Children are always trying to figure out how things work, and adults need to know how it works for them; that is, adults need to understand how children learn… how their “figurin’ out” process works and changes over time. This presentation follows children as they begin their initial “explorations” and “experimentations” with the world, through the early childhood era into adolescent and adult intellectual functioning. Pitfalls and misconceptions and the subsequent inappropriate well-intended interventions by adults to stimulate children’s learning, are contrasted with more effective strategies. Conceptual clarity allows adults to better stimulate cognitive development, rather than inadvertently confuse children.