Cognitive development theories have helped me to better understand my early life events. An understanding of Piaget's preoperational stage has given me a broader understanding of learning to finger paint as a four year old preschooler. Similarly, Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding has helped clarify my experience of reading with teacher in kindergarten.

             Piaget's preoperational stage provides a useful understanding of my cognitive development in preschool. In this case, my cognitive-related life event centers around learning to finger paint at the age of four. I distinctly remember the teacher putting the apron on me, showing me the paints and paper, and putting my hand in the paint.

             Piaget's preoperational stage takes place from approximately two to seven years of age. In this stage, children can solve concrete and practical problems, and are often illogical and magical in their thinking (Slater, 2003).

             Piaget's Preoperational stage applies to my finger-painting example in many ways. One key feature of this stage is working independently (Slater, 2003). After my teacher patiently introduced me to finger painting, I was able to work independently in creating my picture with no trouble.

             As Slater (2003) notes, children in this stage can "represent information and ideas by means of symbols" (p. 44). I recall painting a large yellow sun when finger painting, and thinking that the sun I painted on the page represented the sun in the sky. This is a clear example of representing the idea of the sun by a symbol finger painted on paper.

             Similarly, I recall noting that the sun that I painted was happy. This is a clear example of childish animism in thinking that is common during the preoperational stage. In my case, I attributed a life-like quality, happiness, to an inanimate object, the sun.

             Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, which focuses on how culture contributes to development (Butterworth, 1994), provides a useful framework of understanding my cognitive development in kindergarten.