Small children should be given materials to play with that promote both divergent and convergent thinking.
Divergent thinking means there is more than one answer to a problem or there is more than one method to do something. For example, there are many different ways to answer the question “What are you going to do at recess?” Â Similarly, there are many different ways of playing with blocks or painting on a blank piece of paper. It is important to encourage divergent thinking in your child because it promotes creativity and problem solving.
Convergent thinking means that there is one answer to a problem or one method of doing something. For example, there is only one answer to “What is the first month of the year”? If you give a child four locks and four keys, only one key is going to fit into a certain lock. It is important for children to learn convergent thought because sometimes there is only one answer or way of doing something.
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