Cognitive skills

Why is this important?

The peak period for learning cognitive skills occurs between the ages of one and three. These skills retain their usefulness throughout later life!
Cognitive development is closely associated with the ability to learn things: the more readily children can use their five senses in a safe and caring environment, the more likely they are to learn and remember their new discoveries
Speaking to, touching, and looking at your baby and letting it taste a variety of foods is crucial for a child’s cognitive development, as it stimulates all five sense into action!

Sustained attention ability and memory is an important predictor of kindergarten children’s school readiness in relation to cognitive, language and social skills
Sustained attention ability and memory is a predictor of future educational achievement in mathematics and reading
Early numeracy skills are an important predictor of mathematics performance in kindergarten
Children’s mathematical skills when entering kindergarten are an important predictor of their future educational achievement in mathematics and reading
General knowledge or intellectual abilities are an important predictor of educational preparedness and school readiness
General knowledge is also a good predictor of mathematics and reading success (future educational achievement)

Ability to keep your attention focused on a task while ignoring all stimuli not relevant to the task
Access to long-term memory in order to interpret new information or instructions and plan how to solve a problem
Short-, medium- and long-term memories

Implement a program that aims to reduce the number of children at risk for learning disabilities in reading and mathematics skills
Mobilize families and the community to set up literacy, numeracy and learning support activities (increase and reinforce early literacy practices in the family as well as parent-child interactions in relation to language and the written word)

Intellectual development
General knowledge (address, telephone number, colours, names of animals, body parts, etc.)
Early grasp of the physical and social world in the surrounding environment

Offer parents guidance (build links between schools and families—in particular families from underprivileged or immigrant backgrounds or with an at-risk child) in relation to the educational and motivational support they provide to their children (sponsorship, buddy system, parenting skills development course, availability of educational materials, etc.)