CHILD DEVELOPMENT:UNIT 5

TODDLER AND PRESCHOOLPreschool Cognitive Development

SORTING

Common household objects being put into categories according to similarities.

Examples Blocks, buttons, silverware, colored

items, laundry

CLASSIFYING

Grouping nature objects into categories according to their similarities.

 Examples: Rocks, boys/girls, people characteristics,

animals, things in nature

SERIATION

Organizing objects according to increasing or decreasing qualities.

 Example Age, height, weight, length

TRANSFORMATION

Changing an object’s state.

 Example Water into ice or ice into water, powder jello

mix into jiggly jello and then adding hot water to the jello to turn it back into a liquid, growing older with age, a seed into a plant, dough into bread

REVERSAL

Building or doing and then undoing it

 Example Zip and unzip, build a sand castle and

wreck it, block tower and wreck it, tie and untie

SEQUENCING

Step by step pattern of event put into correct order.

 Example Directions in cooking, a story, a snowman

being built and then melting into water, following correct order to performing a task

CONSERVATION

Understanding that an objects physical dimensions and amounts remain the same even though its appearance changes

 Example Pouring liquid from one cup into another

shaped cup. Smashing a cookie dough ball or playdough, 2 different shaped cookies or containers of food

List major cognitive milestones for a preschooler

3 Year Old Short sentences 896 Words Great growth in communication Tells simple stories Uses words as tool of thought Answers questions Imaginative May recite few nursery rhymes

4 Year Old Uses complete sentences 1540 words Asks endless questions Learning to generalize Highly imaginative Dramatic Can draw recognizable objects

Cognitive Terms 1. Language ability Q. This reveals a child’s intellectual development: how they think, their

interests, and their personalities.

2. Preoperational Stage A. Jean Piaget said that preschoolers are in this cognitive stage

3. Experiment L. Allow children to explore and _________. This is how they learn about their

world.

4. Parental Attitude O. This largely influences a preschoolers enjoyment in reading, learning, school,

art, music…

5. Everyday Experiences F. Preschoolers learn best by participation and involvement in these.

6. Chores K. Preschoolers need to be included in ______and daily clean up tasks around the

house.

Cognitive Terms 7. Symbols B. In the preoperational stage, a preschooler learns that these represent objects and words.

8. Limited Focus  E. A preoperational form where kids find it hard to concentrate on more than one feature of

an object at a time.

9. Problem Solving P. Preschoolers begin to develop this skill as their cognitive abilities improve.

10. Reading Stories N. Spending time doing this with kids is an effective way to introduce them to reading. It

makes learning easier and more fun.

11. Talk G. Look for opportunities to ___________ with a child about what they are seeing, doing, and

experiencing. This will increase learning.

12. Egocentric D. Viewing the world in terms of their own ideas and wants shows this preoperational stage.

13. Opinions I. Ask a child’s views or ________ on subjects to increase their learning.

Cognitive Terms 14. Conservation R. A cognitive skill where a child understands that even though one property

of an object changes, the other property still remains the same.

15. Inquisitive H. Children are naturally this way. They ask a lot of questions because they

are curious and want to understand the world around them.

16. Test M. Success of a child depends upon qualities like motivation, determination,

creativity, and self-confidence, not on _________ scores.

17. YES and NO J. Ask questions to a preschooler that requires more than these type of

answers to increase learning

18. Make-Believe play C. This preoperational characteristic is imitating real-life situations in

fantasy play

Modeling Language For Toddlers   After age two, most toddlers begin to use language for talking with others and for thinking. Because language is learned mainly through imitation, adults must

carefully model correct speaking for the toddler. Read each toddler’s language sentence. Explain the purpose you would have for modeling, but not outwardly correcting, the appropriate way of

speaking. The purposes can be: a. correct pronunciation of the word b. correct grammar c. adding a new word to their vocabulary d. correcting the meaning of the word or sentence Restate the sentence in the appropriate way that reflects your purpose to the toddler.   1. “I ranned to the barn.” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   2. “I want to sleep on my soft piddah.” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   3. “The apples is sweet.” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   4. “See the chicken swim in the pond and say Quack-quack.” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   5. “See my foots.” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   6. “The kite goes.” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   7. “I like woses in the garden” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   8. “Look at the man playing the jello” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   9. “Daddy has feathers on his chin.” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________   10. “Me want to go” Purpose__________________________________________________________________________________ Restated sentence__________________________________________________________________________

The End