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Transitional Ages and Stages |
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How do I know if my child is ready for the
next class level?
The Kindermusik philosophy springs from genuine
respect for each child's individual rate of development. Class
activities and at-home materials are designed to honor, support
and celebrate the wonderful uniqueness of each child. Classes
have overlapping age ranges to help parents accommodate their
child's own needs.
While a child should be at least the minimum
age to enroll in any given class, there are three critical "transitional
stages" when parents have an important choice to make about
which class is most appropriate and beneficial for their child:
at age 1½, when broaching age
3½ and at age 4½.
If your child is near a transitional stage,
the following guidelines may help your decision.
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Moving from
Village to Our
Time |
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Children ready for this next level show many of the following
characteristics:
Physical
- Improved walking skills, feet are together, knees flexible
(vs. the "just walker" who has a wide-based, legs
apart gate with locked knees)
- Beginning to imitate/explore a variety of traveling movements
— run, jump, leap
Cognitive
- Reliably point to correctly identified body parts
- Can follow two-step direction
- Understands what "one" means (vs. a handful)
- Learning to use toys and objects in symbolic ways (moving
beyond just enjoyment of sensory properties)
- Can interact in a directed activity
- Able to shift attention with transition
- Connects to an activity; initiates a play sequence
- Reliably responds to own name (refers to self by name in
secure environments)
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Emotional
- Uses gestures and language to deal with frustration (as
opposed to just crying or whining)
- Sustains interest and attention in activity for several
minutes (Note: not wanting to give something up, such as bells
or sticks, can be a sign of maturation)
Language
- Can express wants and needs symbolically (gestures, words)
- Has vocabulary of 20 words; receptive language is still
stronger than expressive
- Reading with caregiver becomes cooperative. Child will select
book, sit, relate to the story and interact
Social
- Interested in what other children are doing
- Capable of distal communication (i.e. following verbal instructions
from farther away)
Musical
- Moves to music, perhaps to steady beat
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Moving from
Our Time to Imagine
That! |
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Children ready for this next level show many of the following
characteristics:
Physical
- Has a taller, thinner, adult-like appearance
- Balances on one foot; jumps in place without falling
- Holding crayons in pincher grasp rather than fist
Cognitive
- Knows if they are a boy or girl
- Can do matching games
- Knows some basic shapes and colors
- Developing divergent thinking skills ("What animals
do you like?")
- Beginning transition from concrete to abstract thinking
(humor aids this process)
- Sits and listens to stories for up to 10 minutes
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Emotional
- Recognizes needs of another person; can be empathetic
- Separates from parent without crying
- Development of humor
Language
- Beginning to master rules of language; speaks in full sentences
(4-5 words); asks questions
- Vocabulary growing from 300-1,000 words
- Can relate a series of activities; tells stories ("We
went to the grocery store, then to grandma's and I played
with the kittens.")
Social
- Recognizes the needs of others
- Turn taking becomes harder than earlier, but beginning to
understand reasons
- Learning about patience
Musical
- Recites rhymes
- Sings simple, whole songs
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Moving from Imagine
That! to Young Child |
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Please note: The 2-year Young
Child program was intended in design for kindergartners and
first graders. Individual exceptions might be made for a child
participating in a pre-K program who will turn 5 years old soon
after school starts. A 4's preschooler would best be served, in
most cases, by participating in Imagine That!
Children ready for this next level show many of the following
characteristics:
Physical
- Can jump forward many times in a row, hops, gallops, is
learning to skip
- Demonstrates control of pencil or marker
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Cognitive
- Eager to learn
- Has developed classification skills (i.e. can sort things
that have a single common feature) and can sort by size, color
and form
- Counts to 20; recognizes numerals 1-10
- Engages in dramatic play that is close to reality
Emotional
- Impulse control is emerging and developing
- Exhibits self-confidence and reliability
- Sense of right and wrong is growing
- Beginning to see things from another's perspective
Language
- Speech is nearly 100% intelligible (exceptions may include
children with hearing and language delays)
- Uses grammar correctly (i.e. past and future tense)
Social
- Enjoys friendships and group activities
- Shares, takes turns, plays cooperatively
- Is affectionate and caring
- Follows directions
Musical
- Sings a whole song
- Beginning to match pitches consistently
- Developing ability to match to group steady beat
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