Training Our Children to Think

In our Logic studies, we spend a lot of time just doing deductive reasoning and plain ole’ training our children to think!  So many real thinkers, like Albert Einstein and Maria Montessori, have emphatically stated that children are not empty vessels to be filled, they need to be taught how to think and how to solve problems. One of the things we love are Mind Benders! They can be such a challenge to complete, but we love them!  We do these Mind Benders over lunch most of the time!  This was the next to the last puzzle of B1. Notice the tools we had to use to solve this one! Rulers, pencils (with erasers) and highlighters. This puzzle was matching five variables!!! We will be using graph paper from here on out! 

Since we homeschool we have the luxury of trying different ways to teach our children to THINK. Another thing we have been doing since our boys were little is to discuss current events, problems and issues of the day, topics that require deep thought. We trouble shoot and think of ways to solve various problems. We get them to help diagnose stuff around the house when we are fixing stuff.  A perfect example happened yesterday. I ran around the corner to pick up some school supplies and my truck would not start when I was headed back home. After hubby came and jumped the truck and we were back home, he sat with our youngest son, Blake and got him to think through what went wrong.  As it turned out it was not a weak battery, but a loose connection with the battery. Blake nailed it after three or four important questions and exchanges with his dad. I love these impromptu lessons!  

We also have several different curricula that we will be covering over the next few years too.  

• Logic in 100 Minutes
• The Thinking Toolbox
• Fallacy Detective
• Introductory Logic
• Intermediate Logic
• The Art of Practical Debate

I look at what we are doing now as setting the groundwork. All of us get caught up in teaching information to our children at some point, but we all would do well to stop and remember that facts are easy to research… we need to ignite a love of learning and teach them how to think!   

I’d love to hear how you are training your children to think!!  Please leave a comment below and let me know!  

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Trish Corlew

Founder and Author at Live and Learn Farm

Trish has been married to her best friend, David, for 16 years and they have three sons (aged 13, 12 and 9). Trish is from the coast of North Carolina, but they now live in rural West Tennessee on a 40+ acre farm. She has been homeschooling since 2009 and her homeschool style leans towards a Montessori approach with a heavy emphasis on hands-on learning. They also own a small business that Trish runs from home. Trish’s family is Messianic and they love studying the Scriptures, learning Hebrew and growing in their faith and walk daily. In her spare time, Trish loves to write, work in their garden and can regularly be found trying to learn something new, modeling that learning is indeed a life-long endeavor!

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