Play is a great way to exercise critical-thinking skills in kids. Encourage your child to explore their toys in new ways by asking open-ended questions, such as, “What do you think the ball will do when we drop it in water?”  Use this opportunity to have them develop a hypothesis and test their theory. Afterward, ask them what they observed and see if their guess was correct or how it differed.

Children can use playtime to examine situations, make observations, and understand new concepts. Building critical-thinking skills will help them in school and will help them to weigh decisions based on possible outcomes.