Reviews and opinions
Review by Professor Krzysztof J. Szmidt
"In a fun, enjoyable way, using open-ended tasks to inspire and develop the character of a child’s mind, the authors provoke the child to use both very important (even „adult”) cognitive, identifying mental operations
and their creative talents. This trait permits the „Thinkylines” series to be
counted among the great innovative, didactic aids aimed at teaching creative thought to a child of pre-school or early-school age.”
When analysing the tasks taken from “Thinkylines”, their one more educational characteristic should be also emphasized – the diversity of cognitive stimulation activities. The children are asked to fill in and develop incomplete drawings, make up new names, imagine things and occurrences that do not exist, transform the known objects to the made up ones, create stories, fill in the categories and classes of things, design larger wholes, spot problems and defects, finish and elaborate, etc. Therefore, we deal with the intentional appliance of cognitive stimulation activities, which proves that the authors and supervisors of the project are well prepared and experienced. Moreover, the tasks included in the books are consistent with the level of children’s psychological development.
Prof. Krzysztof J. Szmidt
University of Lodz, Poland
Department of Educational Studies
The Chair of Pedagogy of Creativity