Fun With Preschoolers

Activities, Development, Learning

Why Is It So Important To Learn About Preschoolers?

Many families today have working mothers and fathers. During the times parents are away from home, they need someone they can trust to care for their children. That someone might be you! Taking care of 4- and 5-year-olds is a very important job. It also is a lot of fun. If you know about preschoolers, you will know what to expect when you take care of them. You also will be prepared to do your best work.

Who Are Preschoolers?

Children who are 4 and 5 years old (many parents and professionals refer to children over the age of 3) are called preschoolers because they are not yet ready for kindergarten. They may be enrolled in a "pre-school" program like a nursery school or a day care center. Preschoolers are no longer babies (although they may cry at times) or toddlers (they walk, run, climb, and jump well). Preschoolers are still growing physically, but seem to be growing the fastest mentally. Some people think of them as little sponges that absorb everything around them.

Preschoolers love to learn and will bombard you with questions, stories, and facts about all the wonderful things they are discovering around them.

The best way to describe a preschooler is LOTS OF ENERGY! They learn constantly and use their boundless energy to explore their own abilities and skills. Preschoolers have two main jobs:

• to learn how to make things happen, and
• to learn to like people and make those people like them back.

These two developmental jobs help children learn to be independent and to explore and discover their abilities. They take responsibility for making themselves into the kinds of people they want to be!

Four-year-olds are unsure of themselves and quite clumsy. They often cry, whine, stumble, and fall. Five-year-olds are steadier and a lot more sure of themselves and will not try an activity unless they are quite sure they can do it. Five-year-olds finish jobs and projects they start and know when to stop playing so they can avoid feeling "worn out. Most 4-year-olds do not know when to stop playing and often have to be told to slow down.

At 4, preschoolers have growing control over their bodies. They can run, skip and jump, and their balance improves every day. They love to climb on and jump off furniture, ladders, and playground equipment. They delight in walking on top of low walls and fences. Many can bounce and throw a ball. The main difference between 4 and 5 is the constant improvement in each of these activities.

Children who are 4 and 5 have learned to use small muscles like those in their hands. Four-year-olds can cut a line with scissors, draw or paint designs, print some letters of the alphabet (like those in their names), dress themselves, and catch a big ball. Five-year-olds can copy squares, designs, letters, and numbers. They can fasten buttons and zippers, tie shoelaces, fold paper, and throw and catch a small ball.

The vocabularies of preschoolers are growing. They love to try out new words, especially if they are silly or rhyming words. They have hundreds of ideas to express in paintings, make-believe play, and building activities.

The figures in their drawings become easy to recognize. They ask many questions and remember words as well as melodies and rhymes of songs.

Preschoolers are both independent and social. They have strong needs for companionship and love being silly with friends and family. They are proud of their toys, play pretend games, and have fits of laughter. They prefer playing with others, but enjoy playing by themselves at times. They boast and brag and make lots of noise. They also call people names and tattle on their friends. They sometimes push and wrestle and love rough play.

Preschoolers can tell you how they feel. They feel happy when they are praised and encouraged. They feel confident when they help with tasks and please their parents or caregivers. They are protective toward younger brothers, sisters, and playmates. They understand sharing and taking turns even though they do not do it all the time. Usually, at this age girls like to play with girls, and boys like to play with boys. Often, 4-year-olds have lots of fears. Dogs, men with beards, and the dark are scary to them.

Preschoolers do not grow as fast as babies. They grow about 3 inches and gain about 4 or 5 pounds each year. They need about 12 hours of sleep a day with or without an afternoon nap. They are independent people and love to dress, feed, and go to the bathroom by themselves. Preschoolers want to try everything, and need lots of activities to keep busy. Helping you do things like fix lunch, pick up toys, or dig in the garden can be especially fun for preschoolers.

Nicholas and Willy are normal children. The fact that they do some things different, like catching a ball and drawing shapes, is normal. No two preschoolers are alike. Some grow taller than others. Some talk more, run faster, and make friends more easily. These variations in development are called individual differences. As you read this section, Willy and Nicholas will help you recognize individual differences and help you learn how preschoolers grow and develop.

When 5 years old, Willy and Nicholas loved to swing and do somersaults. They could ride tricycles and walk up and down stairs by themselves. Nicholas' drawings were stick figures, and Willy's were more detailed showing houses with doors, windows, chimneys, and roofs.

Willy and Nicholas had about 2,000 words in their vocabularies and usually used sentences of about five or six words. Nicholas could count to 100 and Willy could count to 30. Nicholas could draw many shapes, knew the letters of the alphabet, and could name about 15 different colors. Willy did not recognize colors or shapes very quickly. She did know most of the letters of the alphabet although she seldom got them in the right order. Willy was just as smart as Nicholas, but Nicholas had a longer attention span. This meant that he could concentrate on one learning activity for a longer period of time than Willy could. Willy had too much energy and curiosity to sit still for that long!

Nicholas and Willy could hop on one foot, skip, throw, kick, catch balls, and understand the rules of the games. They both loved to play in water or sand, work puzzles, paint, draw, and color. They loved to be read to, sing, and keep time to music. Their friends and families were important and they learned how to cooperate when they played.

Willy seemed to have a cold all winter long and still needed a nap in the afternoon. Nicholas was rarely sick and had given up his afternoon nap in favor of an earlier bedtime at night. Both Willy and Nicholas were emotional children and showed their feelings immediately and confidently. Willy was afraid of spiders, the dark, and monsters. She sometimes laughed one minute and burst into tears the next. Nicholas was afraid of big dogs and the dark, and sometimes cried when he was frustrated, frightened, or upset.

Here are more facts you should know about preschoolers:

Preschoolers are hardly ever quiet. They usually are knocking over blocks, singing loudly, or making noises that go along with their toys. Make sure you know where they are playing and that they are playing with safe materials. Accidents can happen easily.

Preschoolers often seem "out of control!" They might laugh hysterically, jump on their beds, or scream and kick their feet. When frustrated or angry, they may hit or spit. They may have unreasonable fears and bad habits such as nail biting, nose picking, thumb sucking, or swearing. They may tell you they love you one minute, and say they hate you the next. All of this is normal behavior for preschoolers.

Preschoolers like hugs and kisses. You may find them crawling upon your lap for a story or needing a hug if they are frightened. While you are playing together, please do not give in to the urge to tease or tickle preschoolers. Teasing and tickling make young children feel powerless. Nobody likes that, especially from someone big. Treat children with respect.

Preschoolers need praise. Tell them you like the picture, their shirt, or the tower they built. They love knowing exactly what it is that pleases you. Be specific with your praise. Say, "I like the way the green cat is chasing the man in your picture," or "I like the way your shirt is tucked into your jeans."

Boys and girls like to play with the same toys. Girls like to play in the dirt with trucks, and boys like to dress up their teddy bears and dolls.

If preschoolers see you doing something, they want to do it too! They think anything that older people do is interesting - even cooking and cleaning! Listen to their offers for help and their suggestions for activities, and go along with them if they are safe. Encourage them to help you and to try new experiences.