Cognitive development is how children explore, think, create answers, and figure things out. It is the development of knowledge, skills, and problem-solving that help children think about and understand the world around them.

Math

Early math skills involve children learning the basic concepts of numbers, counting, simple addition, and subtraction. We begin with learning how to count one by one using manipulative materials. We also learn how to recognize single and double-digit numbers, and once this skill is mastered, we learn how to add and subtract numbers. Visual representation is key as children build relationships between written numbers and represented items. Children also learn to construct simple patterns and sort objects by color, shape, and size.

Science

Science helps children develop an understanding of scientific concepts and develop inquiry skills. Scientific development in young children consists of children using their senses to observe, compare, measure, make predictions, classify, and construct hypotheses. Students are born natural scientists. Students are eager and curious to explore the world around them. At
ZNR Day Care, our job is to nurture their scientific spirit and provide students with the opportunity to enhance their scientific exploration experiences in and out of the classroom!

Social Studies

Social studies learning begins as children make friends and participate in decision-making in the classroom. Then it moves beyond the school into the neighborhood and around the world. Here at ZNR Day Care, we explore different cultures, places, foods, music, and backgrounds of people around the world. We take monthly virtual trips to other countries, where we interact with people who share insight into their traditional customs and culture. We love exploring the world and opening our eyes to the many different beautiful people and places on this planet!

Children’s emotional well-being during their early years has a powerful impact on their social relationships. Emotionally healthy children can better establish and maintain positive relationships with adults and their friends. In our classrooms, children are learning to talk about their feelings and the feelings of others. We feel social-emotional development involves more than just expressing emotions. Social-emotional development involves the act of taking turns, learning to become independent, following routines, interactions with both verbal and nonverbal peers, controlling and managing emotions, and developing a positive and loving self-image. These skills are crucial for children’s successful participation in all aspects of life, school, and home experiences, and their overall positive self-growth.

Fine Motor:

Fine motor skills involve the movement of the smaller muscle groups in your child’s hands,m fingers, and wrists. While hand-eye coordination comes far more naturally to some, this is not true of all. Children must learn how to control their muscle movement in their hands to obtain hand-eye coordination and more. There are specific ways we do this in the classroom such as having your child use scissors, color, play with Legos, draw pictures, and more. These skills can later become more advanced as your child decides to knit, play the guitar, or type on the computer!

Gross Motor:

Gross motor skills involve movements of the large muscles of the arms, legs, and torso. Kids rely on gross motor skills for everyday activities at school, home, and in the community. It’s the larger muscle groups that allow babies to sit up, turn over, crawl, and walk. By playing actively indoors and outdoors, each child develops muscle strength, endurance, agility, coordination,
balance, and flexibility and builds confidence and social skills.

Sensory exploration is a child’s way of examining, discovering, categorizing, and making sense of the world, and it is beneficial to provide them with opportunities for sensory play. Here at ZNR Day Care, the student participates in activities that allow them to explore different types of materials and enhance their senses, such as music and dance games, sensory bin exploration, and playing with a variety of materials that smell, feel, and taste very different!