 Children 3 to 5 Years Old
What to Expect
Between their third and fourth birthdays, children |
- Start to play with other children, instead of
next to them;
- Are more likely to take turns and share and
begin to understand that other people have feelings and rights;
- Are increasingly self-reliant and probably can
dress with little help;
- May develop fears ("Mommy, there's a monster
under my bed.") and have imaginary companions;
- Have greater large-muscle control than toddlers
and love to run, skip, jump with both feet, catch a ball, climb
downstairs and dance to music;
- Have greater small-muscle control than toddlers,
which is reflected in their drawings and scribbles;
- Match and sort things that are alike and
unalike;
- Recognize numerals;
- Like silly humor, riddles and practical jokes;
- Understand and follow spoken directions;
- Use new words and longer sentences;
- Are aware of rhyming sounds in words;
- May attempt to read, calling attention to
themselves and showing pride in their accomplishment;
- Recognize print around them on signs or in
logos.
- Know that each alphabet letter has a name and
identify at least 10 alphabet letters, especially those in their own
names; and
- "Write," or scribble messages.
|
| Between their fourth and fifth birthdays, children |
- Are active and have lots of energy and may be
aggressive in their play;
- Enjoy more group activities, because they have
longer attention spans;
- Like making faces and being silly;
- May form cliques with friends and may change
friendships quickly;
- Have better muscle control in running, jumping
and hopping;
- Recognize and write the numerals 1-10;
- Recognize shapes such as circles, squares,
rectangles and triangles;
- Love to make rhymes, say nonsense words and tell
jokes;
- Know and use words that are important to school
work, such as the names for colors, shapes and numbers; know and use
words that are important to daily life, such as street names and
addresses;
- Know how books are held and read and follow
print from left to right and from top to bottom of a page when
listening to stories read aloud;
- Recognize the shapes and names of all letters of
the alphabet and know the sounds of some letters; and
- Write some letters, particularly those in his
own name.
|
What Preschoolers Need
3- to 4-year-old children require opportunities to |
- Play with other children so they can learn to
listen, take turns and share;
- Develop more physical coordination-for example,
by hopping on both feet;
- Develop their growing language abilities through
books, games, songs, science, math and art activities;
- Develop more self-reliance skills-for example,
learning to dress and undress themselves;
- Count and measure;
- Participate actively with adults in
reading-aloud activities;
- Explore the alphabet and print; and
- Attempt to write messages.
|
| 4- to 5-year-old children need opportunities to |
- Experiment and discover, within limits;
- Develop their growing interest in school
subjects, such as science, music, art and math;
- Enjoy activities that involve exploring and
investigating;
- Group items that are similar (for example, by
size, color or shape);
- Use their imaginations and curiosity;
- Develop their language skills by speaking and
listening; and
- See how reading and writing are both enjoyable
and useful (for example, by listening to stories and poems, seeing
adults use books to find information and dictating stories to
adults).
|
|
Information source: U.S. Department of Education - Helping Your Preschool Child |
|
|
|
