Child Growth and Development

               Preschooler (Three- and Four-Year-Olds)

                                 Physical

Expansion of physical skills.
Rides a tricycle.
Pushes a wagon.
Runs smoothly and can stop easily.
Climbs jungle gym ladder.
Walks stairs with alternating feet.
Can jump with two feet.
High energy level.
By four can do a running broad jump.
Begins to skip pushing one foot ahead of another.
Can balance on one foot.
Keeps relatively good time in response to music.
Expanding fine motor skills for dressing himself: works zippers, maybe
even buttons.
Night control of elimination.

                                     Social

Becoming more social. Moving from parallel play to beginning 
associative play. Does joint activities. 
Awareness of racial differences and sexual differences. 
Helpful mainly because he's interested in matching words to 
actions. 
Beginning of independence. 
By four growing sense of initiative and self-reliance. 
Becoming aware of basic sex identity. 
Imaginary playmates not uncommon (may appear as early as two-and-
a half ).

                                 Emotional

Beginning humor. Laughs when adults laugh. 
Growing inner control over his behavior.
Less negativism. 
Beginning of phobias and fears which may continue until age five. 
At four years intentional lying may begin, but child outraged by 
parents' white lies. 

                                Cognitive 

Beginning problem-solving skills. Stacks blocks and may kick them 
down to see what happens. 
Learns to use listening skills as a means of learning about 
world. 
Drawings at three still scribbling but in one direction and less 
repetitive. 
At four drawings represent what he knows and thinks is important. 
Thinking is perceptually bound to one attribute and 
characteristic. "Why?" questions abound. 
Everything in the world has a reason but in accordance with his 
own knowledge. 
Egocentric thinking persists. 
Begins to sort out fantasy from reality.

                                  Language 

Rapid language growth by end of year. Uses well formed sentences 
and complex grammar. 
At three talks in a monologue as if practicing his language as he 
acts out adult rules and as he carries out his own activities. 
By four child has mastered about 90 percent of phonetics and 
syntax of language but still may overgeneralize verb tenses, 
plurals, pronouns. 
Has discovered bathroom words and enjoys using them to shock.

                  Early Primary (Five- and Six-Year-Olds)

                               Physical 

Well controlled and constantly in motion.
Often rides a bicycle as well as a tricycle.
Can skip with alternating feet and hop.
Greater control of fine-motor skills. Beginning to use tools, 
such as tooth brush, saws, scissors, pencils, hammers, needles 
for sewing.
Handedness well established-can identify hand she uses for 
writing or drawing.
Can dress self but may still have trouble tying shoe laces.
At six beginning to lose teeth.

                               Social

Very social-visits with friends on his own.
Very self-sufficient.
Persists longer at a task. Can plan and carry out activities and 
return to project next day.
Plays with two or three friends often just a short time only and 
then switches play group.
Beginning to conform. Is very helpful. 
By six becoming very assertive. Often bossy, dominating a 
situation and ready with advice. 
Needs to be first-has difficulty losing. 
Possessive and boastful. 
Craves affection. Often has a love/hate relationship with 
parents. 
Sex roles becoming more refined. Has tendency to sex-type. 
Becomes clothes-conscious.

                               Emotional

Sense of humor continues. 
Learns right from wrong. 
At five begins to control emotions and is able to express them in 
socially approved ways. 
Quarrels frequently, but quarrels are of short duration. 
At six often there is shift in emotions and child seems to be in 
an emotional ferment. New tensions appear with attending school 
all day. 
Temper tantrums or angry outbursts may appear. 
Giggles over bathroom words. 
Develops a conscience at five, but actions seen as all good or 
bad. At six acceptance of rules develops and often a rigid 
insistence that they be obeyed (at least by others). 
May become a tattletale.

                            Cognitive 

Beginning of conservation of amount and length. 
Interested in letters and numbers. Some begin printing or copying 
letters and numbers. Counts. 
Knows most colors. 
Recognizes one can get meaning from the printed word. 
Has a sense of time but mainly his own time. Knows when events 
take place in his day or week. 
Recognizes his own space and can move about by self in familiar 
territory. 
At the end of six years has begun reading, writing, and 
calculating. Range of ability in these areas is great. 
Even at end of six years some may still need to vocalize when 
reading and may still make some reversals both in reading and 
writing.

                              Language

Very articulate (over 2,500 word vocabulary). Sometimes l, r, or 
final sh may still be difficult to pronounce. 
Often misunderstands words and uses them in a humorous manner. 
Moving from fantasy to reality. 
Uses language to control others. 
Incessant talker.