Assimilation refers to the process of absorbing relevant information from the external environment and combining it with children's existing cognitive structure (also known as "schema"), that is, the process of integrating the information provided by external stimuli into their own original cognitive structure, just like the digestive system absorbs nutrition, there is no qualitative change. For example, you didn't know which dog was before, but you will know after listening to others. This is assimilation.

Adaptation refers to the process of reorganization and transformation of children's cognitive structure when the external environment changes and the original cognitive structure cannot assimilate the information provided by the new environment, that is, the cognitive structure of individuals changes due to the influence of external stimuli, which leads to qualitative changes. For example, you didn't smoke before, but everyone there smokes, so you smoke along. This is adaptation.