| Daughter "When people drive don't they have to | | | | reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts |
| stop at red lights?" Mom: "Well yes honey, the law | | | | of questions." |
| says when a person is driving and the light changes | | | | Some questions six year olds may ask are: "Why are |
| to red they must come to a complete stop" | | | | some trees so big and some so small? Who do |
| Daughter: "See Mommy, that's why the policeman is | | | | balloons go up to the sky? Piaget called this time |
| after you!" | | | | period intuitive, because "on one hand children seem |
| Jean Piaget had great interest in how a child thinks | | | | so sure about their thinking and knowledge, yet they |
| regarding moral issues He said that children think in | | | | are so unaware of how they know what they |
| two ways about morality. The first is heteronomous | | | | know." |
| morality thinking, which occurs between four and | | | | Six year old children experience personal feelings of |
| seven years of age. The second is autonomous | | | | success and achievement through movement. As for |
| morality, which occurs between seven to ten years | | | | all children, they enjoy positive rewards and |
| of age. | | | | congratulations. A six year old child can enjoy even |
| Piaget believed that heteronomous morality is the | | | | more verbal praise, because smiles and thumbs ups |
| first stage of moral development. He said "Justice | | | | encourage them to try even harder at any given |
| and rules are conceived as unchangeable properties | | | | task! |
| of the world." | | | | It is very important to remember that six year old |
| A discussion between a six year old mother and her | | | | children's physical and psychological development has |
| daughter shows how the daughter who is a | | | | a lot to do with movement and fun focused activity. |
| heteronomous thinker, also believes in imminent | | | | Their energy and readiness to move contributes to a |
| justice. Imminent justice is the concept that if a "rule | | | | willingness to participate in aerobic type teaching |
| is broken, one must pay a price." In the case of a | | | | activities. |
| driver who passes a red light, from our discourse | | | | Knowing this, should tell a teacher not to just lecture |
| above, the punishment must fit the crime, i e., a | | | | to children in rote words, but to also utilize modeling |
| major traffic ticket! | | | | and scaffolding with bright bold pictures and words. |
| Children who are six years old have a vocabulary | | | | Some six year olds can skip, run, and play hopscotch. |
| from eight thousand to fourteen thousand words. | | | | Others will need more verbal praise to get involved |
| Truly, this can be very surprising to anyone who is | | | | physically, and possibly even a jelly bean or other |
| listening to a six year old child. Not only are six year | | | | extrinsic reward. Whatever teachers do, they must |
| olds better conversationalists than younger ages, but | | | | remember that six year olds like to use their hands, |
| they are more aware of their surroundings. | | | | and enjoy working and playing with a wide variety of |
| Apparently, their cognitive development has | | | | objects. |
| progressed to another level. I find the ration of years | | | | Lightweight balls, beads, rings, unifex cubes, blocks, |
| to progression quite interesting. In fact, I find the | | | | buttons, popsicle sticks, Legos, Lincoln Logs, |
| numbers of words memorized staggering for only six | | | | sandboxes, Play Dough, and other fine motor |
| years of age! | | | | manipulative objects, can enhance a key story or |
| Another characteristic about six year old children's | | | | lesson being taught by the teacher to the students. |
| thought lives, is that they are classified as being in | | | | More importantly though, those objects stimulate |
| the intuitive thoughts, which is Piaget's second | | | | their brain, vocabulary, and cognitive development |
| sub-stage of pre-operational thought. In this stage | | | | unlike anything else at this critical stage of their lives! |
| Piaget states that, "children begin to use primitive | | | | |