4 and 5 Year Olds
Four and five year olds develop greater self-control and ingenuity in their learning patterns. Pretend play is more complex and imaginative, and can be sustained for longer periods. Circle time is increased to develop social exchange, as well as speaking and listening skills. The children spend more table time with art projects and writing exercises. Language skills expand rapidly, with children communicating in complex compound sentences, adding to their vocabularies daily. Teachers work with children to understand and execute multi-step directions, as well as to plan and complete tasks. We focus on written language and developing the recognition that letters represent sounds. Improved finger dexterity allows the child to hold writing tools with a more mature, tripod grip, and handwriting develops. Math concepts increase and simple scientific investigations are implemented. We continue to walk, climb, jump, hop, skip, march and gallop to further coordination and stamina. More complicated puzzles, toys with small parts, buttons and fasteners help advance hand-eye coordination. More nuanced social interactions with peers is encoraged, such as smoothly joining in a group play situation, being sympathetic to others, or suggesting ways to resolve conflicts. At this age, in the Spanish program, we add an additional dimension to comprehension and verbal communication by introducing Spanish language phonetics.
