Intrapersonal Intelligence is associated with inner states of being and self-reflection, as well as an awareness of spiritual realities.
People talented in this area know themselves well—understanding personal strengths and weaknesses. They tend to have strong powers of concentration and awareness of different levels of being.
Parents can influence their children’s “Self smarts” by using the following eleven home activities (not in order of importance), developed by Connie Hine and Margaret Lewis Crosby, experts in child development.
- While cooking and baking, ask the child about his favorite recipes, and flavors. Ask him how he makes his favorite foods.
- When cleaning a room, ask the child to choose what he wants to clean next. Let him take the lead.
- Read stories with the child, ask how she feels about the story. Have her retell the tale.
- At bedtime have the child dictate, write or draw—depending on the age—thoughts about the day. Have her set goals for tomorrow.
- When grocery shopping, decide upon good shopping behavior prior to leaving for the store. Let him add to the grocery list—one healthy, one not so healthy.
- During family game time, play games that involve focusing skills, like Concentration card games or online games.
- While traveling, encourage the child to describe what he is seeing and feeling in a journal using words, pictures, or both.
- During homework, have the child make up her own study questions. Talk to her about her questions. Listen.
- For the news, ask the child about his feelings about the news stories. If he could change what was occurring, what would he do?
- For family, talk about family times; happy, sad, and funny.
- To get out of the house on time, ask the child what he needs to do to get ready to leave. Co-solve any issues.
Adults who have strong intrapersonal intelligences may find success as: psychologist, therapist, counselor, theologian, program planner, or entrepreneur.
To spark this intelligence in adults:
- When working on a routine activity, be aware of your surroundings, your physical movements, and how you feel.
- Practice “seeing” yourself from the outside as if you were detached. The “I” watches the “me.”
- Evaluate the way you think—your problem solving strategies.
- Write, in 25 words or less, an answer to the question, “Who am I?” Look at the answer each day for a week and reevaluate until you are satisfied.
References:
http://multipleintelligencesoasis.org/what-mi-am-i/
http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/learning/howard_gardner_theory_multiple_intelligences.pdf
http://webshare.northseattle.edu/fam180/topics/mi/HomeActivities.html
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Join me the following week for Naturalistic Intelligence, how to increase it in children and spark it in adults.