The Preschool Years:
Physical & Cognitive Development

Prepared by Ethel Cantu

Based on Development Across the Life Span,
by Robert Feldman, Prentice-Hall

Introduction

• Physiological maturation is related to school readiness

• Gross and fine motor skills are developed through play

• Boys and girls follow almost identical paths of physical development

• Play is the work of childhood

Physical Growth

• Grow about three inches, gain about 4 1/2 pounds annually

• Body height and weight vary greatly, affected by genetics and nutrition

• Growth is slower so children need fewer calories; appetites are smaller

• Iron deficiency anemia is problem, also too much salt and sugar in diet

Brain Maturation

• Brain develops faster than any other part; attains 90% of adult weight by age 5

• Myelination (insulates nerves and speeds up transmission of neural impulses) necessary for reading and writing

– Hand-eye coordination areas myelinated by 4

– Focused attention areas myelinated by 12

– Language and intelligence areas by 15

Brain Maturation

• Vision improves

– Before age 6, eye muscles not developed enough to move eyes slowly and deliberately for reading

• Reading readiness depends on maturation, interests,and experiences of individual child, not on age

Motor Skills

• Gross motor skills improve dramatically

– large body movements

– running, climbing, jumping, throwing

• Fine motor skills

– small body movements

– pouring without spilling, using knife and fork, buttoning, using scissors, writing

Motor Skills

• Difficulty with fine motor skills

– incomplete myelination

– insufficient muscular control

– short, fat fingers

• Development of fine motor skills is important part of preschool curriculum

Early Childhood
Cognitive Development

• Children are in Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development

• Children use symbolic thought, but not logical thought

• Children show centration: focus on one aspect of a situation and ignore others

• Memory formation influenced by active participation and adult reminiscing

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage

• Able to use symbols: words, numbers, or images without their physical presence

• Able to understand basics of cause and effect: ask “why?”, use “because” and “so”

• Understand basic number concepts

• Able to classify into categories

• Understand identities

Limitations

• Centration: come to illogical conclusions because they think about only one aspect

– unable to understand conservation

• Confuse appearance with reality (esp. <5/6): don’t distinguish between what seems to be and what is

– afraid of witch on TV, even though witch is not real; milk is green when seen with green glasses

Limitations

• Irreversibility: cannot mentally undo an operation

– worry that a cut or broken leg will not heal

• Transductive reasoning: one situation is seen as the basis for another; not logical

– their bad thoughts caused their illness or parents’ divorce

Limitations

• Egocentrism: unable to see things from another’s perspective; self-centered understanding (form of centration)

– have difficulty answering questions about another person’s point of view

• Difficulty distinguishing fantasy and reality:

– know the difference between fantasy and reality, but not always sure that what they imagine is not real

Memory

• Autobiographical memory not accurate until after age 3

– Memories fade quickly

– Language not developed sufficiently for encoding memories well

– Very open to suggestions from adults

– Short attention span, Easily distracted

– Attend to only one dimension

Memory

• Children have limited memory capacity: memory for what they did is better than for what they saw

• Preschool children remember events that made a strong impression; most are short-lived,< 1 year

• Memories for routines are scripted; tend to blur

– riding bus to preschool

Memory

• Reliable memories are dependent on development of language to encode and compare memories

• Talking about an experience influences how well the child remembers it

– Natural conversations about an event help solidify memories of the event

– Leading questions shape the child’s recall

Memory

• Preschoolers are more suggestible

– weaker memories

– vulnerable to adult expectations

• Reliable memories can be enhanced through

– neutral questioning: no rewards for responses

– open-ended questions; not yes-no questions

– single interview soon after the event

– patience

Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development

• Cognition develops through social interactions around problem-solving

• Abilities increase when tasks are in child’s zone of proximal development

– Level where child can almost accomplish task independently

• Scaffolding provides support for learning

– Just enough assistance to encourage independence & growth

Early Childhood Education

• Advantages

– Increases in language & memory

– Greater independence & self-confidence

– Greater social knowledge

• Disadvantages

– Less polite, compliant, & respectful

– More competitive & aggressive

Early Childhood Education

• Quality programs effective

– Well trained providers, good child-care provider ratio, stimulating curriculum

• Head Start

– Greater readiness for school

– Better school adjustment

– Less likely to be retained a grade or be in special education