Cognition is one of the five central domains of the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF). Resources here address the skills children use to understand and organize their world: reasoning, memory, problem-solving, and thinking skills. For preschoolers, cognition expands to include mathematical development and scientific reasoning.

Other ELOF domains include Approaches to Learning; Social and Emotional Development; Language and Literacy; and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development.