Development at 37 Months
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Activity 1
Age Appropriate Cognitive Development
Recognizes Partially Revealed Items
 By 36 months, I will be able to find details in my favorite storybook. This skill requires me to relate a part of the whole to the entire picture itself. Now I will further develop my visual-spatial reasoning skills by identifying an object or a picture when I can see only a part of it. I will do this between 32 and 42 months (2 year 8 months to 3 year 6 months). |
Steps
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Find 5 objects familiar to your child, e.g. teddy bear, cup, ball, storybook, shirt.
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Hide the objects in different parts of the house with part of the object revealed.
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Ask your child to find each of the 5 objects.
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Then place 5 pictures in a box. Pull up each picture with half of it partially covered.
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Ask your child "What do see?"
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Observe and take note of the number of objects and pictures your child is able to identify when part of an item is hidden.
Feedback
Your child is developing his spatial reasoning abilities of relating parts of a whole together appropriately at this stage. Being able to identify an object or a picture when part of it is covered usually develops between 32 and 42 months (2 year 8 months and 3 year 6 months). Take a look at some fun suggested activities to further encourage this visual-spatial reasoning skill.
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When reading your child's favorite storybook, cover a part of a picture and ask your child what the picture is.
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Combine your child's reasoning with his language skills by asking your child to name the object/picture shown, as well as to describe the parts that are not seen ("What are the parts you cannot see? The parts that are missing?").
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Use your child's interest. E.g. if he likes to see your drawings, draw pictures for him and ask him to guess what the picture is when you draw only a part of it.
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Buy commercially available books where you will have to join the dots to see what the complete picture is. Ask your child to tell you what the picture is before joining the dots. As he is not adept in holding his crayon yet, you can join the dots for him.
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Connect a 5-6 piece jigsaw puzzle of only one picture. When he has pieced half of the puzzle together, ask if he can recognize what the animal/character/object is. Take turns and have fun guessing each other's puzzles.
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Buy large stickers of favorite cartoon characters. Cut them vertically and have him guess what the character is, before allowing him to stick the other half on a book.
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Use commercially available felt cut-outs of faces, body parts, for your child to put the parts together.
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Use construction toys like building blocks that require 2-3 parts to be joined together to form an object, e.g. a car or spaceship
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Feedback 2
If your child has some difficulty with this activity, do not fret. Try some of the suggested activities to further encourage this visual-spatial reasoning skill. He will soon be able to spontaneously identify the objects and pictures when part of it is covered. Look out and rejoice when he reaches this milestone.
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 Focus on helping your child piece together a 3-4 piece related puzzle. When he can do this more successfully, he will be able to identify the whole from only a part that is shown. Describe the picture of the puzzle to him. Point out the details and where they are in relation to the whole picture. These verbal descriptions can help him to spatially form an idea of the whole picture as being made up of several parts.
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Make the play and learning environment as neat, organized and clear as possible. This environment will minimize distractions and help your child focus on relevant details.
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When reading your child's favorite storybook, cover a part of a picture and ask him what the picture is.
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Buy large stickers of favorite cartoon characters. Cut them vertically and have him guess what the character is, before allowing him to stick the other half on a book.
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Use construction toys like building blocks that require 2-3 parts to be joined together to form an object, e.g. a car or spaceship.
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Activity 2
Age Appropriate Speech, Language And Communication Development
Identifies Where Objects Are Placed Using Prepositions
 Receptive language is language that I have, to aid understanding. This activity has the emphasis on my ability to identify spatial positions: in, out, top, bottom, under, over, up, down. This can normally be elicited or observed when I am asked to place an object in various positions or when I am asked to point to the position. I usually develop the ability to understand and identify where objects are placed using prepositions when I am between 32 and 42 months (2 year 8 months – 3 year 6 months). |
Steps
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Play zoo with your child.
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Ask your child to put a toy IN another object.
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Ask your child to bring the toy OUT again after he has completed the first instruction.
Feedback
A child usually develops the ability to understand and identify where objects are placed using prepositions between 32 and 42 months. As words may have multiple meaning, e.g. up may mean up the TV volume, or up the stairs. Your child may be confused. He will benefit from a good demonstration of the word. Before testing him, teach him the concepts first. Only when he understands, will testing be meaningful.
If you observed that your child has not only understood the words but is already able to express it well, you can start challenging him with 2-step instructions e.g. put the dog in the box, then out of the box. He may also be asked to do this in any natural occurring situations during his daily routine. Do take a look at the suggested activities for more ideas about learning prepositions.
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At the supermarket, identify where the items are using prepositions. E.g. “the milk is ON the shelf”, “put the eggs IN the trolley”.
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Set up a fun obstacle course where your child can jump IN, jump OUT (of hoops, boxes), move AROUND (a chair, table), etc.
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Race your child! Set a goal i.e. put the ball ON the couch, and see who can perform the task the fastest when you have to walk with the ball between your knees! Repeat with other prepositions!
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