Saturday, January 2, 2010

Developing Children's Intuition

"Just go with your gut," is a popular phrase that refers to the intuitive guidance provided by our bodies. "I had a gut feeling" is another. If you've ever picked up the phone and just known who was on the other end (without the benefit of caller id, that is) then you've made use of your intuitive skills. Humans have so much untapped brain power and intuition is just a tiny sliver of it. There are many ways to have fun while developing intuitive skills with kids. Guessing games are great for developing and enhancing intuition. Here is a game that is fun with groups of three or more kids. (best for ages 5-10)

1. Put a colored stone (marbles or decorator glass pebbles work great) inside a small bag.
2. Pass the bag around, encouraging the child to take their time while holding the bag to get a "sense" of what the color might be.
3. Have each child predict what color the stone is before passing the bag to the next player.
4. After everyone has had a chance, reveal the stone.

Variations: To avoid "copycatting", change the stone for each player. -or- instead of using stones, have one player visualize a color and the others write down (or use a crayon if they do not write yet) their guesses. Have players take turns visualizing.

This game stimulates brain activity and can also be played by guessing almost anything. For example:

How many pieces of mail are in the mailbox?
Who will be the next person to call or email?
What animal, number, letter, or object am I thinking of?

Developing intuition is all about trusting your instincts; that inner knowing. People often second-guess their first feelings about something, but it can be highly beneficial to attune to the signals of this guidance. In some cases, it even saves lives. There are dozens of stories about people who followed a hunch to not board a plane that later crashed. By playing guessing games and helping children learn to trust themselves, they will be that much more prepared for all the decisions and demands required of them as they grow.

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