Kindergarten is a big milestone in your child’s educational journey. It’s also a time for social and emotional growth.
Young children are naturally curious and exploring, and teachers encourage these traits. They often use hands-on learning to help children explore concepts and make discoveries for themselves. These are the moments that really give kindergarten its magic.
Cognitive Growth
Cognitive growth involves how children think, learn, explore, and remember. Newborn infants, for example, are always gathering information about their world and the people around them. They are active learners and even as babies they can use simple tools like puppets to interact with their environment. Children as young as 4 can play games like building with Lego or similar materials that require them to consider how each piece fits together and problem solve if the design does not come out the way they wanted.
Kindergarten is when students begin to demonstrate their ability to think in more abstract ways, such as considering multiple points of view or comparing ideas and opinions. The ability to solve problems is also considered an important part of cognitive growth, and students can be challenged in the classroom with open-ended questions that require them to think critically. Children can also grow their fine motor skills by using crayons to trace shapes and patterns.
Language Development
Children build their oral language and vocabulary through play. They use the language they hear when building with blocks, playing house or cooking in the kitchen, and interacting with peers. Their early experiences with a variety of different types of language help them develop the skills that are important for learning to read.
Research shows that early language is a strong predictor of reading comprehension skills. Children who are poor comprehenders in elementary school have often evidenced poor language skills as early as preschool and kindergarten.
In addition to phonological skills (the ability to match sounds with letters and words), children must also master semantics, or the meanings of words; syntax, or rules for combining words into understandable sentences; and pragmatics, or how to interact in social situations. Teachers should support these aspects of language development by maintaining conversations that stay on topic, encouraging children to share their ideas and observations, and limiting screen time.
Social Skills
Children’s social skills are a crucial part of their development, and kindergarten is an important time for them to build positive relationships with peers. It’s also a critical time for kids to learn how to manage their emotions, such as being angry or sad, and to understand the perspectives of others.
Research has shown that students with strong social skills are often more successful in life than those who lack these skills. In fact, one longitudinal study found that kindergarten social skills had a direct correlation with health outcomes in adulthood.
Encourage your child’s growth by reading stories that teach social skills. When a character in the story has a problem, ask your child how they would solve it and discuss their ideas. This will help them develop empathy and understand the impact of their actions on others.
Independence
It’s important for kindergarteners to gain independence in order to become confident learners. When children learn to complete tasks on their own, they develop a sense of self-worth that encourages them to take on new challenges and persevere when they encounter obstacles.
Children also begin to build mental independence through engaging with their environment. When they observe how the world around them works and practice the movements that will later be needed to execute those concepts, they gain a deeper understanding of their world.
It can be tempting to help your child when they are playing independently, but stepping in can interrupt their learning. If you have offered them choices, broken large tasks into smaller ones, and taught them the skills necessary to accomplish a task, let them work through their mistakes! This is how they learn the most. Plus, when kids are encouraged to play independently, they often end up having more fun!