Cognition
Week 63
We have a brain that can sort items
Cognitive skills, or cognitive abilities, are the ways that your brain remembers, reasons, holds attention, solves problems, thinks, reads, and learns. Logic and reasoning skills help you solve problems and generate ideas. This cognitive ability is part of the preciousness of our humanity. God has endowed us with the ability to think logically well beyond any animal. There is a huge gulf between our cognition and that of animals. Animals mostly live by instinct and inborn behaviors.
Point to emphasize
We can easily arrange items according to height.
Sample content and conversation with children
- We have been discovering how God made us so differently than the animals. Now we will discover that God made us with a marvelous brain that is so far above any animal’s brain.
- Today we are going to talk about how we can easily arrange items according to height or size.
- [Show video #1.] While you watch the video with them ask the children the following questions: What are those? How many are inside?] Some of you said that those were Russian dolls, and you are right. There were a lot of dolls inside the largest one. What did the person do with the Russian dolls? [Let the children answer.] That is exactly right! They got them all out and put them into order- the tallest to the shortest. I think we all could do that.
- [Have stacking cups or any other stacking item you might have or show picture #1.] What are these things? [Let children answer.] What can we do with them? [Let children answer.] Now, we are going to play a game. I will take three cups and set them in a line. You will tell me if they are in the right order. Now, hide your eyes. No peeking! When I say “three” you can look. [Put the smallest cup in the middle.] 1-2-3! Are they in the right order? [Let children say NO!] Ask one of them to tell you how it should be. Okay, this time will be harder. Close your eyes. [Put 5 in a random order and then let some children give you instructions to make the order smallest to largest or largest to smallest.] Wow, that was a fun game. And you all did so well in ordering them from the tallest to the littlest and from the shortest to the tallest. No, animal can do such a thing! But God easily created us with a brain that is able to do it.
- [Show video #2.] Isn’t that great! What did the boy do in that video? [Let the children answer.] First, they placed the blocks side by side from tallest to shortest. Then he stacked them on top of each other from largest to smallest and made a tree. Our brain knows which one goes on top of the other one.
- Now, everyone should have a knife, a fork and a spoon next to them. Can you name them? Now, let’s see if [Name three children] can put their silverware down on the table starting from the shortest to the tallest. [Do the same activity with 3-4 others each time until they all have a turn.]
- [Show picture #2.] What animal is this and what is it doing? Yes, the raccoon is holding a jar of peanut butter. It is even able to open it and eat it. BUT, the raccoon could never put anything in order from the tallest to the shortest like you all just did. No animal was created like us! We are God’s special creation. We can do so many things that animals cannot do.
- God certainly created us with an amazing brain that can arrange things. Wow, God created us in such a wonderful way!
Songs
Jesus loves me this I know
God gives the sunshine
Suggested activities
- Copy Cat: One person does something like winking or jumping on one foot and everyone else must watch and then copy it.
- “What is different about me?”: The leader turns off their video and changes something about themselves (take off glasses, put pencil behind ear, put hat on.) Then restore your video and ask, “What’s different?” Have the children answer. Then have a child be the leader.
Videos
#1: Russian dolls being unstacked and stacked
(https://www.youtube.com/embed/t5424Iw_eYc?rel=0)
#2: Child stacking boxes
(https://www.youtube.com/embed/ztBSSXUzh-g?rel=0)
Pictures
#1: Collage of different stacking items
#2: Raccoon holding a peanut butter jar
