Age & Stage Meetings
During October and November of this Fall, we’ll host teachers, program directors and different campus support staff (Child Development Specialist, Director of Pastoral Care, Occupational Therapist, Head of School) for Age & Stage meetings.
The intention of this type of exploration is to consider the whole child – cognitive, social, and physiological…
These socratic-style meetings offer a rich time for adults to come together to consider the unique developmental stages of children, and to examine the subtle or powerful ways that our own adult experiences come up as we watch our young people move through different moments in time. The intention of this type of exploration is to consider the whole child – cognitive, social, and physiological – and where they are in their journey, welcoming insight on both the delights and puzzles of these different stages of life and growth.
Most meeting attendees have left wanting another hour or two to sit and speak, to share more ideas and connection.
The rest of the Age & Stage meetings will occur in December and January.
Age & Stage Booklet
Child Development Snapshots
Children go through certain predictable stages of growth, and each stage builds on the success of the previous stage (we walk before running, trust before independence). Each child has their own unique timetable for development, yet there are useful broad benchmarks. Development is not linear or even, but full of regressions (a first sleepover brings renewed anxiety), and disequilibrium is part of normal development. Mistakes are, too, and children grow in different realms at different rates at the same time. Development unfolds in separate, predictable stages and is a measure of individuality, not conformity.
By trusting the natural intelligence of children, recognizing our own conditioning and pairing that knowledge with accurate information based on a child’s age and stage, we are able to shape our responses to children in meaningful ways.
Continue reading as a flipbook below, pick up a copy at school, or download a digital copy here.
