• Pre-Conscience
  Moral behavior in children consists of learned, concrete patterns of behavior that are followed in order to receive rewards, avoid punishment or satisfy an authority figure. Children are emotionally attached to parents and leaders, therefore they are usually willing to do what adults ask them to do, and to believe anything adults say . . . unless adults have shown themselves to be untrustworthy or if children are asserting their independence!
  
  
• Bound by Sensory Perceptions
  Children deal with that which they experience perceptually through their five senses: taste, touch, sight, smell and sound. They focus on just one aspect of a situation at a time.
  
  
• Love, Acceptance and Security
  Children develop a sense of belonging, competence and worth as they experience love and acceptance from parents, leaders and peers. The secure feeling of being loved is the foundation on which a child can build love toward others.
  
  
• Choices and Challenges
  A child learns to assume responsibility by being given the opportunity to make choices. Children who are never challenged to make choices or to experience different ways of learning, have difficulty in adjusting when they are presented with a new situation. Allowing children the opportunity to make choices increases motivation, resulting in better learning.
  
  
• Praise and Recognition
  Every child needs to be recognized as a worthwhile individual. Leaders need to focus on a child's positive behavior by deliberately looking for his or her The strengths-the things the child does well. Criticism, ridicule and sarcasm only retard a child's development by tearing down self-image.
  
  
• Independence and Responsibility
  Children need increased opportunities to gain personal independence in order to become mature adults. Organize classrooms so learners can accept the responsibility for care of materials. For example, consistently arrange equipment and supplies so children can locate, use and return materials as needed. Another way to guide children in accepting responsibility is by appointing helpers to be in charge of materials and classroom care. Rotate these jobs so all learners can participate. Establish and communicate routine cleanup and care procedures. Be sure children understand clearly what is expected of them. The additional effort and patience required to allow learners to become increasingly independent and responsible for actions will prove valuable to leaders and learners alike.
  
  
• Concrete Thinkers
  Children sometimes have difficulty in distinguishing between reality and fantasy. They believe, "If I think so, then it must really be so." They understand language only in concrete terms. Introduce metaphors, symbols or abstract ideas with concrete first-hand experiences. Use them sparingly. Children take people literally.
  
  
• Three Key Principles
  Because children think concretely, and many concepts in this curriculum are abstract, it is important to continually apply three principles that govern how children think:

2) Children's thinking depends on the quality and quantity of first-hand experiences.
First-hand experiences give children the opportunity to use their five senses to gain understanding. When a leader wants a child to experience an abstract concept like kindness, the leader creates a first-hand experience to demonstrate. Example: Look for a time when a child is kind and then say, "Nicholas, giving your pencil to Peter is a kind thing to do."

3) Children need activities.
Besides the limitations of perspective and first-hand experiences, a child's mental development requires physical objects to manipulate. Abstract ideas must be recast in physical terms for the child to attach meaning to them.