Building a Logical Thinker (The NNAT)

This test looks at nonverbal reasoning—essentially, how well a child can solve puzzles using shapes and patterns instead of words.

Here are some sample questions

Test Sections

  • Finishing the Picture (Pattern Completion) — Find the missing piece of wallpaper that fits perfectly.
  • "If This, Then That" (Reasoning by Analogy) — Figure out the secret rule that changes one picture into another.
  • What Comes Next? (Serial Reasoning) — Spot a pattern as it grows or changes across a series of boxes.
  • Flipping and Combining (Spatial Visualization) — Imagine how shapes look when they are folded, layered, or moved.

Fun Ways to Build These Skills

  • Game Night Fun: Play board games like Blokus (fitting shapes together) and the card game SET (finding patterns of same/different attributes).
  • Quiet Time Puzzles: Tangrams are a classic for a reason—they teach how smaller shapes form a larger whole. Kanoodle is very popular. Sudoku and Logic Grid Puzzles are fantastic for training the brain to cross-reference information. Check out "Mind Benders" at criticalthinking.com. Each book has free 'sample pages'.
  • Digital Adventures: Free tools like rodocodo.com use visual blocks to teach sequencing and logic. Many 'puzzle' video games can help, for example, Monument Valley.

Unleashing a Creative Spark (The TTCT)

This test celebrates creativity. It measures a child's ability to come up with many different, unique, and detailed ideas, both with pictures and words.

Some scored sample questions (see image gallery at the bottom of the page)

What the test is looking for

  • Lots of Ideas! (Fluency) — The goal is quantity. How many different answers can you think of?
  • Different Kinds of Ideas (Flexibility) — Can you jump from one category of thought to a completely different one?
  • Unique Ideas (Originality) — Thinking of something clever and uncommon that others might not consider.
  • Adding the Details (Elaboration) — Making an idea richer, more interesting, and more complete.

Fun Ways to Nurture These Skills

  • The Squiggle Game: Draw a random line or shape on paper and take turns turning it into a picture. The more unusual, the better! This is a perfect, fun version of an actual test task.
  • On-the-Go Games (No Supplies!): In the car or at dinner, play the Alternative Uses Game. Ask, "How many different uses can you think of for a paperclip?" Or play the "What If?" Game: "What if it rained juice instead of water?"
  • Storytelling Fun: Use picture books with no words, or tools like Rory's Story Cubes, to make up stories together. This builds the ability to connect unrelated ideas into a fluent narrative.