6 Kinds of Abilities Children May Learn Better Outside Classrooms

Howard Gardner has been a proponent of what he has named "multiple intelligences." Schoolwork typically emphasizes linguistic (of a certain kind) and logico-mathematical skills, developed through reading and mathematics, the focus of most school tests these days. But there are at least six other kinds of abilities that Gardner and others have mapped, using strict criteria, which I focus on here.

Gardner's eight theorized categories of mental ability (which are different from the concept of general intelligence) are representative of the talents and know-how we see among adults generally.

Note: In every case, it is important to follow children’s interests (though you can draw attention to things and see what grabs them) and build curiosity with questions like, "I wonder how….?"

Here are eight groupings of abilities that parents and kids can work on outside of schoolwork.

1. Linguistic: Involves the learning and use of language, from reading to writing to speaking one’s own or additional languages.

• Here is a site that describes options for online foreign language learning options for kids.

2. Logico-mathematical: Includes not only mathematical reasoning but the ability to detect patterns and reason deductively, much like Sherlock Holmes.

• Here are some logic puzzles for children that can be printed. And here and here are places where you can help scientists as a citizen scientist.

3. Bodily-kinesthetic: Describes how a person moves his body in space. Star athletes have high kinesthetic abilities. Think of the soccer or football player who is able to move the ball among a spread of opponents. Think of dancers (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers come to mind, with Ginger doing everything “backward and in heels”). But also think of how this sort of ability is involved in cooking (cutting vegetables), roofing (not falling off), and just walking down the street avoiding running into anything.

• Children learn to move their bodies through interactive play with others as well as dancing and sports practice (e.g., dribbling a ball). They can also learn through indoor obstacle courses and everyday challenges like carrying a glass of water without spilling. Here are more ideas.

4. Musical: Involves carrying a tune, playing an instrument, and giving nuance in musical performance. Composing and arranging music takes know-how about particular instruments’ capabilities and harmonization. Jazz playing takes on-the-spot awareness and flexibility, where each musician is responding to the other in real-time.

• Children can sing, inventing or mimicking songs they heard. They can create a dance routine or make a composition with different sounds from their body. They can learn to play an instrument with dedicated, coached practice. But they can also learn to appreciate music and identify better and worse performances. The family or even communities can sing together, a tradition in Denmark. This can happen online, as occurs under shelter-in-place orders. Here is a site with bully-proof song videos.

5. Spatial: What we see in engineers who are able to imagine the workings of machines, bridges, or cities.

• When children build things, they are fostering spatial skills, whether it's creative LEGO building or constructing forts or machines. Here are exercises that parents can use with children.

6. Interpersonal: Concerns the art of getting along with others. Relational attunement is the ability to flexibly respond to the other in the moment, without an agenda or manipulation. The ability to understand others, and be patient and responsive in working through conflicts are aspects that are related to doing well in life generally.

• Role-playing and acting out stories with others build these abilities. Learning to mediate conflicts helps children learn to take the perspectives of others. Here are more suggestions.

7. Intrapersonal: Has to do with knowing yourself, your preferences, your intuitions, your needs. Good therapy involves developing this ability so that the baggage of misconceptions about self (e.g., being in danger, being worthless) can be dropped.

• Children are still in the course of building themselves and need lots of different experiences to grow. Still, the best way to help them build intrapersonal ability is to let them follow their impulses for growth. Erich Fromm notes a case where a parent interfered with a child’s growth impulses: a boy came home and gushed about a new friend. The parent did not approve of that child’s background and discouraged the boy from playing with that child. The parent continued to interfere with the son’s choices of friendships (for reasons of prejudice), undermining the son’s growth and happiness. Here are ideas for parents and kids.

Intelligence Essential Reads

Beyond High IQ: Why Giftedness Is Not Just a Number

What Primitive, Ancient Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human

8. Naturalist: Involves awareness of natural entities and systems. In our ancestral contexts (hunter-gatherer), it is a type of interpersonal ability because other entities in nature are treated as sentient and alive.

• In the backyard, children can play in mud or sand, construct habitats for animals or insects, garden for pollinators or kitchen food. More ideas here. For parents who really want to dig in, here is a PDF with a host of ideas.

Other kinds of abilities that have not made it into Gardner’s list, but have been considered, include Spiritual, Existentialist, and Moral. Non-Western cultures still support these today, as a matter of being a good human being.

When I was a classroom middle school Spanish teacher for several years, I tried to incorporate Gardner's ideas into my instruction. Today as a university professor, I try to do the same. We play folk song games with each other and with children as a way to learn them all at once (linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal) and to find joy in the moment.

More ideas for developing these abilities that can be adopted for home life are here.