Development of children 3-4 years old: features, norms, programs and methods

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Day by day, the baby is getting smarter. He knows and knows a lot. After a year, thanks to the skills of walking, the world around the child becomes more accessible and interesting. At two years old, a child can already help his mother, eat on his own, put on some things and much more. What happens next? What is the development of children 3-4 years old?

Three year old little adult

At this age, the child is ready to master skills that require good coordination of movements. For example, you can teach him to ride a tricycle, ski and skate, learn to swim, play football. The mental development of children 3 years old requires complicated tasks and as much information as possible for age.

Features of the development of children of 3 years old are associated with the mother's going to work and attending a kindergarten, as well as with the "crisis of three years." At the same time, this is the time of the birth of fantasies and awareness of oneself as a person. The child wants to show himself as an adult and defends his opinion very zealously. The hallmarks are stubbornness, self-will and denial. The kid refuses to eat, sleep, clean up after himself, tantrums often occur. The child is still unable to control the manifestation of emotions, and therefore he himselfsuffers from excessive manifestations of them.

Kindergarten also has an impact on the development of children 3 years old. The child is forced to adapt to the requirements of educators, observe a stricter regimen, and also establish relationships with other children. Therefore, the task of parents is to find a "golden mean" in communication and in raising their child, taking into account the complex psychological burden.

Children at 4 years old

Based on the average of what a child should be able to do at this age, the following skills can be distinguished:

1. Name geometric shapes and compare them with surrounding objects.
2. Give a name to objects and classify them into groups (furniture, animals, vehicles, etc.).
3. Know the features of some professions.
4. Be able to navigate in space (distinguish between "right", "left", "ahead" and so on).
5. To be able to compare objects by parameters of magnitudes.
6. Be able to color drawings without going beyond the lines.
7. Find the missing item from the row.
8. The development of the speech of children 4 years old already allows you to retell the content of fairy tales.
9. Determine the seasons, days, and also distinguish between weather phenomena.
10. Be able to compose a description of an item from several sentences.

The listed knowledge and skills are averaged. Some children have these skills already before the age of four, someone a little later, but all these are variants of the norm.

Developing activities at home

The development of children 3 years old is accompanied by exercisesto improve fine and gross motor skills. Thanks to this kind of occupation, the successful formation of the brain occurs. Modeling is an ideal example of exercise. Having taught a child to make balls and sausages, you can create several different items on any topic. For example, mold vegetables and fruits, which will help to consolidate knowledge about them, as well as develop fingers. A child of 3 years old will be happy to drop objects in containers or find them in a placer of grains, pasta, seeds.

If the child already speaks well, then you can take him to describe the images in books and magazines. This technique is successfully used on a walk. For example, periodically asking: “What is my uncle doing?”, “What is in the hands of my aunt? Where is she going? The child is happy to participate in role-playing games. For example, he will gladly put a bear to sleep, become a builder and build a tower, or turn into a hairdresser and make a doll's hair. The development of the speech of children of 3 years old goes at its own pace, but parents are able to speed it up.

Developing activities at home with a four year old

Sculpting and painting techniques are getting more complicated. A child can be taught to draw figures, outline pictures, work with a stencil. In addition to plasticine, clay is used, from which compositions on various topics are created. For the application, the kid can already cut out the necessary shapes himself.

The development of a child at 4 years old is accompanied by simple mathematical operations - addition and subtraction. For better assimilation, they use matches, sticks, fingers, that is, all improvised means. The development of the speech of children 4 years old is accompanied by exercises for memorizing syllables.

Child development program 3-4 years old

Some parents prefer to work with their children according to a plan rather than freestyle. The standard program of developmental classes for this age period contains the following items:

1. Exercises to develop a sound culture of speech.
2. Reading skills.
3. Exploring the outside world.
4. Creative activities (drawing, modeling, applications).
5. Math actions.
6. Music development.

Let's dwell on each point in more detail.

Sound culture

In this area, the child is shown how to pronounce certain sounds correctly. Closer to 4 years, they are taught to write the letters denoting them in a notebook. Of course, the notes will be fuzzy, but such exercises contribute to the development of fine motor skills and the work of the hand. Articulation tasks are involved in the process, which become much more difficult. Children memorize a lot of poems, nursery rhymes, songs, thereby replenishing their vocabulary and strengthening their speech abilities.

