As parents, we want what’s best for our kids’ learning and development. But children are still struggling with learning loss and plunging test scores in the aftermath of the pandemic. And the world is changing so fast, it’s hard to know what skills kids will need most.
Schools are scrambling to adapt and social media offers a shifting hurricane of hard-to-grasp advice. But the science of early learning is clear: Helping kids doesn’t have to be so complicated.
Here, we explore the six different skills that make up a holistic learning experience, and why they matter for a child’s success in the classroom, in their work, and in the world.
The Short Cut
- Following the latest learning research from renowned developmental psychologists and learning experts Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and their book Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children, Begin has adopted six skill areas that help kids thrive in school and life.
- The 6 skill areas—called the 6Cs—are Collaboration, Communication, Content, Creativity & Curiosity, Critical Thinking, and Confidence.
- When learning and play activities are designed with the 6Cs in mind, kids are more engaged in school and score better in reading and math.
- Begin offers award-winning, play-based learning to support the development of the 6Cs, delivered at the right time and in the right way for every child.
Early Learning Today
The most recent learning research shows that a traditional curriculum focusing on the ABCs and 123s isn’t enough to help kids succeed in the twenty-first century.
The world is rapidly changing. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 indicates that 39% of key skills required in the job market will change by 2030. So today’s kids need skills to take on challenges and careers we couldn’t have imagined growing up, and that means moving beyond static memorization and learning in fresh, engaging ways that spark creativity and problem-solving.
To thrive, kids need to not only be proficient in traditional academic skills, but also social-emotional skills. And they need to have the ability to solve complex problems and be empathetic and kind global citizens in the process.
As parents, we understand this. We want our children to be happy, well-rounded, good people. We want them to cultivate a holistic skill set.
That’s where Begin comes in. We make it easy for you to feel confident that your child is developing the skills they need to thrive.
The Begin Approach
The Begin Approach is built on cutting-edge research from the book Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children by early learning experts Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff.
Using data from hundreds of studies and top business leaders, they identified the set of six skills that will most help kids succeed in today’s world. Called the 6Cs, these skills go beyond memorizing facts and focus on problem-solving, creative thinking, and confident learning.
Many schools are overburdened and may not be able to prepare children fully for the future, but Begin is here to make sure kids are learning the 6Cs they need in a way that’s fun, engaging, and backed by research.
The 6Cs for Success
- Collaboration – Working with others successfully, self-regulating, forming friendships and communities, celebrating diversity, and navigating conflicts
- Communication – Listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills
- Content – Possessing essential skills within core subjects like math and science, as well as the foundational skill of learning how to learn
- Creativity & Curiosity – Engaging in creative self-expression, as well as using information in new ways to solve problems and ask questions in order to understand
- Critical Thinking – Using logic, reasoning, and executive functioning skills to analyze information and make sound decisions throughout life
- Confidence – Being open to learning from failure, persisting in problem-solving, and feeling generally empowered as a learner
The 6Cs expand beyond the traditional focus on content only and help young learners gather evidence and evaluate information to creatively solve problems. They move kids toward a picture of success that is more expansive and embraces mistakes as a key part of learning.
Early studies about the impact of the 6Cs are promising. Educators report that the 6Cs help their students become more engaged learners, and students whose classrooms promoted the 6Cs saw improved test scores in reading and math. We believe that encouraging activities at home that build these skills will lead to similar results.
Practicing the 6Cs can be playing phonics games on an app, investigating feelings with favorite characters from Sesame Street, exploring the world through hands-on play, solving digital puzzles, or learning sequencing. It can also be playing games like I Spy, engaging in pretend play, or going on a scavenger hunt.
You will know these skills are taking root when you see the joy on your child’s face as they exclaim, “I did it!” when solving a tricky puzzle, tying their shoes, sharing a discovery with a friend, or other achievement. For example, solving a puzzle strengthens critical thinking, persevering through frustration builds confidence, and sharing success practices communication.
Moments like these are powerful signs of learning and growth, and deserve to be celebrated. By recognizing and valuing these small wins, or “I Did It!” Moments, we can move beyond comparisons and benchmarks—and focus on the magic of every child’s unique learning journey.
