Kindergarten is many kids’ first time in a classroom. It takes some of them a while to figure out how to behave at school and how to get their work done.
They learn to identify all 26 letters of the alphabet, and they start learning to read high-frequency words (such as in, on, and of). They also explore nature as their first laboratory.
Social and Emotional Development
A child’s social-emotional development is important because it influences all other areas of learning. Kids who develop strong self-esteem and healthy relationships with friends and family are better equipped to manage their emotions and form and maintain positive interactions with others.
Kids learn how to play, work together and communicate with peers during kindergarten. They learn about the world around them and begin to explore a variety of academic subjects, such as math, reading, writing and science.
A good school supports this development, offering kids a mix of academics and playful activities. For example, a kindergarten may use a sound wall to help students understand how sounds are made and where to put their lips in order to say them. They also practice forming and maintaining healthy relationships and resolving conflicts. The best way parents can support social-emotional development is by providing consistent relationships with their children and establishing trusting, supportive environments in which kids feel safe to express their emotions.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development shapes children’s ability to concentrate, which facilitates deeper understanding of educational content. It also encourages children to think creatively and approach challenges from fresh perspectives.
There is a great deal of individual variation in cognitive development from birth to age 5. Children’s prior experiences, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, temperament and learning style all influence the rate and course of cognitive growth.
Categorization (0-2 years): An infant’s recognition of objects that share similar characteristics, such as color or size. Symbolic play (2-3 years): An older toddler uses objects or actions to stand for other things. For example, a child may hold up a banana to look like a phone. Conservation (3-5 years): The ability to recognize that an object’s quantity remains the same despite changes in its appearance, such as water poured into a tall, thin glass versus a short, wide one.
Activities that promote cognitive development include puzzles, counting games and memory improvement activities. La Petite Ecole offers these and many other enriching educational opportunities, providing the ideal environment to nurture young children’s cognitive development.
Physical Development
Children’s physical development includes their ability to use their bodies in different ways. This is the domain in which they cultivate fine motor skills, like hand-eye coordination and finger dexterity, as well as gross motor skills, such as jumping and climbing.
They also develop the strength and agility that help them move their bodies in ways that benefit their health. Regular physical activity promotes bone growth, strengthens muscles and reduces the risks of a sedentary lifestyle, such as obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Educators play a key role in helping children reach physical milestones. They can provide an environment that’s safe, welcoming and challenging to every child, no matter their age or stage of physical development. They can encourage healthy physical development by providing access to nutritious meals, plenty of daily exercise, rest and clear air free of environmental toxins. They can also support healthy physical development by incorporating movement into academic lessons, encouraging the use of hands-on learning materials, and providing children with a variety of activities that engage their whole body.
Language Development
Children learn to speak, listen, and use language to communicate with others in kindergarten. They also learn how to write and work with numbers. Language development is an important part of the learning process because it helps children understand what they are reading and writing about.
Language development in early childhood is linked to better short-term and long-term memory functions, creativity, and social skills. In addition, it contributes to cognitive development and supports students’ ability to follow instructions and solve problems.
Increasing the amount of oral language that children experience, both at home and at school, is one strategy to foster language development. Incorporating assessments of the language environments in which children are exposed is another. However, several barriers may prevent such assessments from being widely implemented within early learning settings.