MSU Extension Child & Family Development

Ages & Stages

Preschooler A child who is 3 to 5 years of age.

Young child A child who is 0 to 8 years of age.

Minding Our Language

Families come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. A “family” may include people who are related by blood, by marriage, and by choice. “Parents” may be biological, step-, foster, adoptive, legally appointed, or something else. When we use the words “family” and “parent” in these materials, we do so inclusively and with great respect for all adults who care for and work with young people.

As young children play, they are learning to look at things in different ways. Seeing things from different perspectives or viewpoints is an important first step in learning more complex science and math concepts. Play helps preschool children build these skills and lays a foundation for later learning.

Through play, young children learn that the same object can appear very different when looking at it from the bottom up compared to looking at it from the top down. They notice that twisting or stretching clay can change the shape of whatever they are making, and that water and sand can fill up empty cups. They learn to tell the difference between near and far through drawings and pictures, and can describe these positions in storytelling or dramatic play.

To help your child learn how to look at things from different perspectives, try some of the following:

• Play in the bathtub. Give them some plastic cups to play with during bath time. Show them how to fill the cups and empty them into one another. Have them fill one cup, then ask what they think would happen if they emptied all the water from that cup into another one.
• Build something. Make a building or tower from blocks, construction toys, furniture cushions, cups, bowls, or other containers or objects. Ask your preschooler to build a tall tower first, then suggest a wide tower.
• Read a book together. Look at the pictures and talk about objects in them that are close together and far apart.
• Go for a walk and look at things from different angles. Look at a tree from the ground up to the leaves first. Then, hold your child up to a branch and encourage them to look at the tree from the branch down. Walk around the tree and look at it from different sides. Talk about how the tree looks when you are close to it and how it looks as you walk away from it, too.
• Lie on your backs and look at the ceiling. Talk about what it would be like if we walked on the ceiling but everything else stayed on the floor. (“How would we get through doorways?” “How do you think we would cook dinner?” If you threw a ball, where would it bounce – on the ceiling or the floor? What would we sit on?)
• Cook together. Make scrambled eggs and talk about how the eggs change from runny to solid. Make ice pops. Help your child pour juice into ice cube trays and place sticks in each section, then later pull the frozen treats out of the freezer and enjoy! Baking is another great way to show your child how things change from one state to another.
• Play “Hot and Cold.” Show your preschooler an object like a stuffed animal, then hide it. Tell them to look for the hidden object and that you will help them find it by saying “hot” when they are near or getting close to it and “cold” when they are far away or moving away from it.
• Make sculptures. Use modeling clay or dough you’ve made together or bought to make sculptures. Give your preschooler a ball of clay and see what they make from it. Talk to them about how they roll, stretch, or twist the clay to make their sculpture. Talk about how the same amount of modeling clay can make a ball, a long worm, or other, different things when broken apart!

Find Out More

MSU Extension provides the following resources for parents and caregivers of preschoolers and young children at no or low cost. Be sure to check out these and other MSU Extension resources available at www.extension.msu.edu.

Extension Extras (https://bit.ly/2LC2vdX) – These compilations of news articles, activities, parenting tips and advice are published online Monday through Friday. The resources are designed for parents and caregivers of young children who are home all day during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Each day has a theme: Mindful Mondays, Tips on Tuesday, Working Wednesdays, Thinking Thursday, and Fun Fridays.

Extension Extras Enrichment Kits (https://bit.ly/35QAplQ) – These kits feature five or six early childhood activities with learning goals focused in areas such as social and emotional health, literacy, and STEM; a supply list; suggested children’s books; introduction letters explaining how to use the materials; and an evaluation. The kits are available as free downloads.

Early Childhood Videos (https://bit.ly/3ioyEkS) – These short videos offer parents and caregivers of young children information on parenting topics. Titles include “Perspective Taking,” “Family Movies,” “Goals of Misbehavior,” “Using Thinking and Feeling Words,” “The Waiting Game,” and “When Siblings Fight.”

Building Early Emotional Skills (BEES) in Young Children (https://bit.ly/38XW4KI) – This page provides links to a variety of free online parenting courses, workshops, and events offered by MSU Extension for parents and caregivers of young children aged 0 to 3.

Parenting the Preschooler: Social Competence and Emotional Well-Being © 2021 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. The fact sheets in this series may be copied for purposes of 4-H and other nonprofit educational programs and for individual use with credit to Michigan State University Extension.