COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF EIGHT YEAR OLDS

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Ø     Love group activities and cooperative work

Ø     Prefer playing with peers of the same gender

Ø     Like to talk and explain ideas

Ø     Good sense of humor

Ø     Adjust well to change; bounce back quickly from mistakes or disappointments

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Ø     Industrious, impatient, and full of ideas; often take on more than they can handle

Ø     Listen well but may not always remember what they’ve heard

Ø     Getting good at handwriting, handcrafts, computers and drawing

Ø     Excited but also nervous about exploring the broader world

Ø     May give up when things are hard but soon want to try again

Ø     Interested in rules, logic, fairness

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Ø     Full of energy; play hard, work quickly, and tire easily – do better with several short play breaks than one long one

Ø     Eyes able to focus well on objects near and far

Ø     May have growth spurt

Ø     Limited attention span; short exercise breaks help concentration

Ø     Better control of eyes and hands allows cursive writing and copying from board