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What Should My Six and Seven-Year-Old Be Learning?
- Learning Resources Posted On Mar 24, 2022 | Reading
We’ve talked about essential milestones for three-, four-, and five-year-olds, but the growth doesn’t stop there! Big kids are tackling some important tasks and becoming more independent with every passing day. From academic achievements to physical growth and development, the middle childhood years of six and seven can be exciting. Remembering that every child learns and grows at their own pace, read on to learn what your big kid might be doing over the next 12-24 months!
Social-Emotional Skills
Sixes and sevens are building their confidence and, in turn, becoming even more independent from their family members and caregivers. You can encourage their independence by assigning age-appropriate responsibilities and applauding their efforts to master things on their own, no matter the outcome. Over the next two years, your big kid is also likely:
- Becoming more compassionate, able not just to recognize emotions but to empathize, as well
- Making authentic connections, enabling them to make and keep good friends
- Cooperating with others while performing a task, playing a game, or working with a sports team
- Understanding fairness and rewards that are based on better or worse performance or effort
Language Skills
Speaking in complete sentences, your big kid can express themselves clearly, share thoughts and opinions verbally, and may even start to express themselves clearly in written form. They’ll also be working on:
- Building their vocabularies – to the tune of five to 10 new words a day
- Their sense of humor! Advanced language skills bring a better understanding of jokes and puns
- Proper punctuation in letters and other written communications (although not in texts!)
- Taking turns speaking – learning not to interrupt can’t come soon enough
Cognitive Skills
First graders are working on addition and subtraction, writing and spelling, shapes and measurement, etc. Practicing at home will help, especially with:
- Reading! Reading skills are blooming, so be sure to have plenty of books and magazines on hand
- Telling time days, learning the days of the week, and the months of the year
- Skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s and working with math manipulatives
- Counting coins and adding their sums
Physical Skills
Your six- or seven-year-old is getting a better feel for the things they enjoy and maybe pursuing hobbies and showing an interest in different sports. At this age, your child may be mastering:
- Passing and catching a ball by throwing or kicking
- Dancing to the rhythm and beat of their favorite music
- Riding a two-wheeled bike, which requires balance, coordination, and confidence
- Drawing, painting, and writing more clearly (a sign of solid fine motor skills)
Your support makes a world of difference in your child’s development, so keep reading, talking, playing educational games, counting change at the store, asking their opinion, and telling them how capable they are.
