Cognitive Activities For A 5-year-old. Cognitive development involves the mental processes that enable children to learn.
These processes include memory, concentration, perception and imagination. Children begin developing by responding to stimuli in their environment as infants. Justification. Citation. Cognitive Development in Preschoolers. One of the most important cognitive shifts in the preschool years that occurs between three- to four-year-olds is the development of symbolic thought.
Symbolic thought is the ability to mentally or symbolically represent concrete objects, actions, and events (Piaget, 1952). The most obvious sign of the development of symbolic thought in four-year-olds is the significant increase in their use of make-believe play, which becomes more elaborate as they grow. Justification. Citation. Ages & Stages - Preschoolers. Three and four-year-old children are often called preschoolers.
Preschool children want to touch, taste, smell, hear, and test things for themselves. They are eager to learn. They learn by experiencing and by doing. Preschoolers learn from their play. They are busy developing skills, using language, and struggling to gain inner control. Citation. Justification.