What the Heck Were You Thinking??

OK, that question is usually used in a different way, but wouldn’t it be great to get into the mind of a child? 

Developing reasoning skills is an important part of a child’s development.  In order to make good decisions as a teen or adult, to come up creative solutions, to assess goals, and to analyze situations, children need to practice thinking for themselves.

As a teacher of young children, you want to know each child well.  You want to assess where they are in their development so you can plan accordingly to provide them with activities to practice the skills they are developing. 

A great way to do that is to get into their little brains!  Maybe you can ask,

 ”How did you know that?” 

“How did you figure that out?”

“What do you think about that?”

 

I heard a great example of this just the other day.  During the holidays, one of my coworkers brought her child to the office with her.  As they passed my desk, I heard a small voice say, “If your parking garage was any smaller, your car wouldn’t fit.”  And in a great parenting moment, mom said, “What made you think of that?”  It’s just that simple!

Being a problem solver, independent and creative thinker is a hallmark of success.  And you can help children develop these skills. 

Ask children for their opinions

Share/model your decision making – let them see your thinking process

Help a child list pros and cons of a situation

Encourage them to be curious, to experiment, to take safe risks

Ask follow up questions like. “Why?”  “Why do you think that?”

Practice making predications with them, then see what happens

In the CLASS assessment, you’ll see this in the Quality of Feedback section.  In the PreK CLASS, Ask students to explain thinking.  In the Toddler CLASS, Prompting Though Process. 

As we elevate our practice to help children be more successful in school and in life, encouraging them to think for themselves is an important step.