Experiment, discover, identify

The urge to experiment intensifies. Children want to know why and how something happens. Anything that can be taken apart and put back together again makes a really exciting toy. Memory is slowly established and with that comes a sense of time.

Established abilities are more finely tuned. They learn, for example, to recognise the subtleties of mixed colours and light and dark. They are now ready to concentrate on details, which helps to train perception, attention and concentration.

Speech continues to develop and children begin to understand simple rules. First games like placement games or puzzles should not take too long because they still lack concentration and the urge to get up and explore is too strong to ignore.

In time, children discover their own egos – they become little characters and want to carry out given tasks independently. By the end of their third year, children are very proud to be able to dress themselves, wash themselves and to help in the home.