| A | B |
|---|
| preschooler | Term referring to children ages three to six years. |
| multiple intelligences | Howard Gardner's theory that emphasizes different kinds of intelligences used by the human brain. |
| neurons | Specialized nerve cells. |
| theory | A principle or idea that is proposed, researched, and generally accepted as an explanation. |
| maturation | Sequence of biological changes in a child giving the child new abilities. |
| concrete operations | The use of logic based on what has been experienced or seen. |
| cephalocaudal principle | Principle of development stating that development tends to proceed from the head downward. According to this principle, the child first gains control of the head, then the arms, then the legs. |
| fine-motor development | The ability to coordinate the small muscles in the arms, fingers, and wrists to complete tasks such as grasping, holding, cutting, drawing, and writing. |
| cognitive development | Growth in the mental processes used to gain knowledge such as thought, reasoning, and imagination.. |
| windows of opportunity | Specific spans of time for the normal development of certain skills. |
| gross-motor development | Improvement of the skills involving arms, legs, and whole body movements. Examples include running, jumping, throwing, and climbing. |
| synapses | Connections between nerve cells that pass messages in the brain. |
| preoperational stage | Period between ages two and seven during which children learn to classify groups and use symbols and internal images. |
| infant | Term used to refer to a child from birth through the first year of life. |
| toddler | Term used to refer to a child from the first year until the third birthday. |
| social-emotional development | Growth in the two related areas of social and emotional skills. Social development |
| proximodistal principle | Development of the body occurs in an outward direction. The spinal cord develops before outer parts of the body, arms develops before hands; hands develop before fingers. |
| physical development | Physical body changes in a growing individual, such as changes in bone thickness, size, weight, vision, and coordination. |
