Development at 57 Months
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Activity 1
Age Appropriate Fine Motor Development
Makes A Trace Of Own Hand
 I am learning how to trace around my own hand! Place a pencil and two sheets of blank paper on the table before me. Demonstrate to me how to make a trace of your hand on a piece of blank paper. Encourage me to imitate you and make a trace of my own hand on the other sheet of paper. Observe if I am able to do so. I usually develop the ability to make a trace of my own hand between 53 and 62 months (4 year 4 months and 5 year 2 months). |
Steps
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Place a pencil and two sheets of blank paper on the table before your child.
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Demonstrate to him how to make a trace of your hand on a piece of blank paper.
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Encourage him to imitate you and make a trace of his own hand on the other sheet of paper.
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Observe if your child is able to do so.
Feedback
In this activity, your child is demonstrating excellent body awareness and bilateral hand coordination skills. This task is certainly more challenging than it looks! Your child is doing very well! You may look at the suggested activities for more ideas with this task.
Note : If your child has not developed a hand preference by 7 years of age and is still confused about his left and right sides, we will suggest that you may want to consult a child physiotherapist or occupational therapist to help him along!
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Provide lots of opportunities for your child to trace different objects and body parts such as the entire arm, a foot etc. This will continue to help him develop his body awareness and bilateral coordination skills.
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If your child has difficulty tracing his open hand, let him practice tracing his closed hand with his fingers and thumbs tucked away as this is easier. Gradually progress to tracing his open hand as he improves.
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You may physically guide him by holding his hand as he makes a trace. Gradually reduce your help as he improves.
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You may let him trace around simple objects first such as cans, lids, boxes etc as practice. Progress to having him trace around your hand and later to his own hand as he gets better.
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Activity 2
Age Appropriate Cognitive Development
Understands Different Categories Of Pictures
 I am watching and classifying the experiences around me. I know that an object is not only an object but it also belongs to a larger class of category. Between 54 and 60 months (4 year 6 months and 5 years), I would have observed and learnt basic categorical understanding of colors, shapes, animals, transportation, fruits and clothing. |
Steps
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Prepare 6 picture cards; 3 of animals and 3 of clothing. Premium members : You can login and print out the pictures under the "Tools" section.
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Name each of the picture cards and name the category that each picture belongs to.
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Place 2 baskets in front of your child.
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Ask your child, "Look at these cards. Put the cards that belong together in this basket." (Point to the basket.) "Then put the rest of the cards that belong together in this other basket." (Point to the other basket.)
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Observe if your child can group pictures into the 2 categories.
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Repeat procedure for other familiar categories, e.g. transportation, colors, things we find in the playground, vegetables, toys, etc.
Feedback 1
Your child's responses in this activity reveal his categorical understanding of pictures of things around him. It also tells us that he is pretty systematic in approaching work he is familiar with. You can see just how systematic he is when he looks at the pictures, thinks about the category, scans for the right basket and organizes his responses. You have done a wonderful job in exposing him to different classifications of objects. The ability to sort pictures for up to 5 familiar categories usually develops between 4 years 6 months and 5 years.
Take a look at some fun suggested activities to use and encourage this skill.
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Start new categorical understanding using your child's interests. If he is interested in spaceships, start introducing him to the various things we can find in space.
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After grocery shopping, let your child be involved in the sorting of items you have bought, e.g. all the fruits go into a basket for washing, while all the stationery goes onto the table. This activity allows him to feel useful as well as to use his sorting skills in organizing his daily life.
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Buy a school bag that has separate compartments. Discuss with your child how to sort different items into different compartments. Let him organize his materials every night before he goes to bed for the next school day.
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For categories that your child knows, you may want to expand his knowledge of new items that belong to that category.
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Feedback 2
If you child has some difficulties with this activity, you can try the following ideas :
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Identify the categories that your child does not know. Bring him around the house, the zoo, the supermarket for him to concretely see that things which occur together tend to belong to 1 category. Introduce these items as "things we eat/play/wear/throw/find in the bathroom, etc". Usually children learn the categories by constant association that the items in the category tend to go together. Bring him round the house, the zoo, the supermarket for him to concretely see that things that occur together tend to belong to 1 category.
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Identify each picture and explain to your child the category by labeling it.
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For categories that your child knows, expand his knowledge of new items that belong to that category.
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Start new categorical understanding using your child's interests. If your child is interested in spaceships, start introducing him to the various things we can find in space.
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After grocery shopping, let your child be involved in the sorting of items you have bought, e.g. all the fruits go into a basket for washing, while all the stationery goes onto the table. This activity allows him to feel useful as well as to use his sorting skills in organizing his daily life.
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