Developmental milestones: 5 - 6 years
It is hard to believe, but soon we will part – the visit to the Family Care Center at the age of 5-6 is the final visit. During the visit, we will assess, among other things, your child’s readiness to enter first grade. It is important to remember that children differ from each other and develop at their own pace, and that every child is born with natural, unique and dynamic skills for learning and development. Just before the new period and the introduction to the new skills they will need, children need a supportive and loving family and a nurturing environment that is suited to innate needs, to grow and develop in the best possible way. Their relationship with their parents and the environment greatly influences the way they maximize their inherent developmental potential.
Developmental milestones
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Language Development
- Describing an image with correct verbs and tenses.
- Answering orientation questions (full name, age, address), showing independence.
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Motor Development
- Jumping on one foot.
- Walking heel to toe (foot after foot, with the heel of the front foot touching the toes of the back foot).
- Drawing a human figure.
- Copying geometric shapes, like the letter X or a triangle, controlling motor skills.
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Social Development
- Playing with friends (peers) joyfully and knowing the meaning of rules.
Ways to promote development
You should continue with what you have been doing until now and reinforce skills in various ways:
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1Imagination, creativity and play
Creativity using a range of materials allows children to learn about their abilities, develop fine motor skills and use their imagination – and to discuss it. You should encourage children to create by painting, drawing, cutting, making dough, copying shapes, and so on. This is also an excellent opportunity to learn numbers; “we have four balls of dough; shall we count together? One, two, three, four”. This is also the time to encourage copying and writing letters and writing the child's name.
At this stage, you should encourage your child to play games with friends, such as hide-and-seek, catch, and ball games. Initially, children may require your help and participation in the game. You should also leave time for free play in the house and in the yard, thinking games, imagination games, and more. You can also create a costume corner.
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2Let’s talk about it
Conversation skills are key to communication and the development of vocabulary. It makes children feel understood and builds their self-confidence as well as the skills to relay and share how they feel and what they experience. You should encourage your child to speak during walks, while participating in housework, during outdoor activities, and so on. You can direct your child to talk about his or her experiences from the day before, and to incorporate questions in the conversation, speak about emotions, use new words and concepts, and so on.
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3Beginning to read
Even at this stage, you should continue reading together. You should incorporate reading time as part of your daily routine, for instance, before bedtime. It is important that you find quiet time, even if it is brief, to establish pleasant contact and read to the child, or read together with the child read. Story time is an excellent opportunity to discuss feelings that the story raises and the emotional experiences of the characters. You can begin to review letters and words, identify them, and link illustrations with words.
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4Meeting friends
At this stage, children usually have one or two close friends, and this is excellent. It is important to encourage social relations, since friendships create a sense of belonging and help the child acquire important skills: sharing, cooperation, waiting for their turn, resolving problems, and so on. Some children will be happy to meet with their friends in the afternoon and may initially need your help to organize the playdate.
Safety
Safety
During all activities with children, it is important that you keep them safe. True, they now appear to be stronger and may want to do everything on their own but the responsibility for their safety and wellbeing is yours.
No less important: take care of yourself
Parenthood can be an incredible as well as an extremely challenging experience. As you know, parenting requires patience, attention and persistence. It is therefore important to take care and do something for yourself that will revitalize you. Taking care of yourself is not a luxury but an inseparable part of being a parent. Try to incorporate time, even if it is brief, for yourself so that you can plan (and do) something that will be good for you. This will allow you to return to your child with renewed energy, more patience and attention.