A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child ignores all attributes that are not apparent.

A program of early-childhood education that originated in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and that encourages each child’s creativity in a carefully designed setting.

The practical use of language that includes the ability to adjust language communication according to audience and context.

When a person imitates an action that is not a relevant part of the behavior to be learned. Overimitation is common among 2- to 6-year-olds when they imitate adult actions that are irrelevant and inefficient.

A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child thinks that nothing can be undone. A thing cannot be restored to the way it was before a change occurred.

Children who develop skills in two languages are dual language learners. Ideally education fosters proficiency in two languages rather than creating a language shift.

The idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear by constructing theories.

A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child focuses (centers) on one idea, excluding all others.

Vygotsky’s term for the skills—cognitive as well as physical—that a person can exercise only with assistance, not yet independently.

A person who is fluent in two languages, not favoring one over the other.

A person’s theory of what other people might be thinking. In order to have a theory of mind, children must realize that other people are not necessarily thinking the same thoughts that they themselves are. That realization seldom occurs before age 4.

The principle that the amount of a substance remains the same (i.e., is conserved) even when its appearance changes.

Temporary support that is tailored to a learner’s needs and abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given learning process.

A federally funded early-childhood intervention program for low-income children of preschool age.

The application of rules of grammar even when exceptions occur, making the language seem more “regular” than it actually is.

The speedy and sometimes imprecise way in which children learn new words by tentatively placing them in mental categories according to their perceived meaning.

Schools that offer early-childhood education based on the philosophy of Maria Montessori, which emphasizes careful work and tasks that each young child can do.

A major accomplishment of preoperational intelligence that allows a child to think symbolically, including understanding that words can refer to things not seen and that an item, such as a flag, can symbolize something else (in this case, for instance, a country).

Piaget’s term for children’s tendency to think about the world entirely from their own personal perspective.

The belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive.

Piaget’s term for cognitive development between the ages of about 2 and 6; it includes language and imagination (which involve symbolic thought), but logical, operational thinking is not yet possible at this stage.

A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child thinks that nothing changes. Whatever is now has always been and always will be.