Logical and Mathematical Learners

Things are a little hectic right now. So today I'm posting something from the archive. This post originally appeared on Brick by Brick on April 24, 2009; it's been revised slightly. 

I'm also planning to revive the series on types of learners.

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.

• 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 (in order 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.
• Tell a Bible story or other 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 activities that encourage problem-solving or thinking through a problem.
• Use a predictable routine to make a logical learner feel comfortable in the environment.

Logical learners can provide valuable insight for other children. 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 the world? How can you help him learn more about God?