Developmental After-School Programs

As children grow up it is important that each aspect of development is nurtured throughout each phase of a child's life. Each child has different needs and abilities and it is important to recognize these in order to help a child reach their full potential. After-school programs recognize this and help children throughout each state of their development.

The stages of development for children are:

1) Young child (ages 3-5)

2) Middle school (ages 6-8)

3) Older school (ages 9-12)

There are four aspects of development for children, which includes the physical domain, the social domain, the emotional domain and the intellectual domain. It is important to address each individual domain throughout the stages of a child's life. Various aspects of development are worked on depending on the stage of growth the child is in. This is something that after-school programs concentrate on. Since each child grows and develops at a different rate after-school programs are often designed to help each child individually.

Physical Domain

During the younger years children concentrate on perfecting basic skills such as jumping, catching and throwing. Middle aged children are more apt to take these basic skills and further develop them by getting involved in team sports. This is also an important time for children to learn about rules and discipline. As children get older they start to take on activities that provide more structure and discipline such as dancing and music classes.

Social Domain

During the younger years children are avid observers and like to play games where they act out roles that they have seen portrayed by their families. Often times their friendships are short term. Because they are unsure of themselves they rely on adults to be there to reassure them. Middle aged children tend to want to know how things work and why. They relish going to places where they can learn the ins and outs such as a factory. Older children are fonder of learning about things that are different than them such as learning about new cultures and customs of different cultures. They also become more ready to give back and often participate in social work.

Intellectual Domain

During the younger years children have to keep practicing what they are learning in order if they are to retain all that information. Middle aged children on the other hand, take the basic knowledge they have learned and expand on that. Often times they become more interested in reading and problem solving. Older aged children are more likely to want to do more research to find out more in depth knowledge of a subject. They also want to heighten their problem-solving skills by getting a challenging project and working on it until the end.

One of the most distinct traits of after school programs is the need to be aware of the age and the developmental state that the different children are in, only then can they help children of all ages grow in each aspect of development.