Developing Logical and Mathematical Thinking in Children

What is Mathematical Logical Thinking?

These are the skills students develop associated with logical and mathematical concepts, reasoning, comprehension, and exploration of the world through real proportions, thus strengthening more abstract aspects of thought.

Geometry with Dinosaurs

This activity involves cutting out various geometric shapes with EVA rubber. Children will then create their own dinosaurs using these shapes. Through this activity, they can learn geometric shapes, count the number of elements used in each dinosaur (like the sides of the shapes), and create new geometric shapes from the ones they already have.

Logical Reasoning with Chupa Chups

This activity consists of creating logically structured material and playing with it using cards you will make. Chupa chups are a familiar and appealing topic for young children. This activity is similar to the concept of logical blocks but created at home in a fun way. The chupa chups can be sorted by color, size, and print.

Activities for the Discovery of Spatial Notions

Children acquire orientation and spatial organization through movement, displacement, and manipulation of objects.

• Dividing the space into two regions: Front/Back, On One Side/On the Other Side, Inside/Outside.
• Position or orientation and spatial organization: In relation to oneself, from the observer to objects, and between objects.
• Steering: Forward/backward, To the side, Up/down.
• Topological and geometric elements: The point, Line (Open & Closed), Surface & Volume.

Activities for the Discovery of Operations

This involves experimenting with addition and subtraction operations:

• Addition: Objects and sets are joined together to form new ones that share the properties of those they join.
• Subtraction: Sets are formed using a specific property that is different from that of the original set. Two sets of objects are formed and then joined together to form a new one. The quantifier "rather than" is used to refer to the number of elements in the new set. The purpose is to discover the relationship between individual objects and to obtain a set with more elements. For subtraction, a set of objects that share one characteristic and differ in another is prepared. The child must first grasp the common property and then separate the objects by the second characteristic. The quantifier "less than" is introduced. The purpose is to discover the relationship between separating a part and obtaining assemblies with fewer elements.

Seriation and Correspondence

Seriation: It consists of ordering objects based on the intensity or degree of a characteristic.

Correspondence: Consists of pairing similar or complementary objects. For example, ask the child to look for the pair of each object in one set within another set.

Types of Relationship-Building Activities

These can be correspondence, classification (equivalence), and seriation (sorting).

Examples of Popular Games (Specific Material)

• Boxes, mailbox, and towers with shafts.
• Collections of materials from Montessori and Decroly.
• Logic blocks from Dienes.
• Snapping games.
• Abacuses.

ICT (Information and Communication Technology)

Some games available allow children to:

• Count items on the screen by clicking on as many objects as indicated by a number.
• Identify numbers by counting objects on the screen.
• Play memory matching games with 16 elements.
• Practice sorting, classifying, making series, adding, and subtracting using strips of different lengths.