Exploring the world around us

Exercises are aimed at the study of natural phenomena, the assimilation of the difference between the seasons and the characteristics of ecology. For example, when observing migratory birds in autumn, the child is pointed out this feature of their flight to warmer climes as one of the signs of the season. At the same time, they introduce the names of birds that fly to warmer climes, and those that remain for the winter. When observingweather, different adjectives and verbs are used, thereby enriching the child's speech. For example, on the street it can be rainy, sunny, windy, and the rain can drizzle, knock, pour. Walking, pay attention to the trees and bushes, their appearance, names. Various crafts are made from natural materials. By the age of 4, the child should already name the main colors and some shades, find them in the surrounding objects. It will be useful to pay attention to the rules of the road. The development of children 3-4 years old is proceeding at a rapid pace. A child learns interesting information well, especially if it is supported by examples in the world around.

Teaching Math

At the age of three, a child successfully masters geometric shapes and different shapes. By the age of 4, classes become more complicated, the child is able to group objects according to different external signs (by color, size). The child learns the concepts of "less", "greater", "equal" on the means at hand. It's good to count to three. The mathematical development of a child at the age of 4 is manifested in the ability to perform elementary counting actions. Basic spatial directions are easy to teach in the game, for example by hiding a toy and giving certain prompts (“Go ahead, turn left…”). By the age of four, a child can determine what starts earlier, what later. For example, morning comes first, then day, then evening and night.

Speech Development

A child of 3 years old is able to memorize small rhymes, sing along. Parents teach the alphabet, prepare a hand forletter. Closer to four years, you can begin to learn syllables, try to read the first simple books. By this age, the child remembers riddles, proverbs and sayings.

The normal development of speech in children of 4 years old is manifested in the composition of phrases from 5-6 words. The child often asks questions: “Why?”, “From where?” He is interested in everything and needs to know everything. In order for the speech development of children aged 3-4 to proceed at a rapid pace, parents need to answer all the questions of the child, but in a language that is accessible to him.

Development through creativity and musical instruments

By the age of four, a child can draw with many tools. If a three-year-old baby does not clearly feel the border of the picture, then the older one is already trying not to go beyond the limits and uses a lot of colors. A child at the age of 4 is already able to cut out figurines for appliqué by himself, gluing them into three-dimensional compositions. At three years old, the child sculpts balls and sausages, and a year later it is able to connect the sticks into a ring, create bizarre shapes reminiscent of fairy tale characters. From the age of three, fantasy begins to actively manifest itself, by the age of four it is already embodied in drawings and in games with plasticine.

As for musical development, it is important to teach how to listen to music and describe its character (sad or cheerful, fast or slow). It is necessary to support the desire of the child to sing and dance. You can introduce musical instruments and the sounds they make, as well as the difference in the sound of notes.

Child Development Methods

There are various author's scenarios for accelerated development classes. Many parents doubt the benefits of using developmental exercises, arguing that it is harmful, they will still be taught this in kindergarten and at school. But any knowledge, especially obtained unobtrusively during the game, will not be superfluous. Consider the most commonly used child development techniques:

1. Nikitins' program. The main rule of work according to this method is, firstly, freedom in the classroom. Children are allowed to play unlimitedly with the object or game they like, combining different types of activities. Secondly, the apartment should have a sports environment, special attention is paid to hardening. Thirdly, parents should participate in children's games, and most importantly, in the life of the child. You can not put pressure on the kids, but you should focus on their desire and well-being. The teachers focused on the "leading" conditions of development.
2. Method of Maria Montessori. The main postulate of the teacher is to awaken the child's interest in actions with the subject, and not to force it. The basis of the program is laid in an individual approach to the child. When planning classes, they are guided by what the baby likes and what does not. The child performs the exercises on his own, occasionally resorting to the help of a teacher.
3. Glenn Doman's method. The teacher pays an important role to the physical improvement of the child, without which, in his opinion, “there will be no developed intellect”. The speech development of children aged 3-4 years begins with the display of a set of cards on which the words are written entirely. child duringfor a short time they show a set of cards, naming what is written. The baby also acquires counting skills with the help of cards that show a different number of dots. In this case, it is necessary to name the number of points, quickly changing cards. In the same way, the child is introduced to knowledge in the field of art, history, music, and so on.

The choice of methodology is up to the parents. The development of children 3-4 years old is always accompanied by a huge number of questions and curiosity. Parents may not stick to a specific lesson plan. The main thing is to be an open source of information for the child, as well as actively participate in his life.