Actions and events are two sides of the same coin.
For example, a child was hitting a drum with a stick.
The hitting was the action, but to the observer it is an event.
While actions energize (change) the environment an action is an event to the observer.

Now imagine:
You hear the sound of a drum.
But you can't see where the sound is coming from.

What do you conclude?
Obviously you rely on your experience and conclude that a person is playing the drum.

However, what if you had never heard a drum sound before?
That is, you had no historical knowledge about drums or sound!

This is similar to what children experience every day,  when they are learning fundamental things.
They have a brief historical knowledge, remember they have only been alive for a few years.
Therefore, they are constantly learning about cause & effect (AKA causation).

Why is the practice of cause & effect so vital?
It is the foundation for our sense of logic, beliefs, understanding, reasoning, confidence.
This understanding influences our expectations of the world, our feelings, our decisions, our designs, our behaviour.

So never underestimate a simple interaction with your students about how things connect.
By doing this you expand not only the knowledge of your students, but your own!

The potential use of cause and effect apps

Have you ever noticed how toddlers are highly physical with their environment?
Learn more about causation interactions for toddlers.

Sometimes two outcomes (effects) may seem to be directly related, instead that both have a common root cause that is unknown.