Does your child wonder how things work? Do your children like to count their toys or organize them into categories? These would be indications of their logical-mathematical intelligence. This intelligence is also called “number smart” because it usually involves a thought process using symbols or numbers.
I can see my grandsons using their logical-mathematical intelligences when they play. The children in your care probably do these same things. For example, they count the number of trains they can fit on their train tracks, the number of grapes I give each of them (to be sure they are each getting their equal share), and they count backwards from ten when they are launching their space shuttle toy. I love their fascination with their mom’s measuring tape. Just the other day, Kona found the measuring tape and was measuring the height of the chairs by the kitchen counter. (Not sure why.) Tigger is really interested in coins right now, especially since he learned that they can add up to different amounts of money. He likes to play with the pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters that I keep in his car seat cup holder while I drive him home from school.
LOGICAL MATHEMATICAL
Our logical-mathematical thinking allows us to reason, see patterns, and solve problems. People who are strong in the logical-mathematical intelligence are good at analysis so they are drawn to games that require strategy. Besides being strong in calculations, they additionally enjoy science experiments, doing puzzles, and solving mysteries. The character Sherlock Holmes was created as a logical-mathematical thinker. Real people who would be considered having strengths in the logical-mathematical intelligence would be Bill Gates or Albert Einstein. As adults, people with strengths in this area might pursue careers such as doctors, scientists, accountants, or detectives.
Tahoe can’t resist a chance to play this math game by himself. It is best to let children play with the manipulatives for awhile first before teaching them the rules of the game.
To encourage the engagement of a child’s logical-mathematical intelligence, these materials or activities could be provided at home:
blocks (building, attribute, etc.)
iPad apps (such as Counting Caterpillars and Marble Math, Jr.)
board games (math specific or just ones that use dice or numbers to move spaces)
educational children’s shows that focus on math (like Team Umizoomi)
rulers, measuring cups, measuring spoons, thermometers
multiples of any favorite toy (my grands love to count their cars and trains)
geoboards
construction sets
toy clocks
tangrams
having items for them to categorize (buttons, leaves, small toys)
card games (like Go Fish)
dominoes
toy phones, computers, and calculators
shopping ads
science experiments that use numbers (Where is your shadow at 10 a.m. Noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.?)
number lines (could be created with sidewalk chalk on your driveway)
shape sorting toys
creating patterns together (red button, green button, red button, green button, etc.)
cutting food into fractions (apple in halves, sandwich in fourths)
explaining how you solve a life problem using math (I can get 2 avocados for $1, so I’ll get 4 avocados for $2.)
I hope this series has given you some basic information into the eight intelligences that we all possess, as theorized by Dr. Howard Gardner. In future posts I will show how I apply this theory when planning learning units for my grandsons.
In my next post, I will discuss a different topic; the best books I’ve read over the past few months. Reading is one of my favorite pastimes, other than watching the grands, of course. I hope you’ll be able to relate to the struggles I have had in finding time to read, even in retirement. And if you are looking for a good book to read, maybe one of my recommendations will strike your fancy.
Mimi and the Grands 
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