Pre-school education

Preschool education
Right now we are talking about preschool education. Later on it’s going to be about school education – school pedagogy. The aim of this course is to acquire knowledge about essential meaning of children development and education, their body, mutual interactions in environment and – most of all – adults direct influence on their development and education. So it’s about physical, intelectual and moral development, which is affected by many, many different things (relationships at home, social setting etc. ) and as a result the personality of a person is formed. The factors of the development of personality – heredity, environment, education and self-education.
Children age stages (periodization)
Infants (0-1 year of age)
Toddlers (1-3 years of age)
Preschoolers (3-7 years of age)
Junior school age (7-11 years of age)
Teens (Middle School age) (12-15 (16) years of age)
Teens ( also School age) (15(16)-18 years of age)

If we know significant features of each stage, we can choose suitable methods and forms of education and development of children. The speed of development is different for each child and it depends on variety of factors. Boys and girls develop in different speed. It depends on age too. If child is younger he/she developes faster. Some parts of body evolve faster (head), some slower.

The development and education of an infant (0-1)

At the beginning the most importans is to meet the needs of an infant (food, sleep, temperature etc.). Later he/she shows a need for talks, games, reading, singing to him/her – they need contact with people, security, love. They start to improve their movements, which is important for the development of their thinking. Also habits and daily regime can start to create an infants character. First they start to express emotions with a smile (weeks 3-5), later (month 2 - 3) they start to expres it with some sounds and move their legs and arms vigorously, finally (month 4) they start to laugh.
Physical development:
Weight – 3200- 3600g
Height – 48-54cm
In first few months it is advisable to feed baby 6-7 times a day and let he/she sleep 19-20 hours a day. Later these numbers can fall to 4-5 meals a day and 15 hours of sleep.
It’s necessary to help them move – do exercises, move their arms and legs, help them sit, massage them.
They need fresh air, sunlight, water.
Month 1 – an infant starts to lift a head and can hold it like that for a while
Month 3 – he/she starts to roll around, hold a body on elbows
Month 4 - an infant starts to sit
Month 5 – one start to crawl around
Month 6 (7) – he/she crawls around and can sit without assistance
Month 7 (8) – first steps
Intelectual development:
It’s important to develop senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, balance, coordination, pain, temperature etc.).
Thinking must be developed too (observation, concentration, see differences between objects and actions etc.)
They are improving their language – listening to adults, trying to repeat sounds, words
Stages of languege development:
Month 3 – throat sounds
Month 5 – some vowels
Month 7 (10) – syllables
Month 12 – they use ~ 30 words, but they know the meaning just to 10- 12 of them
It is important to evolve their esthetic feelings

The development and education of a toddler (1-3)

Children start to know the world – they can walk ant talk and it gives a variety of new opportunities to explore everything. They start to play with toys, play games, draw etc. They start to be aware of their Ego and independence. But at the same time it’s important to help them, to be involved, to lead and organize or else some difficulties with their behaviour may occur later.
Physical development:
Weight 11-13 kg
Height – 77—88cm
It’s important to make sure they are walking righ, they have no physical problems, they are phisically active (games with ball, jumping, running etc.)
They want to eat using all the instruments, get dressed, daraw, open, close doors by themselves
They have to be fed at least 4 times a day
Intelectual development:
It’s important to keep developing senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, balance, coordination, pain, temperature etc.).
They have to start understand differences between objects, seasons, sounds, actions and try to understand the meaning of space and time.
Toddlers have to ask questions, they have to train their memory (songs, poems) and language.
At the age of 2 they know ~300 words and they can make sentences with few words.
At the age of 3 they know ~1500 words.
Moral education:
Parents should learn their kinds to be polite and friendly, to help, be careful, generous, communicative, how to take care of toys, books, animals, plants...
They should start to acquire information about themselves and their family – name, surname, age, something about their gender
They should start to know some general moral, esthetic values
Music, movements, dancing

The development and education of a preschooler (3-(6)7)

At this stage nervous system evolves. The physical developement lets them to switch to systematic acquisition of knowledge. Preschoolers want to feel freedom - they don’t want to feel control, they don’t want to get help from adults, but at the same time they don’t have enough knowledge to do everything without assistance, so relationship between children and adults can change. Games help them to improve their behavior and intelectual development. Prescoolers love to play roles, build difficult constructions, find answers to tricky questions. They have to process huge amount of new information. Children at this stage already know all the basis of language, but useage of it depends on the situation. At the end of this stage they know how to plan their actions; they have judging attitude. They are strongly affected by an evaluation of their actions. Failures, condemnations and punishments can affect very badly on children psyche.
Physical development:
Weight – 15 – 19 kg
Height – 95-112 cm
They have to keep increase the physical activity (jumping, striding, jumping, throwing, catching, rolling etc.) – they have to do it regulary.
It’s important to teach them to lose, stimulate positive emotions, generosity to those who have won.
Food can’t be hot, spicy, peppery, strong in any other way.
They have to know difference between what they feel (smooth, uneven, hot, cold, heavy etc.)
Intelectual developmen:
For prescoolers it’s necesaaary to keep develope activities of thinking – watch, analyse, generalize, group...
Tasks have to become more complicated.
Adults have to stimulate children interest in work and it’s meaning.
They have to start understanding mutual connection between natural world, material world and inanimate nature.
Orientation in house, closest region, rules of traffic has to be developed just as orientation in time and space (right, left, today, yesterday, tomorrow, far away, close, in front...)
Preschoolers have to create their first mathematical concept - numbers, shapes (many, more, less, circle, triangle)
They have to be able to define which object is longer, higher, wider etc.
They have to observe (objects, people) and be able to tell what they see understendable; they have to talk loud and clear.
Moral development:
Cultural etiquette, cleanness and respect has to be taught to children at this stage of age (respect for parents, siblings, adults, other kids); they have to feel ashamed of bad behaviour and now how to ask for forgiveness.
They have to comply with adults; they have to know how to wait.
Prescoolers have to know difference between genders, between relation.
They have to acquire knowledge of personal hygiene and neatness at home, in room, in kitchen, bathroom (parents have to let children help them around the house – cleaning, cooking).
It’s important for them to fell joy of work and know how to appreciae work of other people.
It’s necessary to teach them love of art (music, drawing. theater)