Growth Patterns of school age children. Growth and Physical Characteristics Motor Development Growth is now slow and irregular. Girls will experience more growth spurts than boys. The brain grows significantly. Reaching adult size by 10. Girls may begin prepubertal changes. Gains approximately 6 ½ lbs a year. Fine motor skills are more refined. Is able to more with more coordination and ease. Enjoys sports or large motor movements. Enjoys using hands to do arts and crafts, cooking, woodworking, building or taking things apart.

Perceptual-Cognitive Development Speech and Language Development Is able to reason more and relies less on intuition. Enjoys the challenges of math. Learns best with hands on learning. Enjoys school Likes recreational reading and writing. Loves to talk. Is able to use their words to express their feelings. Understands that language is used as a method of communication. Enjoys using slang words. Shows advance understanding of grammatical sequences.

School age children and Emotional Intelligence Awareness of one’s feelings and the ability to use that knowledge in decision making; Ability to manage one’s feelings to prevent distress from blocking thought processes; Ability to motivate oneself despite setbacks, remaining positive and hopeful and delaying gratification; Ability to empathize with others; and Ability to develop rapport and cooperate with others and to handle feelings in relationships.