Musical

The ability to produce and recognize simple songs; play with these melodies, varying speed and rhythm. How you can nurture: Incorporate music daily. Use a tape recorder for listening, singing along, and recording songs and rhythmic and melodic instruments.

Logical / mathematical

The ability to understand the basic properties of numbers, adding or taking away; appreciate principles of cause and effect, one-to-one correspondence; ability to predict, as in which objects will float, sink, etc. How you can nurture: Provide manipulatives to help children experiment with numbers; use simple machines to help children think about cause and effect.

Interpersonal

The ability to understand other people and work effectively with them and to notice who plays with them at school, and why. How you can nurture: Give children lots of opportunities to talk about one another and their social interactions, and to problem-solve conflicts together, play games in which one has to figure out the knowledge or intentions of other players.

Intrapersonal

The ability to understand things about oneself, how one is similar to, different from others; remind oneself to remember to do something; know how to soothe oneself when sad. How you can nurture: Let children express their own unique emotions, preferences, and strategies; help them understand their own wishes and fears and how best to deal with them.

Bodily/kinesthetic

The ability to use the body or parts of the body (hands, feet, etc.) to solve problems, as in playing a ballgame, dancing, or making things with the hands. How you can nurture: Provide opportunities for physical challenges throughout the day, not just outdoors.

Linguistic

The ability to use language to express meaning, understand others, tell a simple story; react appropriately to stories with different moods; learn new vocabulary or a second language that is used naturally. How you can nurture: Make sure your program is rich with language opportunities and that children’s linguistic expression is listened to and appreciated.

Spatial

The ability to be able to form a mental image of large (a home) and local (a block building) spatial layouts; find one’s way around a new building. How you can nurture: Provide many opportunities for mapping of the classroom encourage children to vary the arrangements of materials in the space.

Naturalist

The ability to recognize species of plants or animals in one’s environment, for example, to learn the characteristics of different birds. How you can nurture: Play games in which children recognize fine distinctions among members of a plant or animal group; explore the outdoors regularly and bring the outdoors in; provide sample books, visual, and props related to the natural world.