GEAR UP FOR LIFE
Child
Development
In This Unit:
| Reading Passage and Practice:
Child Development Math: Conversions from kilograms to pounds and ounces to milliliters Vocabulary: Child Development concepts Writing: Colons and semi-colons; a letter of advice Project: Creating a line graph Game: Riddles |
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Pre-Reading Questions
- How does a baby grow?
- Are there ways to tell how well a baby is growing?
- What does the word nature mean to you?
- What is a stage?
- Do all babies grow in exactly the same way?
A brand-new baby can do very little. He depends on his parents completely. However, a child begins to develop immediately. The parents can see the stages of his development as they watch him day by day.
Two things affect a baby’s development: nature and nurture. Nature means the characteristics a child gets from his family, those he is born with. Nurture means the characteristics he gets from life, what he learns. Both nature and nurture can affect a baby.
A child develops in three primary ways. He grows physically. His body grows bigger and stronger. And he also learns to coordinate his movements so that he can begin to do things.
A child develops cognitively. That means his mind begins to understand and to learn about his world. Parents can see a baby noticing things and learning to think.
Finally, a child grows socially and emotionally. He begins to notice other people. He begins to see the connection between his needs and the satisfaction of his needs by others. For example, he notices his need for food, and his parents’ reaction to his hungry cries. He also begins to control his feelings and to act appropriately for his age. A two-year-old may want to throw a tantrum; a five-year-old really should not.
What does all this mean for parents? There is much that parents can do to help their child develop well. Without help, a child will grow like a little wild animal. The parents can be his role models; he will think and act as they do. Parents can explain things to a child; each culture has different things they value or condemn. For many cultures, for example, family is most important; therefore, helping family is a value. The child learns his values from his parents. The parents can teach a child all the basics – the names of things, why things happen. Parents can teach a child to behave and to control his feelings.
An old grandma’s saying tells parents how to begin this most important task, “Talk to your baby and make him smart.” That is an easy start.
Brain Gym
Janice has 3 pieces of green cloth. Each piece is in the form of a square. The smallest is 2x2. The next one is 3X3. The largest one is 6X6. Janice wants to cut the 3 pieces and sew them together again to make a square that is 7X7. What is the smallest number of pieces into which Janice needs to cut the original pieces of cloth?
Click Smiley for the answer
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