Cognitive development focuses on how children learn and process information.

It is the
development of the thinking and organizing systems of the mind. It involves language, mental
imagery, thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and memory development.

By general consensus, Jean Piaget stands as the central theorist in contemporary child study. He
developed a whole field of cognitive development, observed regularities in children’s
performances that no one has noted before him. His theory concerns how the child thinks, how
thinking changes from infancy to adolescence, and how the changes reflect an interesting series
of structured stages.

Although Piaget set clear stages of cognitive development, which continues to be useful to
contemporary child educators, he omitted to say that cognitive development is not an automatic
process. The fact is that the child will not reach any of these stages without proper education.
Contrary to the animal, the human being only knows, and can only do, what he/she has learned.
This fundamental principle is confirmed by studies that compared children who were raised in an
enriched learning environment and children who were raised in a deprived learning environment.
This principle is further confirmed by stories of feral children.

Audiblox is a multisensory cognitive development program, aimed at the inculcation of

foundational learning skills such as concentration, perception, memory, and logical thought. It
improves performance in reading, spelling, writing and math. Audiblox is adaptable for the
gifted and less gifted, and applicable for all age groups. It can develop the learning skills of the
high school learner to a very high degree, while it can also be used to prepare the preschool child
for reading and learning from as early as three years of age. Audiblox is effective for a variety of
learning difficulties including dyslexia and dysgraphia.
Cognitive development is how your child acquires knowledge about his surroundings. This
involves his...

 Memory
 Concentration
 Attention and perception
 Imagination and creativity

 Stages of learning 4 years

 Stages of learning 5 years
 Stages of learning 6 years
 Activities and equipment to help promote cognitive/intellectual development
 Your role to help develop your child's cognitive/intellectual development

Stages of Learning... 4 Years

Your 4 year old child...

 Enjoys counting up to twenty, and understands the concept of numbers up to three.

 Talks about things in the past and future.
 Can sort objects into groups.
 Has increased memory skills for e.g. he can remember a particular event, such as when
his aunties and uncles visited several months previously.
 Can give reasons and solve problems.
 Often confuses fact with fiction.

Stages of Learning... 5 Years

Your 5 year old child...

 Produces drawings with good detail for e.g. a house with windows, a door, a roof and a
chimney.
 Asks about abstract words... for instance... ’What does “beyond” mean?’.
 Can give his full name, age and address and often his birthday.
 Talks about the past, present and future, with a good sense of time.

Stages of Learning... 6 Years

Your 6 year old child...

 Begins to think in a more co-ordinated way, and can hold more than one point of view at
a time.
 Begins to develop concepts of quantity... distance, area, time, weight, length etc.
 Is able to distinguish the difference between reality and fantasy.
  Is interested in basic scientific principles and is beginning to understand concepts like
what happens to materials if it’s heated.
 Is increasingly influenced by cultural conventions in drawing and writing often
combining his own personal symbols with letters from the alphabet.
 Is able to count accurately up to 20 times.
 Names days of the week in order.
 Can arrange objects in order of size.
 Is able to print own name.
 Tells month and day of birthday.
 Counts up to a hundred by repetition.
 Can predict what happens next.

Activities and Equipment To Help Promote His Cognitive Development

Intellectual
Toys/Equipment What he learns
Skills Developed
Puzzles...
Learns about shapes and space. He also learns to sort and
Shape sorters Classifying
match. As he grows older, trial and error learning will
Tray puzzles Attention and
decrease as he starts to use reasoning skills to work out the
3 piecs puzzles concentration
position of pieces.
12 piece puzzles
Sorting objects... Classifying
Develops his ability to sort, order and classify objects
Buttons Attention and
according to colour, shape or size.
Plastic shapes concentration
Classifying
Sewing cards...
Helps him learn about patterns and colours. Attention and
Threading beads
concentration
Memory
Objects are put on a tray and then one is removed. He has
Kim’s game Attention and
to work out which one is missing.
concentration
Construction
toys...
He learns about space, shape and structures. He can also Classifying
Duplo
experience matching and sorting as well as being Attention and
Lego
encouraged to think about size. concentration
Wooden bricks
Popoids
Matching games...
These type of games help him child sort and match. Classifying
Lotto
Pelmanism can help his memory as he works out where Memory
Pairs
he's seen a matching card. Cards are put face down; he Attention and
Pelmanism
chooses a card and work out where the matching pair is. concentration
Snap
Feely bags These encourage him to use his senses to work out what Classifying
object is in a bag. Attention and
concentration
 Memory

Your Role to Help Develop His Cognitive Development

To help develop your child’s intellect, you should...

 Choose activities that are practical.

 Check that activities are suitable for his current level of understanding.
 Repeat activities frequently.
 Break down concepts and activities into smaller steps.
 Look for different ways of presenting the same concept.
 Avoid him becoming frustrated and tired by an activity.
 Praise him for his efforts.

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