Second Graders

Aidan came home with his first "Friday Folder" from second grade.  I got to sign next to the smiley faces that said he was well behaved and never needed re-directing (he really is a good, happy boy, only stubborn at home :)  In the folder was a pamphlet on second graders and I found this particularly interesting.  Even though we've raised three children to adulthood, you forget some things.  Here is the description of seven:

Social:  May be moody, shy, sulky, touchy; sometimes depressed
Prefer playing and working alone or with one friend
May change friendships quickly and feel "nobody likes me"
Rely on adults for help and reassurance
Need the security of rules, routines, and physical boundaries

Physical:  Often keep their eyes focused on a small, close area
Copying from board is very hard
With head on arm or desk, grasp pencil point tightly and write very small
Can do quiet work for longer periods
Can get sick from worrying about tests, assignments, etc.

Cognitive:  Better at understanding ideas such as time, space, and quantity
Learn new words and meanings quickly; enjoy writing stories
Open to learning math
Good at classifying, such as sorting buttons, pictures, leaves, and shapes
Listen well and speak precisely
Enjoy hands-on exploration of how things work
Bothered by mistakes and try hard to make their work perfect
Like to work slowly and finish what they start
Enjoy repeating tasks and reviewing learning

What was really interesting was that this pamphlet was about 6 and 8 year olds as well, and the differences between the three years was really pretty substantial.

Looking forward to having two seven year and a half year olds in the house and watching them turn eight-social, cooperative, humorous, full of energy, developed eyesight-near and far, short attention span, full of ideas, quit easily, take on too much/more than they can handle, listen well but don't always remember what they heard, good at handwriting, crafts, computers, and drawing.