Kristin Hill Taylor

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3 Ways to Enhance Kids’ Cognitive Skills

April 25, 2022 by Kristin 2 Comments

Our kids don’t have a ton of screen time. Sure, they watch some TV and my older two have to use Google Chromebooks for school work sometimes. Cate has a Gabb phone and Ben has a Gabb watch. We want to create safe, healthy technology habits while enhancing their cognitive skills. 

Your child’s cognitive skills enable them to think critically and retain information as they grow older. The skills also boost their analytical abilities by helping them understand the process of cause and effect and the relationship between ideas. Cognitive development is essential for your child’s academic success, making it important to prioritize it. 

Here are three ways to help achieve that:

Motivate them to read more 

Various studies indicate reading is beneficial for children, regardless of age. It increases their attention span, vocabulary building, and emotional and social development. A 2013 study revealed that babies whose parents read to them scored higher in problem-solving and other cognitive activities. Other benefits of reading include a broader attention span, improved listening skills, and creativity. It’s important to invest in the right books to see the full benefits. For instance, educational resources such as summer bridge books can prove helpful.

I’m thankful to be raising readers. I have one child who loves fantasy and dystopian novels, another who loves non-fiction books with lots of facts, and the youngest child who is doing a good job learning to read. We have multiple bookshelves with more books than probably necessary, visit the library often, and keep books near in case we have unexpected waiting times. 

Even so, I have a confession for you: I don’t keep summer reading logs. Mostly I just don’t want to fool with it, especially on Summer Break. But I also know I have readers who have learned the value of books and don’t need prizes at this point. I’m not opposed to reading logs and understand they may be just the reading motivation some kids need. 

Let them dabble in arts and crafts 

Arts and crafts keep kids engaged and entertained. But did you know that they are also instrumental in developing their cognitive skills? Arts and crafts enable children to acquire and practice valuable things like patterning and critical thinking, according to the Michigan State University Extension Office. Likewise, they develop language, math, and fine motor skills. Crafts also create an avenue for your kids to explore their creativity and self-expression. If you haven’t already, you want to encourage them to participate in arts and crafts. 

My youngest girl loves to paint, color with markers or crayons, and use stickers. She wishes I’d hold onto every paper she creates or brings home from school. The sad reality is I end up trashing many things, although I keep plenty of her creations in her designated binder of memorabilia. She also loves when her older sister helps her make slime! (Yep, another confession: I don’t do that, but I don’t care if they do!)

Giving kids the space and freedom to create while offering some parental guidance is a great way for them to develop cognitive skills without even realizing it! Spending time in the museum helps introduce your kids to art and develop an appreciation of what others have created. 

Encourage them to play outside 

I love those afternoons when the kids come home from school and spend hours outside. I love the springtime when they have to wash off all the dirt and outdoor smell even if they just took a shower the night before. We have plenty of wide-open spaces for our kids to roam, ride, and explore. The trampoline has been one thing all three of my kids have enjoyed for years, and we actually just have had to replace the one we got more than five years ago. They also like wading in the creek, swimming in our pool, fishing at our pond, hiking through our pine forest, and playing games of hide-and-seek with their friends. 

Kids aged 8 to 12 spend approximately four to six hours on their smart devices, while teens spend nine hours, according to the AACAP. I’m thankful my kids aren’t the norm there! While screen time can be entertaining, it leads to issues like lower academic performance and less time for physical activity. The National Institute of Health says children who have more than two hours of screen time have lower thinking power. 

On the other hand, Harvard research indicates that outdoor play helps sharpen their troubleshooting, planning, multitasking, negotiation, and prioritization skills. Moreover, it also increases their attention span, stimulates their multiple senses, and improves wayfinding abilities. 

Of course, there are benefits to getting outside, keeping a book close, and creating artwork. I’m thankful for these experiences for my kids and encourage you to incorporate these activities into your life too. 

