6th Grade Development Guide
6th Grade Development Guide
What’s Going on with My 6th Grader?
The 6th grade year is an exciting year filled with the transition from childhood to adolescence. Here is a guide to help give you a glimpse of what might be going on inside your brand-new 6th grader.
Physical Development
A “Hormone Cocktail” kick starts puberty and prepares the body to begin the process of growing into adulthood.
These hormones are not released consistently and may cause wild mood swings, brought on by this hormonal imbalance.
Boys may begin to grow facial and pubic hair.
Boys may notice their voice “cracking” and sounding deeper.
Girls may grow pubic hair and develop breasts.
Girls may get their period.
There may be a high energy level, but it is balanced by a high need for rest.
Girls typically experience growth spurts before boys do.
Bones and muscles are not growing at the same rate, which may lead to feelings of awkwardness and clumsiness.
There is an increased need to pay attention to personal hygiene.
Be prepared for an increase in your grocery bill – growing bodies experience an increase in appetite!
Emotional Development
The 6th grader may:
Become moody and easily frustrated
Experiment with “off-color” humor and silliness
Show more concern for body image
Begin to express feelings more frequently
Experience emotions in extremes
Be characterized by curiosity
Become more socially expansive and aware
Express less affection for parents
Encounter periods of sadness, depression, and desperation, which can lead to poor coping habits
Relational Development
Friendships change, due to new schools, and change of affinity groups.
Girls tend to build friendships in groups of 2-3.
Boys tend to build friendships in “packs” of 8-10, based on affinity
Boys struggle with being “loners” if they do not find a pack of friends
Wild mood swings cause relational turmoil in friendships
Struggles occur with being rejected by a friend or left out of a group of friends.
Spiritual Development
Concrete thinking begins to give way to abstract thinking, which creates a new world of questions about faith and spiritual things.
The desire to question and disagree with their parents’ beliefs arises, but it is tamed by fear to express those doubts
Their major concern for God is how He can help them in their daily lives
There is a struggle to see the relevance of the Bible in their daily lives.
Through relationships with significant adults, spiritual lessons are more “caught” than taught.
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