Karen Quinn Shares the 7 Abilities Every Child Needs
Last night, Karen Quinn, The TestingMom, had the pleasure of presenting a wonderful teleseminar for the members of Positive Parenting Solutions. It was an incredible evening filled with practical ideas, encouragement, and strategies to help parents support their young learners at home.
During the presentation, Karen discussed the 7 abilities every child needs to develop—concepts introduced in her book, Testing for Kindergarten. These foundational skills help children become stronger learners and more confident test-takers, whether they are preparing for kindergarten admissions, gifted testing, private school interviews, or simply building skills for success in the classroom.
Rather than focusing on memorization or “teaching to the test,” Karen emphasized that children benefit most from developing broad cognitive and learning skills that will serve them throughout their education. These abilities include strong vocabulary, listening comprehension, memory, reasoning, attention, problem-solving, and the confidence to tackle unfamiliar challenges.
Parents also learned how simple everyday activities can strengthen these skills. Reading together, asking thoughtful questions, playing games, solving puzzles, and encouraging curiosity all help children develop the thinking abilities measured by many school readiness and gifted assessments.
A special thank-you goes to Amy McCready for inviting Karen to speak to her members. Amy is the founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and has spent more than 20 years helping parents build stronger relationships with their children through positive, practical parenting strategies. Her work has empowered countless families, as well as leaders in Fortune 500 companies and community organizations, to create more peaceful and productive home environments.
We’d also like to thank everyone who joined us for the live event. Your thoughtful questions and enthusiasm made the evening especially enjoyable.
If you weren’t able to attend, don’t worry! You can still benefit from the discussion by listening to the recording. We hope you’ll come away with new ideas and practical tools to help your child build confidence, develop a love of learning, and reach their full potential.
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