Visual-Spatial Skills

"Children who are more traditional auditory-sequential thinkers learn step-by-step, follow a logical progression from beginning to end, are good listeners, are rapid processors, and think in words.  Children with strong visual-spatial skills often think in pictures and images.  They are keen observers, learn holistically, and need more time to process information."  

This is the observation of Dana Miller in her article, "A 'Rich Diet' for Learning: A Multi-Sensory Approach That Nourishes All Children," in the new Exchange Essential, The Power of Nature to Nurture.  She continues...

"Visual-spatial skills relate to how individuals perceive, interpret, and act on the visual stimuli in their environment.  These skills provide information about the environment around us and guide us as we move through that environment....

"Children have many opportunities to develop and hone their visual-spatial skills through building, purposeful movement, and daily hands-on experiences with nature. Through close observation of children, we have learned that children’s visual-spatial work is a language that provides them with opportunities to:

• communicate their knowledge about the world as they view it.
• develop and demonstrate their skills.
• convey, process, and learn to manage their emotions."

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