Yep, I think I owe Bryan a post on his developmental milestones... actually, what can one expect from a 4.5 years old?
According to this American checklist found on
KidsGrowth.com, this is what I should be expecting from my 4 going to 5 year-old son.
Social and Emotional
- Interested in new experiences
- Cooperates with other children
- Plays "mom" or "Dad"
- Increasing inventive in fantasy play
- Dresses and undresses
- Negotiates solutions to conflicts
- More independent
- Imagines that many unfamiliar images may be "monsters"
- Views self as a whole person involving body, mind, and feelings
- Often cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality
We have been having lots of fun getting ready to go to school in the morning. In fact, he could dress himself up even before he turned four. But I think grandparents "baby-ed" him alot, especially Grandpa (my dad). When my parents were here for the three months, he lapsed into a big baby who couldn't dress himself, put on his own socks and shoes, nor could he hang up his coat. I began to tell him to fix up the dressing puzzle for me in the morning, and before he even protested dressing himself up, he's doing it all by himself again. Phew! Yep, with grandparents around, such checklists aren't usually accurate. Coz kids at this age do dress themselves up with ease and believe me (even though I still spoon feed my children), they are very capable of feeding themselves. In fact, Bryan's self help skills aren't too bad that he can even bathe himself before he was even 4.5 years old! But of course under an adult's supervision. Actually, I just got too tired to get him into shower especially over here where temperature isn't exactly warm enough for a shower every day! So one day, I told him he could shower on his own. Yep, he's all too eager to try out something new and be proud of being independent of Mommy.
I can still remember Halloween for #8. And now, we do have some problems with #10, especially when Bryan feels that his friendship with someone is being compromised by some imaginary outing to the zoo.
I sure hope to see more of #6. But sometimes it isn't exactly Bryan's fault. Sometimes it's Kristin who's not being reasonable and thus unable to give in.
Movement
- Hops and stands on one foot up to five seconds
- Goes upstairs and downstairs without support
- Kicks Ball forward
- Throws ball overhand
- Catches bounced ball most of time
- Moves forward and backward with agility
I have no doubts in his gross motor skills. In fact, Alan and I have been considering signing him up for soccer. Bryan is one boy who could jump before he turned two, skip and hop before he turned three and now he gallops around with grace! :)
Hand and Finger Skills- copies square shapes
- Draws a person with two to four body parts
- Uses scissors
- Draws circles and squares
- Begins to copy some capital letters
No problems there! But of course, all these skills can also be trained up at a younger age. I won't be surprised that there are far more kids in Asia who can demonstrate such skills at a younger age than their counterparts do in the US.
Language - Has mastered some basic rules of grammar
- Speaks in sentences of five to six words
- Speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand
- Tells stories
I think his linguistic skills are fairly well taken care of in his preschool. At least for English. And yes, his speech is absolutely not slurred. Any strangers can understand him, any native speakers of the English language definitely.
#2 - I think he does much more than 5 to 6 words. The other day I played dumb and asked him what he thought of Pluto.
"But Pluto isn't a planet!"
"O yes, Mom. Ms Judy explained in class. Some scientists think that it isn't a planet, while some scientists think it is a planet."
Ok, I wasn't gonna argue about the cosmic status of Pluto with my little preschooler. I was just amazed that he used the word "while".
Yesterday, he was describing to me his dream:
"In Lalaland, I went to outerspace. There I saw many funny aliens. Some were pink, red and blue. And there were even purple ones! There was also a zoo I went to. So where did you go in Lalaland, Mom?"
O yes, let's not forget the poem he composed in my earlier post.
Cognitive
- Correctly names some colors
- Understands the concept of counting and may know a few numbers
- Tries to solve problems from a single point of view
- Begins to have a clearer sense of time
- Follows three-part commands
- Recalls parts of story
- Understands the concepts of "same" and "different"
- Engages in fantasy play
I think all Asian parents are very concerned with their children's knowledge of numbers. Maybe that's our culture. We always count with our babies. The number of times we brush their teeth, how many steps we take to reach the top of the stair, how many wooden blocks, shoes etc... Whatever! But arithmetic hasn't been my main focus for both my children. And expecting Bryan to add? Well, he's great in the American standard in terms of numbers and counting. But back in Singapore, he'd have lots of catching up to do. People back home are already doing double digits addition at this age.
O yes, the same and different concepts are very eminent, indeed! Bryan knows that he's a private sending kid from a non-consulate family. He knows that he isn't American. And he knows that he's yellow. For once, we are the minorities in the school. I'm only thankful that the school raises all children to be equal and may this American political ideal always prevail.
By the way, I think his grandpa has been telling him not to call Chinese people yellow, lest they feel offended. Actually, children are aware of the skin colours, but they usually do not use it to discriminate, they just differentiate. After all, it's a sheer fact that people do look different and we come in all colours, complete with all shapes and sizes!
