Non-verbal reasoning is the ability to understand and solve problems without the use of words. It’s a key skill that’s tested in many school entrance exams, including the 11+.
This article will provide you with some fast but effective tips for improving your child’s NVR skills so that they can go onto ace the 11+.
Game Away
There are several games that can help children improve their NVR skills. These include puzzles, Sudoku, and logic games. By playing such games, you’re encouraging your child to think creatively, solve logical but complex problems, improve their spatial reasoning and enhance their cognitive ability. Furthermore, these sorts of games enable children to think visually and adopt an ‘outside the box’ approach to tackling academic problems.
Be explorative
Encourage your child to explore their environment and take an interest in the world around them. This can help them develop their spatial awareness as well as their ability to visualise objects.
Make the most of apps
There are dozens of apps in the Apple Store and on Google Play that enable children to improve their NVR skills and several of them are designed for 11+ applicants. It’s definitely downloading a few free ones so that your child can practise using them and get a feel for how to answer exam-style questions. .
Incorporate Extracurricular Activities
Extracurricular activities are incredibly important as they can help your child to develop NVR skills in a fun and exciting way. Often times, children don’t realise they’re learning anything when they’re engaging in these activities but the results of doing them can be enormous. Some examples of extracurricular activities that can help develop reasoning skills include robotics, chess, and art.
Practise Away
The best way to improve your child's non-verbal reasoning skills is to practise. There are many resources available that can provide your child with exam-style questions. You can also help your child by playing games together or by doing puzzles with them. To take things up a notch, consider incentivising them with treats or rewards for consistent revision or engagement. Also, remember to track your child’s scores whenever they’re completing test papers.
Be patient
Improving your child's reasoning skills takes time and effort. Be patient and encourage them to keep practising.
Take breaks
It is important to take breaks when your child is studying. This will help them avoid getting frustrated and prevent overwhelm..
Monitor their progress
It is important to monitor your child's progress as this will help you determine how they’re doing and help you adjust their revision schedule accordingly.
Get help from professionals
If you are struggling to help your child improve their NVR skills, you may want to consider getting help from a professional such as a tutor, teacher or 11+ specialist. There are many tutors and educational professionals who can provide your child with the support they need.
We hope you enjoyed this article and as always, feel free to reach out if you’d like us to help your child with their learning.
Best wishes,
The Tutoress Team.