify from those without the gift. I advocate cramming with understanding, if the craming gift is there. This gift usually manifest from childhood, dont kill it.

@cramming.. Crammed Multiplication table the best tool/asset a diasporean kid can have. Many kids struggle with this when solving math problems.

It depends.

>
Its 5am and here thinking of how best I can answer your question without surfing "Ways to foster critical thinking & creativity among kids"...Without mentioning reading, solving puzzles, maths problems and so on.

Anyway, one of the patterns I have found that works very well is asking questions, frequently? You're cooking a special dish, you could ask which is better: Cooking at home or eating out at their favourite restaurant? If they give an answer, counter it and let the debate begin. Always ask WHY? For instance, Why did you choose eating out? Why don't you think I should prepare this meal at home? If they can't come up with ideas, you can chip in words like "Is it because I dont add ice-cream to it here at home?". Why stimulates the brain to come up with reasons.

I suggest that this starts within their area of interest. Then the circle grows larger till you realize that they can come up with points and prepare for any of your questions. Also make it fun so they don't get bored with your questions.


Second, give them tasks. As little as arranging their beds, cleaning the dining table, mopping the kitchen floor, they get to use more of their hands and this means they're actually doing stuffs. If at first it takes them, lets say, 15 mins to lay their beds, and then you notice its takes less time to do the same, ask them how they were able to do it in such short time and you'd get to hear how they creatively started holding the helm of the bedspread and then take the pillow and then....creative/innovative ways of doing things has set in, but it comes first off by DOING. So always give them tasks to do.

I suggest you start with tasks that not stressful and cumbersome. Watch how they improve on it, ask how they did, suggest better ways of doing it if you don't see any improvement, then you can add new tasks.


Reading out loud: If they've already started, then you're they're fine. Reading out loud, probably every weekend boosts their confidence, sparks creativity (let them actually bark like a dog and mew like a cat when they read those lines to you. Hahahahaha.). Tell them to act it out. Poems and rhymes, with a little writing - write 5 sentences about how you spent your day, your best friend, why you like the dog etc etc. Oh I finally talked about reading books.. . Can't help it.


Frawzey.

Ewuro4:


I wanted to write an epistle about 'decision making' then I saw Greatgod's post. ( making them part of the team)

My dear you have no idea how effective that ^^ is in kids life. If you do then you're on the right track.

#6.. Sudoku and cross puzzles.
#7.. Piano ( I don't know about anyone else but keynotes reading is one of the most strategic skill that involves critical thinking , I've ever came across especially performing in a crowd of audience).

Thanks my sister, believe me, since I've started involving them in decision making, I've been getting awesome feedbacks from them.
Ko so mode nibi kankan jare.

How are you and yours ma?

Lovely thread naijababe and I have Learnt loads as well.I can't think of anything else to say that hasn't been said.

Bellong's post was really spot on.

Chess is really good I remember my dad teaching me how to play chess when I was about 10.

Engaging children's curiousity(I know the why can get irritating sometimes ) is something that can never be overemphasised. listening and involving them in decisions ,seeking their opinions like some other's have said is something that we Africans need to embrace.

Yes.....lots of really good tips here.....

Stillfire:


A pastor somewhere told his congregation to eat grass and they did, and you say critical thinking is overrated?
I'm a Christian, but I'm would be stupid not to know that Christianity has been bastardized.

You see why critical thinking is overrated?

You even 'overthought' my post!

AjanleKoko:


You see why critical thinking is overrated?

You even 'overthought' my post!

Laught wan kill me oh!

I really enjoyed reading this thread, its good knowing I'm doing a large number of things right. I may be young but i have a 5year old girl (long story, but technically true). I've read a lot here and this has encouraged me to do more. Thanks for all your comments.
I love the feeling when my girl comes to me with any issue she may not have an answer to, then we talk about it, and allow her the chance to make d decision. I can remember the first time she told me bout a boy who touched her bum, she gave the boy a beating we talked about it at home, but the school had a lot to say to me the next day. Nothing can replace what i feel when she's happy during our conversations then smiles and says 'thank you , I love you daddy'.


Oh yes, engaging childrens curiosity may be embarrasing most times, but i think to myself; if my parents had engaged my curiosity when i was much younger, i probably wouldn't have made some silly mistakes i did in the past . My gratitude for this thread can't be fully expressed. Thank you.

Nice