December 2022
Happy December!
In our September newsletter we learned about Divergent thinking, and November's newsletter shared about Convergent Thinking. This month we'll be taking a look at a third type of skill we practice in Young Scholars called Visual Thinking.
Visual Thinking is a unique and interesting way our brains use to understand the world around us. You can find more information below along with different ways to practice Visual Thinking with your Young Scholar at home!
Visual Thinking is all about looking for patterns using shapes, numbers, letters, and even ideas as clues to help us see things in new ways. In fact, the analogies we tried out in last month's newsletter are a great example of finding patterns and using our brains to solve a problem visually.
There are almost unlimited examples of patterns around us every day. The good news is our brains love patterns and are already really good at finding them in the world around us.
However, if we can learn to pay closer attention and notice when patterns come our way, we can strengthen the connections in our brains and improve how they work.
Take a look below for some fun ways to practice Visual Thinking at home!
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Two Faces or a Cup? | Is the Woman Old or Young? | Do You See a Face or Something More? |
Two Faces or a Cup?
Is the Woman Old or Young?
Do You See a Face or Something More?
Each of the activities can be a fun way to start some interesting conversations about patterns. Consider trying out some of the questions below with your Young Scholar to help them think deeper about what they're seeing:
1. What patterns are you noticing?
2. What do you see that makes you say that?
3. What more can you find?
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Finding Patterns with Colors Coloring books using geometric shapes can be a fun and relaxing way to practice Visual Thinking. This type of coloring is all about finding patterns while also creating beautiful designs. Many designs can be found both for online coloring and to print at home. If you want a whole book of patterns to color for your Young Scholar, there are many options available online and at a wide range of discount and book stores. | Finding Unexpected Patterns In the book How Many? also by Christopher Danielson, you and your child decide what to count on each page. This is a fun way to use visual thinking to spark conversations about patterns and shapes. You have many choices, and the longer you look, the more possibilities you'll notice! | Finding Patterns in Games In the card game SET, player are looking to find sets of three cards where each individual feature (color, shape, number and shading) is either all the same OR all different. This is a fun way to practice visual thinking and works well with a wide variety of ages. |
Finding Patterns with Colors
Finding Unexpected Patterns
Finding Patterns in Games
Contact Information
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, thoughts, or needs!
Colleen Redmond
651-425-6212
