Cognitive Development
Spatial Relationships
Cognitive development refers to the process of growth and change in intellectual/mental abilities
such as thinking, reasoning and understanding
Developing understanding of how things move and fit in space
Exploring objects with their mouths, tracking objects and people visually, squeezing into tight spaces, fitting objects into openings, and looking at things from different perspectives
Cause and Effect
Developing understanding that one event brings about another
Ex. Crying and getting picked up
Memory
waving a toy to hear it rattle
The developing ability to store and later retrieve information about past experiences
infants build their abilities to solve problems, to make predictions, and to understand the impact of their behavior on others
Number Sense
The developing understanding of numbers and quantity
Classification
The developing ability to group, sort, categorize, connect, and have
expectations of objects and people according to their attributes
8 months: children move their bodies, explore the size and shape of objects, and observe people and objects as they move through space
18 months: children use trial and error to discover how things move and fit in space.
36 months: children can predict how things will fit and move in space without having to try out every possible solution, and show understanding of words used to describe size and locations in space.
Problem Solving
Developing ability to engage in a purposeful effort to reach or figure our how something works
8 months: children use simple actions to try to solve problems involving objects, their bodies, or other people.
18 months: children use a number of ways to solve problems: physically trying out possible solutions before finding one that works; using objects as tools; watching someone else solve the problem and then applying the same solution; or gesturing or vocalizing to someone else for help
36 months: children solve some problems without having to physically try out every possible solution and may ask for help when needed.
click to edit
Imitation
The developing ability to mirror, repeat, and practice the actions of others, either immediately or later
36 months: children reenact multiple steps of others actions that that have observed at an earlier time
18 months: children imitate others actions that have more than one step and imitate simple actions that they have observed others doing at an earlier time
8 months: children imitate simple actions and expressions of others during interactions
8 months: children usually focus on one object or person at a time, yet they may at times hold two objects, one in each hand
8 months children recognize familiar people, objects, and routines in the environment and show awareness that familiar people still exist even when they are no longer physically present.
18 months: children remember typical actions of people, the location of objects, and steps of routines
36 months: children anticipate the series of steps in familiar activities, events, or routines; remember characteristics of the environment or people in it; and may briefly describe recent past events or act them out
18 months: children demonstrate understanding that there are different amounts of things
36 months: children show some understanding that numbers represent how many and demonstrate understanding of words that identify how much.
8 months: children distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people, places, and objects, and explore the differences between them
18 months: children show awareness when objects are in some way connected to each other, match two objects that are the same, and separate a pile of objects into two groups based on one attribute
36 months: children group objects into multiple piles based on one attribute at a time, put things that are similar but not identical into one group, and may label each grouping, even though sometimes these labels are overgeneralized
8 months : children perform simple actions to make things happen, notice the relationships between events, and notice the effects of others on the immediate environment
18 months: children combine simple actions to cause things to happen or change the way they interact with objects and people in order to see how it changes the outcome
36 months: children demonstrate an understanding of cause and effect by making predictions about what could happen and reflect upon what caused something to happen.
Symbolic Play
Developing ability to use actions, objects, or ideas to represent other actions, objects, or ideas
8 months: children become familiar with objects and actions through and actions through active exploration. Children also build knowledge of people, action, objects, and ideas through observation
18 months children use one object to represent another object and engage in one or two simple actions of pretend play
36 months: children engage in make believe play involving several sequenced steps, assigned roles, and an overall plan and sometimes pretend by imagining an object without needing the concrete object present
Attention Maintenance
developing ability to attend to people and things while interacting with others and exploring the environment and play materials
8 months: children pay attention to different things and people in the environment in specific, distinct ways
18 months: children rely on order and predictability in the environment to help organize their thoughts and focus attention
36 months: children sometimes demonstrate the ability to pay attention to more than one thing at a time
Understanding of Personal Care Routines
developing ability to understand and participate in personal care routines
8 months: children are responsive during the steps of personal care routines
18 months children show awareness of familiar personal care routines and participate in the steps of these routines
36 months: children initiate and follow through with some personal care routines and participate in the steps of these routines