What to expect out of my child when he/she is in Grade 2-3

Children between the ages of 7 to 9 (Grades 2-3) have already spent 3 to 5 years in school. By now they are more confident as students and develop an understanding of what school is all about. They start developing their personal inclination towards subjects, people and the style of learning. They are able to contribute to activities in class and amongst peers.

With a good foundation set up in the earlier classes the 2 and 3 builds on that foundation by introduction of newer subjects. With study matter getting more and more complicated parents should allocate a quiet time and place for homework to be done. Here is a list of things you can expect out of your child if he/she is in grades 2-3

On the Cognitive or Intellectual Level

·        Children this age like to talk and express their feeling and emotions. They love telling stories and letting their imagination run wild.

·        They are able to execute and carry out an activity on their own with minimal or no assistance altogether.

·        They start understanding abstract concepts like time and day of the week etc.

·        They start understanding concepts like opposites and are able to appreciate difference in opinion and also develop the concept of right and wrong.

·        They love playing games that challenge the thought process, like problem solving.

·        At this age kids love collecting any and every thing that seems precious to them.

On the Socio-Emotional Level

·        Children this age develop a strong sense and of self and enjoy working independently. They also start being possessive over objects and people.

·        At this age children have a need to belong to a group; they develop strong ties with friends and also have best friends. However they do not easily accept peers who have left out of a group or are different.

·        They have a very rigid sense of what is right and wrong.

·        They like to indulge into rituals, games and little absurdities done by all children of that age, with utmost seriousness and sincerity.

·        They show inclination to playing with friends of the same gender.

On the Physical Level

·        They enjoy games that are more challenging and allow self-improvement.

·        They also love activities that encourage comparison of skills

·        They are very energetic at this age and games that involves co-ordination of the whole body and the thought process.

What to expect out of my child when he/she is in grade K-1

Children between the ages of 5 to 6 years (Kindergarten to Grade 1) are constantly learning to engage all the five senses through fun games and activities. During this age progress of the child is very rapid in all areas of development; physical, socio-emotional and cognitive. 

Where  Kindergarten children are just learning basic skills to identify alphabets, interacting with play mates and expressing feeling and emotions through words; Grade 1 children are learning to write and comprehend what they are reading, and start forming long term bonds and relationships with friends. 

 Children this age are growing at a very rapid age and are very responsive to their environment hence there is an overall growth in the child. 

Here is a list of what you can expect out of your child if he/she is in grades K-1:

On the Intellectual or cognitive front

·        Children develop an understanding of language and attempt to convey their emotions and experiences in words.

·        They express a lot, for example they may describe an object by its use or where they have seen it or even a situation or event with details of what they have observed.

·        They start to understand the concept of ‘funny’ and begin to develop a sense of humour.

·        Children this age are very curious and want to know everything.  At this age children are eager to learn new thing. They ask questions on nearly everything they see which should be encouraged.

·        Children start developing communication skills to interact with peers in small groups.

·        They are unable to conceptualise ideas of the future and the past but they are very happy in the present.

On the Socio-Emotional front

·        They enjoy playing with different objects, equipment and develop new concepts for games.

·        They are easily frightened by things they do not understand or are strange to them.

·        They are eager shouldering responsibility they can handle and when they do a good job at it they love the attention and praise they receive by adults.

·         They favour playing in small groups and learn to co-operate with others in a team. Occasionally they do display selfish behaviour.

·        They keen to identify with older siblings and other children.

On the Physical Front

·        Children enjoy playing, and love experimenting with different types of games.

·        This physical activity helps them develop and learn to co-ordinate their entire body.

·        With a lot of physical activity children this age also need ample rest.