Logic Games and Your Child

Like any skill, logic is developed through experience. Children can build logic skills without even knowing it. Logic games engage children in a fun, entertaining activity that builds the ability to approach a problem with a plan for finding its solution.

Many websites offer interactive logic games that will challenge your child's thought processes and require him to draw conclusions. Logic games and puzzles train a child to find similarities and differences between words or objects. In the end your child learns to seek and utilize the relationships between several objects or conditions.

Logic games also stimulate and strengthen a child's understanding of spatial relationships by requiring the eye to quickly find an image and transfer information to the brain. Games with vibrant colors and shapes appeal to the senses and encourage energy and movement, so your child associates activity with quick thinking.

An example of an interactive logic game that uses bright colors, employs shape recognition exercises and encourages students to form conclusions is Whack a Difference. Whack a Difference is an arcade-style game in which the player must, as fast as they can, choose from among three or more objects the one that is different from the others. The difference can be subtle and not easily detected. The bright graphics and loud sounds stimulate the player's senses and increase their level of involvement. The faster a child moves the higher he scores.

Sudoku is another game that sharpens logic. In sudoku, the player fills in a 9X9 grid using 9 separate symbols, but is not allowed to use any symbol more than once in any row or column. Only by logically approaching each choice can the player complete the puzzle.

There are enough variations of logic games available to satisfy everyone from the sports fan to the comic book junkie. Logic is a crucial skill, useful in virtually every area of life. By encouraging your child to enjoy logic games you'll be taking a big step toward ensuring a positive experience in the classroom and beyond.