This domain encompasses the development of reasoning, problem-solving, and memory. Mathematical, scientific, and historical thinking are also included in this domain.
Children begin learning at birth, using all their senses combined with their ever-increasing motor skills to explore and understand their environment. The learning that occurs in the first months of life lays the foundation for concepts that educators will formally introduce later in childhood. For example, when an educator creates a predictable rhythm for a child’s day, the child develops a sense of patterns. This learning lays the foundation for the child’s ability to recognize and analyze numerical patterns, which is part of algebra.
Responsive and predictable interactions with loving educators are the most important way young children develop their cognitive skills. Educators may use the cycle of intentional teaching and learning described in the introduction of this book to make decisions about how to interact with children to extend their learning. Educators pause to wonder what children are learning about. They observe children’s engagement with ideas and materials, and then reflect with children on what they noticed or figured out. Educators respond by making comments, asking open-ended questions, or providing new materials to extend children’s thinking.
Children learn through play. Early childhood educators create schedules in which the majority of the child’s day is spent in self-directed play and choose materials for play that will be interesting and engaging for children. Educators trust children to initiate and build on their own learning.
For example, one of the most important areas of cognitive development in early childhood is the understanding of object permanence. This understanding is described in the “Stability and Change” sub-domain. In infancy, children begin to understand that when an object is out of their sight, it has not disappeared altogether. The baby wonders about, plays with, and explores this concept through peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek games. The educator supports their understanding by providing boxes that the toddler can put things in and pull things out of. The educator provides time for the child to do this over and over again, knowing that this play builds the child’s understanding that the world is a reliable and predictable place. Children in the preschool and primary grades have mastered the concept of object permanence. However, they continue to explore concepts related to stability and change, such as melting and evaporation, through play.
Intentional interactions in a play-based environment support the development of children’s mathematical understanding. Children begin to internalize ideas about quantity and numeracy as they stack blocks and put one teddy bear in each toy bed. As they play, educators respond by introducing math vocabulary such as “more,” “less,” and “equal.” As children get older, they express their understanding with written numbers and symbols, but they continue to benefit from access to math materials that they can manipulate to support their conceptual understanding.
Young children represent their thinking in many creative ways. Some children love to act their ideas out in dramatic play, others draw, some sing, and others build small worlds with blocks as figures. As children’s language develops, their ability to represent their thinking symbolically in a play-based setting develops as well. Young children often have a mode of representing that they strongly prefer. In order to facilitate the development of children’s cognitive skills, early childhood educators create ample opportunities for children to represent their thinking in their preferred ways.