Preschool Development MilestonesAs a toddler grows up to join preschool he reaches the most productive era of his life. It is during the preschool years that a child undergoes rapid and extensive learning. Modern educationalists have come up with a number of different theories which they seek to apply during the preschool years of children in order to help them achieve the preschool development milestones. Skills to be learnt by the age of three As is the case with development milestones there is a specific age and time frame during which certain skills should have been mastered by a child. By the age of three your child should have achieved a number of preschool development milestones that enable him to act independently in a number of matters. For example he should need very little help with the process of dressing up and brushing his teeth There are certain academic skills that a child is expected to learn by the age of three. Stacking of blocks, using scissors to cut out shapes, drawing simple shapes etc are examples of some of the academic skills that your child should acquire by three. In terms of physical movements a child should be able to walk on his toes, climb the stairs by alternating his feet, hop jump and even pedal a tricycle. A child by the age of three should have a level of imagination that lets him play with imaginary friends. His sentence construction should consist of three to four words and should be fairly comprehendible. Your child should really begin to test your parenting skills during the early years of preschool with the "why" questions. At this stage a child should be able to commit nursery rhymes and stories to memory and should have a fairly good understanding of daily routines. The toddler should also have developed a habit of sharing his toys with other children. By Four By the age of four your child should have actually mastered the preschool development milestones that he achieved the previous year. This means that he should be able to dress himself and brush his teeth without any assistance whatsoever. As the standard of education progresses the child should be able to follow rules, engage in board games, count numbers and name colors. At this stage the speech of your child should be fully understandable. By Five By five a child begins to develop excellent cooperation skills. Not only should the child have mastered the preschool development milestones he had previously achieved the pace at which he begins to learn new things should also have increased. This is a very sensitive age in child development as the child needs to be made to feel more responsible. There are different motivational theories regarding the issue of motivating children. You will be able to find a host of articles on the Internet that will give you vital information concerning the matter. In order to judge the development of your child you can make use of a child development chart devised by the experts for the purpose of gauging a child's development progress. In this way you will be able to see whether your child is early or late in developing the skills that he is expected to learn at each stage. |