MODULE 29 - SYNTHESIS OF

PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OF PRESCHOOLERS
PREPARED BY: ELMER NOEL SAN DIEGO
 PRESCHOOLERS (3-5 years of age)
Preschool is a very important time in a child’s
life.
This is a period when your child gets his/her
first taste of many years of education.
Whether you choose to put your child in
formal schooling or to do homeschooling, the
approach or program your child takes on will
have a huge effect on his attitude towards
learning.
DOMAINS IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
► Physical Development involves growth and
changes in the body and brain, the senses,
motor skills, and health and wellness.
► Cognitive Development is all about learning
and reasoning, including the development of
memory, symbolic thought, and
problem-solving skills.
► Socio-Emotional Development involves
emotions, personality, and social
relationships.
► Developmental Milestones are things most
children can do by a certain age.
PRESCHOOL PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT
► The preschool years are a time of what seems like constant movement.
Preschoolers are busy moving in their environments, both indoors and outdoors.
► They spend large amounts of time running, climbing, jumping, and chasing each
other; they scribble, paint, build, pour, cut with scissors, put puzzles together, and
string beads.
► Their motor skills are significantly refined from the time they were toddlers; they
are more coordinated than toddlers and more purposeful in their actions. They
demonstrate speed and strength, and they become increasingly more independent.
GROWTH AND CHANGES OF
PRESCHOOLERS
► During early childhood, children begin to lose their
baby fat, or chubbiness, around age 3, and more like a
child as they progress through this stage.
► Children between the ages of 2 and 6 years tend to
grow about 3 inches in height each year and gain
about 4 to 5 pounds in weight each year.
► By around age 3, children will have all 20 of their
primary teeth, and by around age 4, may have 20/20
vision.
► Many children take a daytime nap until around age 4
or 5, then sleep between 11 and 13 hours at night.
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Brain Development
The brain is comprised of two halves, the right and
left cerebral hemispheres, develop at different rates.
► Left hemisphere - language, writing, logic, and
mathematical skills. Tend to developing more fully in
early childhood (ages 2 to 6).
► Right hemisphere - creativity, fantasy, artistic, and
musical skills. Tend to developing more fully in middle
childhood (ages 7 to 11).
► The corpus callosum, which connects the two
hemispheres of the brain, undergoes a growth spurt
between ages 3 and 6 as well resulting in improved
coordination between right and left hemisphere tasks.
The Nervous System undergoes changes in early
childhood, too.
The majority of a child's neurons, or cells that make up
nerves, form prenatally. However, the glial cells,
(nervous system support cells surrounding neurons)
develop most rapidly during infancy, toddlerhood, and
early childhood.
The myelin sheaths that surround, insulate, and increase
the efficiency of neurons (by speeding up the action
potential along the axon) also form rapidly during the
first few years of life.
The postnatal developments of glial cells and myelin
sheaths help to explain why older children may perform
behaviors that younger children are not capable of.
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Development of Motor Skills
These advancements are evident
in gross- and fine-motor skills, and they are essential to
children’s overall health and wellness.
► Gross Motor Skills involve the use of large muscles in
the legs or arms, as well as general strength and
stamina.
Examples of such skills include jumping, throwing,
climbing, running, skipping, and kicking.
► Fine Motor Skills involve the use of small muscles in
the arms, hands, and fingers. They are supported by
advancements in perception, or the ways in which
children use their senses to experience the world
around them.
Examples include stringing beads, scribbling, cutting,
drawing, and making a clay model.
Movement and Physical Developmental
Milestones in Preschool
Age 3 Age 4 Age 5

