By: S Block 1-2

Preoperational Thinking Children can understand simple Do’s and Don’ts Use of symbols: children learn that objects or words can be symbols, they can represent something else Make-believe play: children learn through fantasy/creative play or dramatic play, which is imitating real life situations, games like house or school Egocentric viewpoint: children view the world in terms of themselves, their actions show self-centeredness Limited focus: in preop. Period kids find it hard to focus on more than one characteristic at once. Ex. Give a child 10 tennis balls, 3 white balls, and 7 yellow balls. Ask if there's more yellow balls, they will say yes because they can’t focus on both color and type of ball at once

Measuring intelligence When labeling a child “intelligent” or “unintelligent” adults are often influenced by observations unrelated to intelligence Its difficult to separate a child’s intellectual ability from other characteristics like size, shyness, hair style. Educators use formal intelligence tests The first test was developed by Alfred Binet in In 1916 Lewis Tellman revised the Binet test. Today it’s called the Standford-Binet test. It measures IQ average. A Child should be around The test corresponds with a child’s ability and age level

Disadvantage of IQ Test Physical or emotional state of a child can affect the results of the test It doesn’t tell much about a child’s specific abilities. Two kids might have the same IQ but very different strengths and weaknesses The test is more commonly used is a screening instrument, it measures level of development in all area’s, not just thinking skills

Everyday Learning Opportunities Children learn in every experience, but they learn more if a parent or caregiver shares the experience with them Helping them learn: Talk with the child about what their doing. Some positive comments can encourage their interest and asking questions helps them think in new ways, and organize their thoughts Asking advice from a child promotes learning and shows a them their opinion is valued and improves their self- esteem

Everyday Learning Opportunities Cont. Children should be included in household activities such as shopping, cooking, and cleaning – it will help them develop maturity and responsibility At the age of 4, 5, or 6, children want to learn about their bodies and where babies come from. You have to answer all their questions in a simple way that they can understand and don’t be embarrassed

Reading Children love stories, if you encourage the interest and read to them it’s likely they’ll enjoy books as they grow up Kids appreciate humor and unusual (silly) situations They laugh over a horse in a bathtub = it shows their learning reality from fantasy Kids like colorful books that are easy for them to understand

Art Art helps children express feelings, learn to control their body, and show creativity They should be able to experiment. Don’t correct their creativity

Music Children imitate the sounds they hear. They respond naturally to rhythmic sounds. They love to sing and play rhythmic games Kids are usually introduced to singing by finger plays, which are songs/chants that have hand motions. Simple instruments like bells or drums they can bang on help develop their interest 6N8

The School Experience If children have a bad experience with a teacher or classmate they might develop negative feelings towards school, this might keep them from learning as well To make sure a child can adjust to kindergarten: They should have appropriate self-help skills (putting on clothes and shoes) Should be able to listen well and follow directions You should explain what they can expect at school

Learning Disabilities There’s four categories that they could have a disability in: How a child receives info from his/her senses How the brain puts info together How the info is stored in the brain as a memory How the info is expressed as written or spoken language Being blind is not a learning disability ADHD is the inability to control one’s activity or attention

Learning Disabilities Cont. Dyslexia prevents a person from handling language in a normal way It causes problems in reading, writing, spelling, and math Brain can’t process info, especially visually Children with learning disabilities are often treated like they can’t learn, which is wrong they just learn differently They need lots of encouragement and praise, because they have to work extra hard

Gifted & Talented Children 3-10% of students are “gifted” (IQ of 130 and up) There are also children talented in areas that don’t show up on IQ tests, like musically Gifted children shouldn’t be treated differently or special They easily become bored and frustrated, and therefore get labeled “problem children” If they aren’t challenged they will become poor students

Speech Development A child’s language ability is the most dependable indicator of intelligence Reveals what they think, their interests, and personality Vocabulary continues to increase, as well as articulation This improvement relies on physical growth 6 year olds should know 2 ½ times the words as the average 3 year old

Speech Difficulties Young children who don’t talk a lot usually are still uncomfortable with language and they won’t be able to read till they have more experience with speaking Children should be encourage to use a rich vocabulary Children who don’t speak English have many problems in school, have understanding problems, and other kids teasing the child can cause isolation

Bibliography Brisbane, H. E. (1994). The Developing Child. Glencoe Division of Macmillan. Child Development Guide. (2007). Cognitive Development: From 4-6 Years. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from Child- Development-Guide: guide.com/cognitive-development.html Kidspot team. (n.d.). Cognitive Development in babies and children. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from Discovery Centre: Development-Cognitive-development-in-babies-and- children article.htm