This paper presents a retrospective and documentary study on elements associated with variational thinking, with the purpose of establishing how variational thinking has been developed in children in the first grades of school from the approach of TO. First, a review is made of some of the central categories for the Theory of Objectification (TO), with the purpose of analyzing subsequent research. Then, the main research developed on variational thinking in the early grades of schooling is described, from a Colombian and international perspective. Subsequently, some elements that are considered important to be considered in future research are proposed, in the light of the TO categories. Finally, some elements are proposed that show the importance of studying variational thinking from the early grades of schooling, as well as some elements to consider for such a study.