Kinder/Preschool Vocab HG&DEV

Hand and eye coordination

Using visual input to guide a hand activity

Preoperational stage

Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development in which young children are beginning to use more rational thought processes

Operations

Formal or logical processes that are organized mental processes

Intuition

Perception or insight based on feelings

Centration

The tendency of young children to focus on just one aspect of something seen

Conservation

Understanding transformation of viewed objects

Egocentrism

The inability to take another person’s perspective

Windows of opportunity

Ideal time frames for optimizing the development of critical skills because the brain is most receptive to learning

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes

Metamemory

your awareness, knowledge, and control over your own memory

Phonology

The sounds that make up words

morphology

Word structures and formations

Syntax

Sentence structure

Semantics

The meaning of words

Pragmatics

Using language properly

Preconventional morality

The first level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development in which people make decisions based on whether or not they will be punished or rewarded

Initiative versus guilt

Erikson’s stage when young children begin to be productive for themselves, without feelings of blame or remorse

Functional play

Using repetitive motions in play such as moving a toy car in circles

Constructive play

Play that involves creating something

Associative play

When children interact while involved in parallel play

Cooperative play

When children participate in constructive play together

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

A learning disability that includes hyperactivity, difficulty staying on task, and impulsiveness over time

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

A broad term that describes a developmental disability that leads to problems with social behaviors and communication

Head start

A government funded preschool program which focuses on preparing disadvantaged children for school