Introduction
According to Erikson's theory people develop through everyday experiences(psychology book).At the age of six children are in grade R which is the preparing year for grade 1, during this time children are busy discovering the wonders of their age as they embrace it by means of play, we will mention how children at the age of six develop in many different ways which is involved in a physical, social, cognitive and emotional development each of these have a meaning of their own which will be explained in this assignment, and there will be activity's mentioned to promote this development.
Content A
Cognitive development
According to (Excell & Linington, 2015), in a cognitive aspect, children at the age of 6 begin creating their own mental 'maps' of understanding, this is created when children experience everyday situations and go about their daily routine. These mental maps are created using three different processes. With regards to psychology book, adaption is the process where a connection is made between the child's conception of reality and reality itself. This process is made up of two steps namely, assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation occurs where new experiences are placed in an existing scheme. Accommodation is creating a revised scheme that is placed in a new experience.
Psychology book states that at this age, children are still illogical thinkers. Children are unable to solve problems using logical thinking and reasoning. This is because children at this age are only able to explain their reasoning by considering one characteristics or variable. They also are unable to understand reversible thinking and tasks.
According to (Ravanis & Bagakis, 1998), Piaget states that children should encounter science through experimenting which leads to hands-on learning. Science allows children to think in terms of qualitative approaches and their qualities, allowing children to solve and think in scientific thought without their knowledge of it. Children should play with objects such as inclined planes, magnets and spirals. Through communication with others, children learn to remove their subjective perspective and also allow for many solutions to be considered for one problem to be solved intellectually.
According to (World Book, Inc., n.d.), unlike 5 year olds who solve problems using the first solution they think of, 6 year olds begin solving problems by deciding which technique is the best one to use. They also begin looking at comparisons of objects and situations. They begin to enjoy solving problems as they have enough self-confidence in their mental abilities.
Physical development
Social development
Social development is the foundation for children to feel that they are important and that they are accepted, when children are loved and feel safe this occurs.
Children of the age of six years are confident, have pleasure in showing what they can do, they enjoy learning new things and they thrive on getting attention and positive reinforcement from others. At this stage children are able to have a conversation and use the correct sentence construction. They start to become more conscious of their as well as others emotions and feelings and they become more considerate towards them.
Children aged six start to change socially in their relationships and interaction with others. Family relationships carry on to play a major role in children's lives but friends and others start to become more influential at this stage (Louw, 2014). According to Mildred Parten children between the ages of four to six are in the Cooperative play phase which means that children play in groups and where teams are starting to realize. Every child who participates has a specific role to play which they usually decide on before the game starts while the rules are being made. This type of play is important for children as it aids the children in developing socially as children can communicate and interact during play, make new friends, act out their emotion and express themselves and they are exposed to use of language usage thus their vocabulary expands during play time (Parten, 1932).
They enjoy sharing their toys and food as well as playing and communicating with each other. Children at this age are very active and enjoy play with their peers. As children become older their imagination expands and therefore fantasy play becomes more interesting and complex.
Friendships are important to children and are easily made but are usually not permanent as children's friendships revolves around agreements and disagreement. Children are capable of working with each other by either leading or following others, and start to acquire self control although they still have the tendency to throw tantrums, can be bossy and insist on having their own way. Children enjoy playing in groups as well as board games and this helps children learn to take turns and to respect each other.
Daily routines are extremely important because it makes children feel safe and secure as they know what to expect and are in their comfort zones. (Child Development Tracker, 2016). Story telling time is crucial for young children as it expands their vocabulary, develops auditory and visual skills, expands their general knowledge and it stimulates their creativity and imaginations. (de Jager & Victor, 2013).
Emotional/personality development
Content B
Content C
Cognitive development
(Mattar, 2013)To enhance a child's cognitive development, it has been proven that playing Mozart music in the background environment stimulates the child's brain. The reason that music is an effective tool is that it encourages creativity in the child, and it creates a calming atmosphere in the classroom which in result reduces stress. It also enhances development of spatial reasoning and spatial-temporal skills of understanding of mathematics. Music also serves as a pre-language enrichment for children, which enhances vocabulary at a young age. Music is also listed as one of seven of Howard Gardner's basic intelligences and jean Piaget who recognised music as an innate intelligence. (Excell & Linington, 2015) (Kefaloukos & Bobis, 2011)
According to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development psychology book, most children at this age are in the pre-conventional stage where they are considered to be illogical thinkers. (Kefaloukos & Bobis, 2011) States that some children are more advanced than others, so to encourage logical thinking through concrete experiences, teachers should introduce multiple opportunities for children to exercise 'conservation' which is a child's understanding of an objects quantity that remains unchanged even if it is rearranged. Exercises to enhance this thinking is for children to play with sand or construction blocks of one size (both the same amounts for each pair of children). Through these children learn that with using the same amount of block or sand, they can make different widths and heights, which is providing them with the concrete experience of this conservation concept.
Physical development
Social development
Emotional/personality development
Bibliography
' Anon., 1982. The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc.
' Excell, L. & Linington, V. eds., 2015. Teaching Grade R. Cape Town : Juta and Company .
' Kefaloukos, M.-A. & Bobis, J., 2011. Understanding Conservation: A Playful Process. Kefaloukos & Bobis, 16(4), pp. 20-22.
' Mattar, J., 2013. The Effect of Mozart's Music on Child Development in a Jordanian Kindergarten. Journal name, 133(3), pp. 370-372.
' Ravanis, K. & Bagakis, G., 1998. Science Education in Kindergarten: Sociocognitive Perspective.. International Journal of Early Years Education , 6(3), pp. 316-318.
' World Book, Inc., n.d. The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago : PUBLISHER .