An Overview of the Areas of Child Development Three to Seven Years

Five Areas Of Development Physical Cognitive Language Emotional / Social

Aged 3 – 5 years AGE 3 to 5 years PHYSICAL COGNITIVE LANGUAGE SOCIAL / EMOTIONAL Can hop Good sense of past, present, future Wide range of vocabulary and use it appropriately Most will have developed a stable self concept Use a variety of play equipment – swing, slides, climbing frames Becoming literate – recognise and write own name, responds to books and interested in reading Sentences usually correctly constructed, although incorrect grammar may be used This is based on their own inner understanding and knowledge about who they are Plays ball games well Understand one-to-one principles and counts reliably to 10 Questions and discussions are for enquiry and information Those who see themselves as likeable will not change their view of themselves if another child says that they don’t like them Walk along a balancing beam Concentration skills developing – up to 10 minutes at an appropriate task Will offer opinions in discussions Draw a person with head, trunk, legs, eyes, nose, mouth Thinking increasingly coordinated and able to hold more than one point of view Learning to understand ambiguities and subtleties such as irony and metaphor. Good control of pencils and paintbrushes Can sew large stitches

Aged 5 – 7 years AGE 5 to 7 years PHYSICAL COGNITIVE LANGUAGE SOCIAL / EMOTIONAL Can climb and balance well on apparatus Able to conserve number (number of objects remains the same however they are presented) Use, practise, adapt and refine language knowledge and skills Much of the child’s personality and sense of self is established. Hops easily on either foot, well balanced May conserve mass and capacity Use language for a wide range of purposes – self maintaining (Stop it! I’m thirsty), directing (You push the car around the track) reporting (We walked to the bus stop then caught the bus) towards logical reasoning (I didn’t want to go because I hadn’t finished my drawing) predicting (The wheel will fall off if you don’t stick it on properly) projecting (I wouldn’t like to be a rabbit and live in a cage, would you?) imaging (Hello, I am Dr James, how can I help you?) Established personal identity, social and cultural identity, gender role, attitudes to life, and skills for independence. Rides two wheeled bicycle Can perform simple addition and subtraction mentally Catch ball with one hand May tell time from clock or watch Holds pencil similar to adults Developing ability to reason and understand cause and effect Writes well Begin to read independently Draw a person with increasing detail (hairstyle, eyebrows etc) Concentrate for longer periods of time Can sew neatly with large needle