Child Development Milestones to Look for and Celebrate
The development of a child comes in lots of forms- there’s no one perfect list of child development areas, no completely inclusive checklist of milestones. Children’s Health Care outlines the four most commonly cited categories of child development: physical, emotional skills, cognitive skills and social skills.
Our curriculum is designed to support the growth and development (in all its forms) of the whole child. Tierra Encantada activities often develop motor skills and include physical exercise. Lots of the bilingual books stocked in our centers teach compassion and kindness, common emotional skills. Our curriculum is full of “Stop and Think” activities— assignments, worksheets or games that work cognitive development skills like problem solving, reasoning and remembering. Socially, we interact with teachers and friends every day, and develop lasting relationships! These are ways we incorporate development support at Tierra Encantada, and lots of development happens in a child’s home life too! We give some examples of milestones in the four most development categories below— and we think they deserve to be celebrated when they are reached!
- Physical Milestones
For infants and toddlers, physical development may look simple, but it is crucial. Things like holding an item in one hand, kicking in the air, mimicking movements and eventually the big ones: walking and crawling! The late toddler and preschool years will likely have your little ones running around and improving coordination, so get ready for lots of action!
2. Emotional Milestones
Emotional milestones are significant during infancy. Attachment begins early, and are visible in how your little one responds to those around them. Smiling when they hear their favorite teacher, or as they see you walk in the door are a few examples. We provide warm and nurturing teachers, to help your child’s emotions grow.
3. Cognitive Milestones
Language learning and retention is one of the biggest milestones in early childhood. It’s often measured in the amount of words a child knows at different ages. Children’s Health Care gives 300-1,000 words by age three and around 1,500 by age five as examples. At Tierra Encantada, learning and playing in English and Spanish sets us apart!
4. Social Milestones
Social milestones in your littles ones life ties into cognitive and emotional ones— relationships form between classmates, teachers and students, parents and kids, are retained and remembered. Socialization is one of our favorite parts of play at Tierra Encantada- we spend everyday with our best friends and amazing teachers, learning how to interact and develop those lasting relationships!
Development milestones look differently in every child. Some skills seem to appear overnight while others may take time to emerge. At the end of the day, all development is worth celebrating!
