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During the school-age years, children develop the complex cognitive skills that will carry them through school and beyond. The strong foundational cognitive skills they have developed as children prepare them for learning as teens and adults. When you support the developing brain you are building a strong foundation for school and life success. This lesson will introduce you to important concepts about how the brain develops during the school-age years. It will end with suggestions about what you can do to help make sure all children meet their potential.

School-age children usually follow predictable patterns in how they grow and learn. This lesson will help you understand typical cognitive development, and how school-age children develop thinking skills as they mature. You will learn about developmental milestones and what to do if you are concerned about a school-age child’s cognitive development.

Your relationship with school-age children is one of your strongest teaching tools. This lesson will focus on interacting with school-age children and youth to support exploration and learning. You will discover how interactions with adults and peers can make the most of every routine and experience.

Well-arranged environments are critical for promoting school-age children’s cognitive development. Within such environments, children can engage in discovery, exploration, and problem-solving that leads to everyday learning. This lesson will focus on identifying environments and materials that promote school-age children’s cognitive development.

It is important to provide children and youth with a variety of age-appropriate experiences and activities. This lesson describes how you can engage school-age children in activities that promote their cognitive development and address the needs of diverse learners and their families.