A Closer Look at the 6Cs
Rather than being separate competencies or skills, the 6Cs work together to build a foundation for success.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the process of working together to reach a common goal. Encouraging collaboration is about offering and receiving ideas, making compromises, and discovering that combining effort and expertise often results in something greater than its parts.
The process of collaboration builds social skills. It gives kids a chance to practice sharing, listening, self-regulation, conflict resolution, and perspective-taking. Learning how to work with others lays the foundation for building relationships, embracing diversity, and becoming part of a community. Kids grow from working independently to thriving in teams.
Communication
Communication is a necessary part of successful collaboration, as well as just about every other aspect of a child’s life. Learning how to talk, write, read, and listen helps kids express themselves and connect with others. Over time, they grow from sharing simple thoughts to presenting clear, persuasive ideas.
Content
Content includes foundational skills as well as physical milestones. But it doesn’t stop there. It’s also about building focus, memory, and problem-solving skills.
For young children, content covers:
- Math (including numbers, operations, shapes, measurement, spatial reasoning)
- STEM (including but not limited to math, life science, earth science, technology, and engineering)
- World exploration (such as geography, culture, other languages)
- Physical development (such as fine and gross motor skills, sensory skills, healthy development)
- Literacy (including reading and writing)
- Art (such as drawing and finger painting)
- Executive functioning (including but not limited to emotional regulation, attention, time management, organization, and self-control)
Through content, kids build foundational knowledge, navigate symbolic systems, understand the principles and rules that explain the world, and develop a healthy body and brain to thrive within it.
Creativity & Curiosity
Creativity and curiosity enable kids to come up with solutions to problems, invent new ideas, and express themselves. For young children, creativity includes artistic expression and appreciation, creative problem-solving, imagination and pretend play, resourcefulness, and making/building/tinkering.
Curiosity is the way children engage with and learn about the world. The more they ask questions and seek answers, experiment and adapt, and make observations, the more their thinking expands.
Play supports all of this, guiding them from thinking about and trying new things to chasing big dreams.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is how the brain processes information, analyzes it, and makes decisions based on its evaluation.
For young children, critical thinking includes remembering simple instructions and short routines, focusing on a task and ignoring distractions, computational thinking and coding, understanding differences between sources of information, logic and reasoning, asking questions to gain greater understanding, and making connections.
Learning to question, analyze, and solve problems supports kids in navigating a world full of information. They grow from simply accepting what they hear and see to forming their own thoughtful conclusions.
Confidence
Confidence is key for kids to thrive. They have to develop trust in themselves and their capabilities—and learn it doesn’t mean they’re always going to succeed at what they set out to do.
In fact, part of confidence is believing that you can make a mistake (or make many of them!), persevere, and try again. It is an understanding that knowledge develops, skills improve, and we all grow.
It Begins with Play
With so much learning to do, why approach it through play? Because play is the most effective way for children to learn! Research-backed descriptions of high-quality learning activities and definitions of play overlap almost perfectly:
- Active (is both hands-on and minds-on)
- Engaging (keeps kids focused rather than distracted)
- Meaningful (is connected to what matters to kids)
- Socially interactive (is experienced with others)
- Iterative (builds on what kids learn from each try)
- Joyful (brings a sense of fun and achievement)
What Is Playful Learning?
Playful learning is an approach that uses play to spark joy, engagement, and deeper connections to learning. It blends child-led exploration with adult guidance, allowing kids to experiment, problem-solve, and collaborate while staying immersed in meaningful activities.
Rather than separating play and learning, playful learning shows how the two can work together to support growth. At its core, it reimagines the adult’s role as a guide who supports children’s natural curiosity and helps them build understanding through active discovery.
At Begin, we take into account the different ways in which children love to play, and the experiences (digital and hands-on) parents are looking for to support different learning objectives.
Some skills are perfectly supported through interactive digital content. Other skills are best experienced using hands-on materials to play and experiment with.
We make it easy for you to feel confident that your child is developing the 6Cs for success they need to thrive. Our products are created by learning and design experts and are backed by research to ensure we deliver on our promise to support every family who Begins with us.
Everything we create is designed knowing your child is on their own unique learning journey. We’re here for your family every step of the way with award-winning, play-based learning that will benefit every learner.
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