After School Program, 4-7

'Independent Thinkers and Explorers'

At this stage, the child starts down the path of self-identity, independence, and development of moral values. Children have learned that other people have their own views, feelings, and desires. Healthy friendships are very important, but peer pressure can become strong.

Children can engage in classification, display logical thinking, can seriate (arrange in a series) without trial and error, are able to conserve number, mass, and volume, develop improved memory and executive function skills, and demonstrate a more strategic and methodical approach to problems. They understand cause‐and‐effect relationships and become adept at mathematics and science.

At this stage, children not only take into account 'the bigger picture' but they also develop a capacity to reason, and 'work things out' that they didn't have before. They are able to demonstrate abstract thinking.

LeaderBoard provides opportunities with many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs, which further develops the child's skill in exploration, reasoning, learning by doing, trial and error, seeking a solution - and realizing there are many different paths to the same solution - can he better his own next time?