• Climbs well • Hops and stands on one foot up to 2 seconds • Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer
• Runs easily • Pours, cuts with supervision, and mashes • Hops, and may be able to skip
• Pedals a tricycle own food • Can do a somersault
• Walks up and down stairs, one foot on each • Catches a bounced ball most of the time • Uses a fork and spoon and sometimes a
step • Draws a person with two to four body parts table knife
• Washes and dries hands • Uses scissors • Swings and climbs
PRESCHOOL COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
► During preschool, amazing changes happen with children's thinking skills.
► Their memories are becoming stronger, which means they often remember
surprising details.
► They can share their ideas in new and interesting ways. Their imaginations are
becoming a primary vehicle for play and learning.
► They begin to compare, contrast, organize, analyze, and come up with more and
more complex ways to solve problems, which helps their math skills and scientific
reasoning become more sophisticated.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT SKILLS
LEARNED DURING PRESCHOOL
► Questioning
When a child asks ‘why?’ to determine causes and asks questions to solve problems, and clarify
their understanding.
► Spatial Relationships
Exploring the spatial and physical aspects of their environment. For example, when a child places a
toy into a container, dumps it out and then fills up the container again with the toy.
► Problem Solving
When children experiment, investigate, and work together with other children to problem solve.
For example, when children ask questions to understand what will happen next.
► Imitation
When children imitate the behaviors of those around them (e.g. other children, educators and
parents). For example, when a child sticks their tongue out imitated another child stick their tongue
out.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT SKILLS
LEARNED DURING PRESCHOOL
► Memory
Beginning to differentiate between objects and people, and learn their daily routines. For example, when
a child puts away their toy bin back in the same place it was on the shelf before.
► Number Sense
A child’s understanding of number concepts (e.g. more and less) and number relationships. They begin
to understand quantities, recognize relationships and understand the order of numbers. For example,
singing along to ‘Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed’.
► Classification
A child’s ability to categorize, sort, group, and connect objects. For example, sorting different colored
pom poms into the same colored boxes.
► Symbolic Play
During play, children use objects, ideas and actions to stand for other things. For example, holding a toy
phone up to their ear or rocking a baby back and forth.
Cognitive Developmental Milestones in
Preschool
Age 3
• Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and
people
• Does puzzles with three or four pieces
• Understands what “two (2)” means
• Copies a circle with pencil or crayon
• Turns book pages one at a time
Age 4
• Understands the idea of counting
• Starts to understand the concept of time
• Remembers parts of a story
• Understands the idea of “same” and
“different”
• Draws a person with two to four body parts
Age 5
• Counts ten or more things
• Can draw a person with at least six body
parts
• Can print some letters or numbers
• Copies a triangle and other geometric shapes
• Knows about things used every day, like
money and food
PRESCHOOL SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
► Preschool-age children are learning to talk about their feelings and the feelings of
others.
► Social-emotional development, however, involves more than just expressing
emotions. It entails taking turns, becoming independent in following routines,
interacting more with peers, engaging in meaningful relationships with others,
controlling emotions, and developing a positive self-image.
Socio-Emotional
Developmental Milestones
in Preschool
Age 3
• Copies adults and friends
• Shows affection for friends without
prompting
• Takes turns in games
• Shows concern for a crying friend
• Dresses and undresses self
• Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or
“hers”
• Shows a wide range of emotions
• Separates easily from family members
• May get upset with major changes in routine
Age 4
• Enjoys doing new things
• Is more and more creative with
make-believe play
• Would rather play with other children than
alone
• Cooperates with other children
• Plays “Mom” or “Dad”
• Often can’t tell what’s real and what’s
make-believe
• Talks about what he or she likes and is
interested in
Age 5
• Wants to please friends
• Wants to be like friends
• More likely to agree with rules
• Likes to sing, dance, and act
• Is aware of gender
• Can tell what’s real and what’s
make-believe
• Shows more independence
• Is sometimes demanding and sometimes
cooperative
► THANK YOU!
OK GUYS LETS
PROCEED TO QUIZ..
GOOD LUCK!!!
QUIZ FOR MODULE 29
1. Which of the following describes a child’s ability to categorize, sort, group, and connect objects?
a. Number Sense
b. Symbolic Play
c. Classification
d. Problem Solving

2. It means the child begins to differentiate between objects and people, and learn their daily routines.
a. Questioning
b. Spatial Relationships
c. Imitation
d. Memory

3. Which of the following describes a preschooler who is at age of 3 in social development?

a. Takes turns in games.
b. Cooperates with other children.
c. Can tell what’s real and what’s make-believe.
d. All of the above.
QUIZ FOR MODULE 29
4. Which of these statements is true?
a. Preschool is not a very important time in a child’s life.
b. This is a period when your child gets his first taste of many years of education.
c. Whether you choose to put your child in formal schooling or to do homeschooling, the approach or
program your child takes on will have not a huge effect on his attitude towards learning.

5. Which of these statements is true?

I. Children between the ages of 2 and 6 years tend to grow about 12 inches in height each year and gain about
4 to 14 pounds in weight each year.
II. The average 6-year-old weighs about 167 pounds and is about 127 inches in height.
III. Many children take a daytime nap until around age 4 or 5, then sleep between 11 and 13 hours at night.
a. I and II
b. II and III
c. III only
d. None of the above
References:

❑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-lifespandevelopment/chapter/physical
-development-in-early-childhood/
❑ https://blog.himama.com/preschool-cognitive-activities-overview/
❑ https://www.smartparenting.com.ph/parenting/preschooler/which-progressive-pres
chool-approach-is-right-for-your-child/
❑ https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/preschoolers.ht
ml
❑ https://www.virtuallabschool.org/preschool