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Cognitive Development Activities

The interaction and experiences that a child has in the world facilitate thought and
cognition development. Children learn through imagery play and symbolic representation.
Different games, at different developmental stages, are used to foster the baby’s cognitive
development. The use of language in songs and word games help children understand the world
around them through mental structures. Human beings use words to think, and when they are
used when playing with a child, they help the child understand his present, past and future. Jean
Piaget and Lev Vygotsky believed that a child’s knowledge is built out of the experience. The
use of activities such as games of different levels depending on a child’s developmental stage is
instrumental in the development of a child’s cognitive abilities.
Cognitive Development Activity for Infant Room: Where is Thumbkin?
One of the activities that will be necessary in an infant’s room is Where is thumbkin?
This is a game where the caregiver draws little faces on his or her thumbs so that they resemble
faces of little people. The caregiver then uses the finger puppets to excite the baby by playing
with him or her. The caregiver sits on the floor while facing the baby, he or she then starts by
asking in a rhythmic way, “where is Thumbkin, where is thumbkin? The game starts with the
caregiver’s hands behind his or her back. Then the caregiver says, “here I am” he or she brings
one thumb to the front where the baby can see. He or she repeats the process and brings the
second thumb to the front. Then continues by singing, “how are you today?” he or she wiggles
the thumbs as though the thumbs are communicating with each other. Then says, “very well, I
thank you.” The caregiver repeats the process again by hiding the thumb behind his or her back.

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Theorist Jean Piaget developed ideas on the qualitative changes in cognition. He said that
when a child is about one year, he or she develops object permanence (Mossler, 2014). Where is
Thumbkin is an activity that helps in the development of a baby’s language, sensory, ad helps a
child understand object permanence. At the age of one year, some of the milestones in motor
development include a child being able to walk through support, standing alone, and grasping
with the forefinger and thumb. At this stage, the child is also learning that people and objects
exist. Through where is thumbkin, a child understands that people and objects continue to exist
even when he or she cannot see them. playing where is thumbkin enhances the development of
these cognitive abilities, such as object permanence. It supports the psychosocial domain.
Cognitive Development Activity for Adolescent Room:
Mime or charade games is a game that is suitable for children from the age of eight to
fourteen. Players read a word and try communicating it through actions and gestures. It requires
a minimum of four participants and a maximum of ten. Activities required to play this game
include a pen and paper for keeping the score. The group of children is divided into at least two
smaller groups (Dickson & Stephens, 2015). Then one kid from each group takes turn to take a
chit, reads the word written on it silently. The player has to reenact the word, and the other team
must guess what phrase or word it is. A score is given for the correct guess.
Jean Piaget said that adolescents tend to think abstractly and they tend to hypothesize
outcomes. This stage is referred to as the formal operations stage, where teenagers think in a
more advanced manner. They want complete autonomy to exercise their decision-making
abilities. Through taking part in charade games, teenagers improve their satisfaction and
cognition (Dickson & Stephens, 2015). They feel more enabled to figure out things on their own
correctly. During adolescence, the prefrontal cortex undergoes several drastic changes. An

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individual achieves improved cognitive control, but they have poor control of their emotions.
They tend to be more reactive as opposed to reflective. Playing Charade games enhances the
kid’s ability to think reflectively as opposed to reactively. They contribute to improved
reasoning, control, and judgment. Besides, Vygotsky believed that children tend to remember
information that is consistent with what their environment provides.
Overall, children learn a lot through collaboration and interacting with the immediate
environment. At a young age, caregivers use games such as where is thumbkin to help a child
develop certain cognitive abilities. Through this game, a baby learns about object permanence.
The game also aids in language development. Consequently, as children develop and grow in
age, the complexity of the games and activities used to help develop their cognition increases.
For instance, where is thumbkin cannot make sense to a teenager, but mime games excite them
and challenge their thoughts. At this stage, kids learn better in groups as they are able to
cooperative increase their abilities to perform challenging tasks.

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References

Mossler, R. A. (2014). Child and adolescent development (2nd ed.). Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu/
Dickson, K. A., & Stephens, B. W. (2015). It’s all in the mime: actions speak louder than words
when teaching the cranial nerves. Anatomical sciences education, 8(6), 584-592.