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Filed Under: family, motherhood Tagged With: books, family, life, motherhood

Comments

  1. Colton Morrison says

    April 25, 2022 at 9:43 pm

    Wow! I agree with you 100%. Modern technology can be good, but often times it is bad for children. It is also bad for adults like us, because sometimes we get so addicted to that technology that it sucks hours out of our day. I also find the same thing with tv, everything is good in moderation. It is also important for us to go outside and enjoy the natural world, because being in nature is excellent for our mental health. I have swam in lakes in the past, when ever I do, I always feel at peace with everything around me. We all need those moments of enjoyment, without enjoyment, life cannot be lived to the fullest.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      April 26, 2022 at 8:20 am

      Thanks for stopping by with encouragement.

      Reply

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Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our high school girl who never forgets, our middle school boy who has no fear, and our joy-filled first-grade girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

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🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness 🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness has walked beside me / The winter storms made way for spring / In every season, from where I'm standing / I see the evidence of Your goodness / All over my life … 🎶 @joshbaldwin in “Evidence”

I love summer. But my summer has started off busy: appointments, book edits deadline, establish new habits with the kids at home. All that’s necessary and good, it just cuts into my down time beside the pool. 

Today we have two open gyms for our basketball players, my book study with a few friends, a new weekly high school girls’ book study at our house, and a monthly dad-son character study. 

I long for a little more white space on the calendar, but I also wouldn’t change a thing because the kids are only 16, 13, and 7 once. This summer will only be this summer once. And I’ve already learned time flies with big kids. 

So here we are finding out footing, singing praises with church friends on our porch, grilling delicious chicken, and squeezing in the wide-open spaces when we can. This is evidence of the good stuff. 

#84daysofsummer #poolpeople #momlife #momconfessions #faithlife #livingfaithfully #favoritethings #choosingJOY #countryliving #reallife #PorchStories
The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat ha The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat has become a favorite tradition to kick off summer! The weather was perfect and everyone enjoyed one another. 

#familyreunion #lakelife #kentuckylake #kylake #getoutside #familytime #memorialday #memorialdayweekend #favoritethings #84daysofsummer #summerisbest #choosingJOY
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First of all, who else has read this book? The plo First of all, who else has read this book? The plot was promising as a thriller and the setting really worked. There were some good twists, and then there were ridiculous twists. I skimmed the end only because I wanted it to make sense. And it didn’t. It was too weird for me. 

But this made me wonder: how do we know if a book is going to be weird, contain elements we don’t like, or go places that don’t make sense? I don’t like to read much about a book before I read the book. Usually, I do a better job of picking books for myself. 

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I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant we I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant weather, a mixture of productivity and rest, and had plenty of wide-open space to enjoy our property and each other. 

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And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watch And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watching them both play. 

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On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a book, but I didn’t know what I wanted to read. Whenever I have indecision about books, picking up a thriller usually helps because of the story’s pace. 

“The Only Survivors” worked well because there was a lot happening! Lots of creepy, mysterious moments. Only so many people could be guilty of infiltrating a small group who had lots of secrets! 

I loved the timeline of this one. The back story about an accident was told in seven one-hour segments. The present mystery was told in seven days. 

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And when I say summer, I mean we are ready to shake up the routine, mentally regroup, turn off the alarms, establish some new habits, soak in the sun, and catch up with friends we’ve been crossing paths with too quickly. 

I want to savor the #84daysofsummer and I want to embrace this new season. And it’s almost time. Three more days of school. (Deep breaths.) 

Meanwhile, I’m going to keep collecting the moments — the hard, hurried, happy, and heartfelt. The seasons do change, but this is the life we are living. 

“The moments you collect may not be loud or flashy. They might be quiet or covered or a far-off view you were lucky to catch. But this I know to be true: A moment savored says to your soul, ‘You have lived something beautiful.’ And it keeps you buoyed. It sustains you when you’re running empty. It lifts you up and carries you forward.” — Joanna Gaines in @magnolia summer 2023 journal issue no. 27 

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I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but t I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but this one by Soraya M. Lane focused on three nurses, their friendships, and how the war changed their lives. It’s a hard story, but it’s full of love and hope despite the destruction around them. 

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