Do you know your kids? Not just their names or their families. Do you know how they like to learn? Today we will begin a periodic series on types of learners. First up, the logical learner.
The structure in the picture was built by a child that looks at the world in a logical manner. How can you tell? Look at the symmetry. Blocks are arranged in a way that is almost mirror-image. Logical learners approach any learning--any situation--in a very systematic way. They want to know why and how and what is connected to what. They may ask lots of questions. They want to make any new learning fit into what they already know. They see the world as orderly and interconnected. When attempting a new skill, they want to know all the steps before they start. Details, details, details.
Use these ideas to support your logical learner.
- Tell the Bible story with chronological cues. "First this happened. Then they did this. The next day, they did something else...."
- Use picture sequence games.
- Print words of a Bible verse on index cards and challenge children to put them in order.
- Offer items that can be sorted into categories.
- In group time, print a list of answers to a question.
- Choose children from left to right (rather than randomly) to choose a card or lead in a game.
- Encourage a child to create patterns and symmetry in building, drawing, or painting.
Recently, a group of children began moving, stacking, and shuffling blocks around to create a structure. As they stacked and moved, one exclaimed: "Look. These blocks look like stairs."
"Wait," my logical learner said. "This is what you need to do to make stairs." He proceeded to create a foundational structure that held blocks in a gradually ascending manner - stairs. And those were sturdy stairs; they only fell when someone deliberately knocked them over.
Do you have any children that long for order or want to organize picture cards by background color? They may be logical learners. Thank God that they can learn about Him in a systematic way. One day they may be great mathematicians, theologians, architects, or philosophers.
How do you help a logical learner know more about God?
Structure by Brady
Photo by R. Scott Wiley
