Most modern parents pay a lot of attention to the early development of children, understanding that up to three years the child is easily trained in the process of playing, and after it it becomes much more difficult to absorb new information without a good starting base. And many adults have a question: what should a child know at 3 years old? The answer to it, as well as all about the features of the development of children at this age, you will learn from this article.
Caution: Three Years Crisis
The crisis of three years is considered one of the first age-related crises of the child, for everyone it proceeds differently, but still takes place. It is connected with the fact that at this age the process of formation of self-awareness of the baby begins - the old picture of reality becomes obsolete, and a new one comes in its place. In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts, stress and know how to help the child during this period, it is important to understand the following age-related features of 3-year-old children:
- There is a need for independent activity: the child is separated from adults, and reality, previously limited mainly to subjects and the family circle, becomes the world of adults.
- The child begins to oppose himself to adults, ceases to obey and protests against the norms of behavior inculcated earlier.
- It is during this period that the baby learns the difference between “want” and “should”, and deliberate actions begin to prevail over impulsive ones.
- At this age, self-esteem is actively developing, which is greatly influenced by the attitude of adults.
New opportunities
But in addition to the complexity of behavior, useful features appear that increase the learning ability of a child of 3 years:
- Communicative readiness: the child begins to interact with other people, guided by the rules and regulations.
- Cognitive readiness: imaginative thinking is formed , thanks to which children are able to think about objects and conduct a comparative analysis, even when they do not see them.
- Emotional development: the child begins to control emotions, including coping with aggression.
- The ability to count and read appears.
Interacting with the surrounding reality, the child learns the world and develops, the task of adults is to help him. When training, it is important to take into account and use the zone of proximal development: a child can do something with the help of adults, and what he learned to do on his own should become a completed stage in time.
Speech Development Assessment
Up to five years, speech develops very intensively, so it is important to monitor whether the child is lagging behind and, if necessary, help him. To assess the development of speech, there is the following list of what a child should know at 3 years old:
- Vocabulary is about a thousand words.
- When designating objects, people, and animals, meaningful words are practically used, not sounds or abbreviations.
- He distinguishes and correctly uses prefixed verbs (he ran, ran, ran out).
- He knows how to name objects using generalizing words (“fruits” instead of “pear” and “apple”).
- He masters the names of the details of objects (he can say that the pan has a bottom and handles).
- Compares words and understands what synonyms are.
- He invents his own words from those already known to him.
- It draws attention to the incorrect pronunciation of other children, while the sounds themselves can be pronounced incorrectly too.
- He knows how to say that any adult can understand him.
How to develop coherent speech
Further development of the speech of a 3-year-old child includes: increasing vocabulary, training in the correct pronunciation of sounds, and building sentences. The main goal of all classes is to improve coherent meaningful speech. To do this, you can engage in special journals-manuals with colorful pictures and exercises.
Unfortunately, you can’t count on the long perseverance of the child, but you can remember the basic tasks for children 3 years old and perform them using concepts from real life:
- At home, you can name objects and select generalizing words on the example of toys, shoes, dishes and any other things.
- On a walk, you can tell the child adjectives and ask them to find objects that match them, for example, “tall” (the baby points to the house) or “red” (maybe a car). The advantage of this exercise is that the baby can find in the real world much more suitable things than in the pictures.
- On the street and at home, you can ask your child questions about the objects that he sees, for example, where they are located, what color, why others are needed.
Learning Poems
At three years old, the child should be able to memorize and repeat 3-4 words that the adult said. Thanks to this ability, you can start learning poetry. They train memory, attention, develop speech, enrich the vocabulary, expand ideas about the world, and also help the child grow purposeful and be able to complete the work begun.
The poem for children of 3 years should not be too big: two quatrains are enough. Before starting to learn a poem, an adult must expressively tell it and discuss the content with the child. If desired, you can draw pictures to the text. Each quatrain learns according to one pattern: an adult slowly says the first line and asks the child to repeat after him until he remembers it. Then the second line learns and connects to the first, then the third is added to the first two. Then the last one is remembered, and the first quatrain is ready. When the two parts are learned, they combine, and the verse is read in its entirety.
Easy rhyme for 3 years old children about the onset of winter:
In the morning I went to the window
Surprised: "Well, well!
I went to bed in the fall,
The world has changed over night!
White coats put on
Both trees and houses.
It means, in fact
Winter came to us at night! "
Very first math concepts
The first acquaintance with mathematics begins much earlier than it seems, and the further relations of the child with this complex science depend on how successful it is. The following list of what a child at 3 years of age in mathematics should help assess the completeness of ideas:
- Be able to compare objects in width, length, thickness and height.
- Use the concepts of "many" and "one" in speech, competently coordinate them with nouns.
- Be able to count on the fingers to three.
- Know and name the basic geometric shapes: square, circle, triangle and compare objects in shape.
- To know and use in speech concepts: small, large, smaller and larger.
- Be able to compare the number of items.
- To be able to find an item pair for a given attribute.
Testing knowledge about the world
Some parents underestimate the capabilities of their three-year-old children and do not give the necessary amount of load, and intensive classes begin in the period of preparation for school and are faced with the child’s unwillingness to learn, because cognitive activity has already died out. To prevent such problems, it is important to find out in time what a child at 3 years old should know about the world around him, and, if necessary, fill in the gaps.
A child at this age should:
- To know how domestic and wild animals look and are called.
- Understand who birds, insects and fish are, and also be able to name three or four representatives of each class.
- Know three or four names of trees and flowers.
- To be able to distinguish between fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and berries, as well as know their main names.
- Have an idea of ​​such natural phenomena as wind, rain, rainbow, snow.
- Know and be able to name parts of the day.
- Have an understanding of the materials from which the surrounding things are made.
We evaluate the development of thinking and motor skills
A child at three years old must be able to perform the following actions:
- collect an image from 2-4 parts;
- see and explain the discrepancy in the picture;
- identify an excess object and justify your choice;
- Explain how objects are similar and how they differ;
- cut paper with scissors;
- to separate pieces from plasticine and make sausages and balls from them;
- draw dots, circles and various kinds of lines;
- do finger exercises.
How to develop fine motor skills
The most useful for the development of motility is considered to be modeling for children of 3 years, but the child begins to show interest in it much earlier, for example, when he enthusiastically spreads porridge on the table. You can sculpt from plasticine or puff pastry. Classes also help to develop speech and reinforce existing ideas about the world. You can sculpt if you wish at least every day, but twice a week is enough. In order for the lessons to become more fun and not too difficult for the child, you can make blanks from paper foundations and select suitable stories or poems.
The purpose of the first experience with plasticine: to teach a child to tear pieces from him and sculpt them on paper, you can draw trees and decorate them with colorful leaves. In the second lesson, you need to learn how to roll balls, you can decorate the Christmas tree with New Year's toys. During the third lesson, the child practices rolling out sausages, from which it will be possible to make a rainbow or Olympic rings. For three years of age, these simple tricks are quite enough.
Of course, all children are individual and have a different level of ability. But it depends on the parents how these abilities will be used. It is important to carefully monitor the child’s successes, evaluate his level of development and constantly give new and more complex, but no less interesting tasks for children 3 years old in a playful way.