Guide to understanding a six-year old child

As I said, my Princess turns six this 3rd of July, and so, I endeavoured to research on what best to do to guide and understand a six-year old child. I thought that the best way to do that is share them with you through this blog page in the hope that mothers of six-year olds, who may happen to drop by, may also benefit.

Some of these may not really be the case in your six-year old child. We acknowledge that there are slight differences from one child to another, but generally speaking, these are the most common in almost all six-year old children.

And so here we go..

Routines

At mealtimes, the six-year old has a very good appetite, though she tends to ask for more than she actually eats. Lunch is the favorite meal and she often wants a large bedtime snack.

Very few six-year olds will nap, but they will go to bed early. Six still needs at least ten hours of sleep each night. They enjoy the quiet time before sleep to hear a bedtime story and talk about their day.

Bathing is a bother to most six-year olds, especially boys. They have to be reminded to bathe thoroughly, to brush their teeth, and to wash hands. Six is not neat with his clothes and usually leaves clothes and shoes scattered everywhere. It might be a good idea to invest in some baskets that he can use to begin to learn the habit of keeping clothes off the floor.

Character

Six-year olds have to be right. The early self is fragile when it begins to recognize the perspective of others. Six doesn't accept criticism or blame with composure. Instead, she argues or even lies to avoid blame. He also hates losing and will blatantly cheat, or change the rules, to win in a competition. This is especially true in the case of boys.

This difficult period can be a learning opportunity when parents approach these behaviors with gentle firmness. Don't push competition on your six-year old. Instead, provide opportunities for non-competitive games and activities this year. Be matter-of-fact about lying and cheating. Don't let them slide; add a consequence for lying and explain that cheating spoils the game.
Six-year olds need encouragement and praise. They need to know that it's okay to make mistakes and how to be a gracious loser.

Too much pressure for perfect grades and model behavior increases six's tension and is not appropriate at this stage of development. Focus on being attentive and accepting to help him feel good about being who he is at age six.

Discipline

Six-year olds go through a period of non-compliance and opposition to parents' instructions. They may act like they don't hear you or dawdle before complying. If you don't follow through, they will take advantage of your inattention and ignore your request. This period passes rather quickly and is an expression of the developing self. Don't panic. Use effective strategies for giving instructions, i.e. call them to come to you, make direct eye contact, give the instruction and pay attention to ensure that she complies.

You may notice signs of tension in your six-year old. Twirling hair, foot tapping, scratching or picking sores may be common, along with irritability and crying easily. Help your six-year old cope with tension through talk time to identify feelings and talk about fears.

Physical activity helps tension in a positive way; cupcakes don't.

Finally, don't offer your six-year old choices that he/she can't handle. She's more comfortable with clear rules and prescribed routines. Keep choices very simple; for example, let her choose between the red shirt, blue shirt or white shirt. Don't make her responsible for choosing her entire outfit but you may give her choices on minor ones like pair of socks, panties and other underwears. The child enjoys picking her choices but she has no idea yet on how she would look like in her entire outfit.

OK? So long guys; till next issue, fans.. hehehe!

Preparing Princess for the First Grade

My Princess will be entering the first grade very soon and I'm quite apprehensive as to what to prepare, or better yet, how to prepare her to take this new stage in the educational ladder. She is not the promil wonder kid but she is very much above average as shown by her feats in the kindergarten school. She'll be turning six this 3rd of July (2008).

I tried to scan some tips from magazines and the internet but there are only a few and scanty ones. I mean, nothing really was specific and tailored fit for her as far as I am concerned. Nevertheless, there are some few that I can put together to work on and add my thoughts to it.

One says, it helps to prepare a family work schedule in terms of balancing the attention for the child within the work schedule. I think I've been doing this already and I'm doing it quite well as in - I don't have to jot them down. They just come in naturally as it has been the normal routine in my life, hence.

Another source said, that traditionally, first graders learn how to read, but they also acquire other skills during this exciting year. They seem to be chatterboxes who talk non-stop and that contributes to their reading skills as much as any other activity they willl indulge in.

This is absolutely correct. Princess is such a chatterbox that I feel I just have to be a good listener to complete our communication. Then, I don't have to say her routines every now and then. I think she is smarter than what is to be expected of her age. Thank God that I did not experience to be jittery in raising her.

Below are some trackers that will guide any child getting ready to enter the first grade:

1. On developing langguage skills:

Your child will

• Be surrounded with materials to read, including books, poems, shared chart stories.
• Spend time in small groups reading interesting books with lots of pictures to enhance the story. • Write original stories. These will start out being very simple, with only one or two sentences at first.
• Look for familiar words that appear in everyday objects, from signs on the streets to the library books they brought home.
• Read and write poetry to find similar word patterns such as bat, pat, sat and hat.

2. On developing Math skills:

Your child will

• Use the manipulatives to begin to develop concepts of addition and subtraction.
• Substitute numerals for the manipulatives and write the problems on paper.
• Develop an awareness of time and money by using instructional clocks and lifelike play money in games.

3. On developing social skills:

Your child will

• Play group games, showing an increasing ability to take and wait for his turn.
• Respect other children's property and space.
• Recognize different emotions in others and respond to them in appropriate way. For example, a story about a lost puppy would make children feel and look sad.
• Be able to plan ahead; for example, they may decide to save a snack for later.

4. What else you may do to help:

• Continue to read to your child each night even after he or she has begun to read.
• Encourage him or her to find words that are familiar and read the word when he or she is stuck. • Place value on new writing skills and ignore misspelled words for now.
• Play simple board games that reinforce counting skills.

Finally, and I think, the most important thing: follow-up your child's performance in school. This is the best tracker that you will have to do to check on the child's educational development. It pays to talk to the teacher who, I'm sure, is very much willing to share with you about your child's performance in school and what else needs to be done. As they say, there is always room for improvement.

My time has come!

Yes, indeed. My time to blog has come, and there's no way, I think, that I should let this wonderful opportunity pass me by..

I have so many reasons to get excited for this first blog of mine. And so with this first post, I get to let go my excitement, or say, the euphoria for having a site I can finally call my very own!

First, my heartfelt thanks to Tito Mau for creating this blogsite for me. Second, for eliciting the interest in me to try the blogging career, if I can call it that way. And third, this blogging thing opens up a new level of enhancement in my personal and professional development. Writing, for a lot of people to see and read, is something only very few select, and I would say, seasoned ones in the profession, shall be able to do. Wow, and am I really one of them? (LOL!) Yes, I'm really excited to the max and I can't hold it any longer.

So, here we go guys.. Blogging is real fantastic! And what else do I have in mind right away but to post the most beautiful image I know..

My beautiful Princess, the gem of my life. She's everything I have.

So, please get ready and hold on.. Till next issue friends..