Tag: exercise the brain

Art and Creativity: Why They are Important for Children

Posted on | by KD Novelties

Arts and crafts are a great way to keep kids occupied. Playing around with paint, markers, construction paper and anything else you can think of from pipe cleaners to glitter can help kids stay focused on a project while also having fun. But encouraging kids to pursue an interest in arts and general creativity can do a lot more for them than simply increase their chances of becoming the next big artist. Art can help boost many areas of the brain, and it can also help kids learn skills that aid them in things like math, critical thinking, and understanding abstract concepts.

Studies have shown that activities like painting, drawing, and anything visually creative can do a lot to help kids develop mentally, socially, and emotionally. Being able to manipulate a paint brush or a glue bottle helps kids fine tune their motor skills. Playing with color not only introduces kids to colors and can help familiarize them with the basic names, but it can also be a window to visual learning. Drawing, sculpting with clay and threading beads on a string all develop visual-spatial skills, which are more important than ever. Even toddlers know how to operate a smart phone or tablet, which means that even before they can read, kids are taking in visual information. This information consists of cues that we get from pictures or three-dimensional objects from digital media, books and television.

By counting parts of a design, pieces of materials, and by simply counting colors, they learn the basics of math as well. But one of the most important benefits to encouraging a healthy relationship with art and creativity is self-confidence. Unlike other subjects, art and creativity, whether it be painting and drawing or acting and writing, is that there are no set rules and people are encouraged to push the limit, come up with new ideas, and express themselves in unique ways. This can be paramount for children who are still learning who they are and who they want to be.

Not only can art help boost a child’s skills in other areas, but it can help to enrich it as well. Just as reading can open kids up to books about particular subjects and not just fiction, art can be a gateway to other skills, interests, and life pursuits. Art much like reading can help kids learn how to effectively communicate with others by the skills they learn from making art and the cognitive skills they gain from interpreting it.

Below is a list of items you should have handy at home to boost your child’s creativity:

  • modeling clay
  • chalk
  • washable paint
  • paintbrushes
  • cotton swabs
  • sponges
  • stamps and inkpads
  • washable markers
  • crayons
  • colored pencils
  • plain and colored paper
  • tissue paper
  • scissors
  • glue
  • craft foam
  • ice-pop sticks
  • chenille stems
  • pom-poms
  • feathers
  • felt
  • fabric
  • colored tape
  • buttons
  • cotton balls
  • sequins and glitter
  • ribbon, yarn, string
  • beads
  • packing peanuts
  • drinking straws
  • egg cartons
  • cardboard tubes
  • cupcake liners
  • paper plates
  • clothespins
  • plastic cutlery
  • magazines, newspapers, catalogs
  • wallpaper samples
  • wax paper
  • aluminum foil

Great Brain Games for Children

Posted on | by KD Novelties

Brain-training games have grown in popularity, especially with the rise of smartphones where thousands of apps and other games are made available on the go. Many games, especially those featured on sites like Facebook, are aimed towards Baby Boomers, claiming to reverse aging and prevent things like Alzheimer’s. While these sorts of claims are more difficult to prove, brain-training games have worked wonders for kids who are still actively learning, growing and developing, especially kids with learning and language disorders. Brain games can help kids build essential skills that help them process things like problem solving or help boost their memory.

Language Games

Language games may involve building essential skills for English but there are also fun, free apps out there that can help children learn to speak other languages, too.

For parents looking for native language boosting games in English, PBS.org has plenty of vocabulary games that can help children master the alphabet, learn new words, and practice their spelling. PBS also has plenty of reading games that focus more on word association, reading comprehension and writing aspects of language.

Language games can help kids develop key communication skills, reading comprehension skills, and it can boost their vocabulary (reading and speaking) significantly, too.

Math Games

Sites like mathplayground.com and coolmath-games.com feature traditional puzzle-solving games like Sudoku, chess, and more but they also have plenty of games that focus on specific areas of math like addition and subtraction, geometry, ratios and percent’s, and much more. Mathplayground.com has a grade-level feature so kids can play games that are appropriate to their age, grade, and skill-level and divide games into categories to make finding specific types of activities much easier. This is a great way to help kids struggling with a particular topic at school and can make studying much more

Memory Games

Parents may be familiar with apps like Lumosity, but this app actually gets a significant amount of revenue from kids as well as adults. Memory boosting games can be both challenging and fun, encouraging kids to develop skills that are useful in everyday situations as well as a myriad of different school subjects, too.

Puzzle Games

Parents may be more familiar with games like Tetris and Bejeweled Blitz (as well as other games like it) but these are great games to introduce to kids, too. Spatial reasoning is an often-overlooked skill and it can be applied to many situations and circumstances. These games encourage problem solving within a timeframe, which can be anxiety-inducing for some kids, but can also help children make better, more informed decisions on the fly, making moves based on educated guesses without overthinking.

There are many sites with plenty of resources, links and information on games for kids. Brain boosting games can be an essential tool for kids with learning disorders or children who may not benefit as much from a traditional school setting. Trying a different format for learning can be incredibly life changing, and fun, too.