Six through Eight-Year-Olds

Six, seven, and eight-year-olds build on the important developments of the first 6 years of life and seem to settle down to a steadier pace of growing and learning. Young school-age children are interested in real life tasks and activities, and pretend and fantasy lessen considerably. School-agers want to make "real" jewelry, take "real" photographs, and create "real" collections.

School-age children have longer attention spans. They are more likely to stick with things until the project is finished, the problem solved, or the argument resolved. Doing things together with friends, teamwork, and following rules become very important. This age group is fascinated by rules and can develop games with extensive rules and rituals.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

skilled at using scissors and small tools
development of permanent teeth
enjoys testing muscle strength and skills
good sense of balance
can catch small balls
can tie shoelaces
enjoys copying designs and shapes, letters and numbers
can print name
long arms and legs may give gawky awkward appearance

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

may reverse printed letters (b/d)
enjoys planning and building
doubles speaking and listening vocabularies
reading may become a major interest
increased problem-solving ability
interested in magic and tricks
longer attention span
enjoys creating elaborate collections
able to learn difference between left and right
can begin to understand time and the days of the week

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

being with friends becomes increasingly important
interested in rules and rituals
girls want to play more with girls; boys with boys
may have a best friend and an enemy
strong desire to perform well, do things right
begins to see things from another child's point of view, but still very self-centered
finds criticism or failure difficult to handle
views things as black and white, right or wrong, wonderful or terrible, with very little middle ground
seeks a sense of security in groups, organized play, and clubs
generally enjoys caring for and playing with younger children
may become upset when behavior or school-work is ignored