Behavior and Development

What's Happening at 4 Imagination goes into overdrive this year. By Marian Edelman Borden

Remember: Every child develops at her own pace. These guidelines are general. There is a broad range of what is considered "normal." It's not unusual for a child to be advanced in one area, lag slightly in another. Check with your doctor if you have any concerns.

Four-year-olds are full of energy, enthusiasm, and curiosity. Their imaginations are working on overdrive. They are full of "whys" and can conduct a sophisticated conversation in which they incorporate the knowledge they seem to absorb. They play more cooperatively with other children; enjoy fantasy and often engage in dramatic play; and are better at following rules and exercising self-control. Still, they are only four years old, and may often act impulsively. They may begin to plan ahead — "I'm going to build a parking garage with the blocks" — as opposed to building something without a plan and then finding a purpose for it. They enjoy a variety of hands-on experiences and love to learn about the workers in their community (firefighters, police officers, postal workers), and field trips enrich the preschool experience.

Language
They are learning about:
• different kinds of books — fiction, nonfiction, poetry
• wordplay and silly songs, language
• telling a story
• using puppets to dramatize a story
• drawing pictures specifically to illustrate a story, rather than just painting or coloring
• noticing details in stories and adding details to their own stories
• predicting what will happen in a storybook using the illustrations as a guide
• singing songs and making up their own verses
• identifying letters, printing some letters, perhaps their own name, maybe others

  Physical
  They are developing:

• large-motor skills. They can pump a swing, climb a rope ladder, slide down a pole, skip, hop.
• fine-motor skills. They can use scissors, smaller brushes/crayons/markers, string small beads, build with smaller Legos, buttons.

  Intellectual
  They are learning about:

• sorting and classifying not only by color and size, but also by category (for example all dolls go in the bin, all the accessories go in another box)
• sequencing — can organize a series of events in order of before and after
• counting from 1 to 20 (or higher)
• cause and effect: "If I add too much juice to the cup, it will overflow," but there is still "magical thinking" (which can be as simple as believing in Santa Claus, but also can be "if I think a bad thought, it will make it happen")
• comparison — more/less

  Social/Emotional
  They are learning about:

• collaborating with others on projects, cooperating, taking turns, helping others, empathy
• family roles and responsibilities
• managing fears and controlling impulses (but still have many fears and are not always in control)
• similarities and differences related to gender, race, other physical characteristics
• making choices: "I want to build with blocks, so I can't paint during free play today"
• themselves, such as their likes and preferences
• being goal directed in activities: "I want to climb to the top of the jungle gym and slide down the pole"