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The Frustrating Fours and the Fascinating Fives

Accession number: 
1953.0001
Alternate Titles: 
Petit monde à quatre et cinq ans
French version
Production Years: 
1951 to 1953
Release Year: 

Languages:

Film Properties: 
Length (feet): 
774 (16mm)
Length (minutes): 
22
Holding Institutions: 

Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec: 16mm (French version).
"Le comportement normal des enfants à quatre et cinq ans."

Library and Archives Canada: 16mm, VHS, 3/4".
"The behaviour problems of four and five-year-olds are examined."

"A study of the behavior of four and five year old children at home and at nursery school. At four the vacillation between infantile helplessness and vigorous self-assertion is seen, and at five the development of independence and the beginning of cooperation. Parents observe that, unpredictable as their behavior may be, it's fun to help in the development of the fours and the fives."

"Le comportement normal des enfants à quatre et cinq ans. À quatre ans, l'enfant devient un peu plus indépendant, sa personnalité se précise, il pose d'innombrables questions, il prend conscience de son entourage, son imagination devint plus vive, il commence à se débrouiller seul, mais il manque d'esprit de suite et son sens de l'obéissance s'amenuise un peu. À cinq ans, s'accentuent les qualités et défauts qui perçaient l'année précédente. Pour réussir en éducation, il faut tenir compte des réactions de l'enfant aux divers stades de son développement."

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta: 16mm.
"A study of normal growth and development of a group of nursery school children and a boy at home, at four and five years of age. Motor skills, attention span, interaction with contemporaries, and response to adults are observed. The 4-year old is active, inconsistent, often frustrating to adults. The 5-year old is active, inconsistent, operative, imaginative, and quite likeable."
From the Catalogue of 16mm Educational Motion Pictures. Published by the Educational Media Division, Department of Extension, University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1967.

Bibliography: 

Online database National Film Board of Canada.
"A study of the behavior of four-and-five-year-old children at home and at nursery school. At four the vacillation between infantile helplessness and vigorous self-assertion is seen, and at five the development of independence and the beginning of cooperation. Parents observe that, unpredictable as their behavior may be, it's fun to help in the development of the fours and fives."

"Le comportement des enfants à quatre et cinq ans."

Rohama Lee, "The Frustrating Fours and the Fascinating Fives," Film News 14, no. 4 (1954): 14 (page number not clear).

"This third film in the AGES AND STAGES series follows the zigzag course of a lad named Roddy through the four and five year old behavior stages. This is an age that runs the gamut; and Roddy at home, in nursery school, on the street, on a visit, at the workbench, and in relation to a girl cousin all make for amusing and interesting cinematic incident. Particularly significant is Roddy's first contact with death when he finds his pet canary lifeless. . . . There are social patterns somewhat different from those of the U.S. - as, 'tea' at grandmother's. But the overall tone of the material and its handling are generally acceptable. Where questionable, they provoke healthy discussion among both parents and teachers.
22 mins., b&w. Produced by Crawley Films Ltd. for the National Film Board of Canada. For sale from McGraw-Hill, 330 W. 42nd St., N.Y. 36."

Rohama Lee, "The Frustrating Fours and the Fascinating Fives," Film News 14, no. 4 (1954): 14 (page number not clear).

[Still shot from film showing a young boy and a young girl looking at a picture book; no caption]