Little Red Hen :: Skills Development

Children Up To The Age Of 3 Years Old

Development of large motor skills.
Development of control over small muscles.
Development of motor co-ordination.
Development of language skills and vocabulary.
Development of a sense of rhythm.
Development of curiosity.

Children Up To The Age Of 4 Years Old

Increased development of large and small motor skills.
Expression of the world around us through art.
Development of hand-eye co-ordination.
Development of imagination.
Development of language skills and vocabulary.
Development of the concept of numbers.

Children Up To The Age Of 5 Years Old

Development and co-ordination of small muscles in hands and fingers.
Development of the ability to distinguish common characteristics.
Increased understanding of the concepts of colour, shape, size and textures.
Development of the concepts of distance and position.
Increased awareness of the world around us.
Increased imagination; enjoys dramatic play.

Reception Class

Good sense of balance and co-ordination.
Increased hand-eye co-ordination.
Ability to distinguish left from right.
Can distinguish between colour, size, shape, weight and texture.
Increased understanding of number concepts.
Understanding of jokes, nonsense rhymes and riddles.
Enjoyment of creative and dramatic activities.

School Readiness

"School readiness to a large extent is dependent upon the readiness to read. Readiness involves a complex combination of mental, physical and emotional skills. While not even reading specialists can agree on precisely how the process of learning to read actually works, they agree that it is a developmental task.

Learning to read is part of the child's developmental processes based upon cognitive (intellectual) and psychomotive (physical) skills. Reading readiness in the developmental sense refers to a child's achievement of the necessary developmental skills necessary for reading. In other words, reading is a skill based on the accomplishment of many skills over a period of time.

For example, being able to recognise letters and their sounds is basic reading. Going back even further to the most basic skills, a child must be skilled enough in visual discrimination (a small motor task) in order to recognise shapes and the differences between them.

It is obvious that a child develops physically as a gradual process. The point at which a child is "ready" to read does not suddenly appear in first grade. Reading skills develop gradually from a very early age. It is important that these skills be taught sequentially and that each stage is mastered progressively."

(Bloom, 1975; Bruner, 1975,1978

The Importance of Play

Play is the most complete of all educational processes. It influences the intellect, the emotions and the body of the child. play secures the interest of the child and develops concentration. It develops initiative, imagination and intense interest. There is tremendous intellectual ferment as well as complete emotional involvement. Play is the activity in which the whole educational process is fully consumated. Experience leads to learning, and learning produces wisdom and character.