Four Year Olds


Our four-year olds have developed confidence, friendships, routine, and independence. Each child will have his or her own level of development in these areas. Our four-year old room balances the children’s need for independence with their continuing need for guidance and learning.

Emotional development is still growing strong. The children understand their own feelings and the feelings of others. Empathy is beginning to form. The children want to make their friends feel better with a hug or kind word, and it may happen spontaneously, and without any adult interaction. The children’s self-esteem is growing, and the children know how to express happiness or sadness and everything in between. Our teachers encourage the growth of these traits.

Cognitive skills are always being challenged. The children are ready for some higher-level of thinking such as prediction, sorting, and time, to mention just a few. The children have a firm understanding of 1-20 and can accomplish some basic addition and subtraction (such as 2+5=7). The children know their letters and sound and may be forming words (either sight word such as “dog” or “she,” or use creative spelling such as light is liht).

The teachers will continue to expose the children too many concepts such as animals, colors, community helpers, insects, and opposites, real vs. make believe, and basic time concepts (days of the week, morning vs. afternoon). Not every child in the four-year old room will master every concept that is taught in the classroom, but they will have had exposure to those concepts. When they advance to kindergarten and these concepts are reintroduced, it will be familiar for the child.