Kindergarten is a big transition for students. It is their first year of school without the guidance of a parent or guardian.
Kindergarteners learn about the world around them, discovering how things near and far are alike and different. Teachers often help children use their curiosity to ask questions and make connections.
Physical Development
The physical development of children in kindergarten takes place through a range of activities. These include advancing and refining their motor skills as they play. This can involve learning how to throw a ball or dance moves. Physical development also helps to enhance cognitive development.
For example, when seven-month-olds are given a toy that has a button they can push to hear an exciting sound, they may repeat the action over and over again, suggesting that they have learned how pressing a button will cause a response (Hauf and Aschersleben, 2008).
Recognize that while there are general patterns of physical development, each child’s experience is unique, and the pace at which they reach milestones varies. Having a good understanding of the physical needs of infants, toddlers, and older children will help you and your staff to plan activities that foster optimal development. Lesson Three explores strategies for meeting children’s physical development needs in group care settings.
Social Development
A growing body of research shows that children who have good social skills in kindergarten are more likely to succeed in school. They have stronger relationships with classmates and can better resolve conflicts. They also have more self-regulation and are better at expressing their emotions.
Throughout Africa, where children’s lives have been disrupted by war, poverty and disease, SOS Children’s Villages run what are called kindergartens. These are often full-day schools that give parents the opportunity to work outside the home, as well as help their children develop their social skills in a safe and structured environment.
The researchers used participant observations and informal interviews to understand how kindergarten teachers guided students’ learning. They also conducted cross-referencing to strengthen the validity of their findings. Their analysis revealed three distinct social skill growth trajectories: high increase class, moderate increase class, and decrease class. Predictors such as children’s home-rearing environment and demographic characteristic significantly influenced the growth patterns of social skills development.
Language and Literacy Development
The language development that children experience in kindergarten has a direct impact on their emerging literacy skills. This development includes both receptive (the ability to hear, understand and use spoken language) and expressive language (the ability to express one’s thoughts, ideas and feelings).
In a kindergarten that follows the HighScope approach, children are offered a variety of learning opportunities through different ‘areas’ in the classroom. From water play to a reading corner, these learning opportunities provide children with socially and academically rich experiences.
Providing young children with the opportunity to engage in a broad range of developmental activities is a crucial investment in their futures. This is an investment that yields significant long-term benefits for young children, including the prevention of early school failure and a reduced risk of important social and emotional difficulties throughout childhood and into adulthood. This is why it’s so important to support kindergarten programs that focus on children’s whole development.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development encompasses the mental abilities of children. It is the process of understanding the world around them, whether they are learning about the alphabet or counting pom-poms. Children who are experiencing cognitive development are capable of grasping concepts such as tomorrow, time, size and distance.
Cognitive Development lays the foundation for future educational success. It shapes a child’s ability to concentrate, which is necessary for better engagement in educational content and improved comprehension of subject matter. It also fosters creativity, encouraging children to think imaginatively and approach subjects from fresh perspectives, enriching their overall educational experience.
Cognitive development often occurs in stages. For example, the ability to understand concrete social roles such as a doctor and patient emerges at a certain point in the developmental sequence for social categories, and an understanding of conservation (such as a clay sculpture staying the same) develops at a particular point in the development of logical thinking. These types of qualitative changes in behavior are referred to as cognitive milestones.