The formative years in a child development are generally considered the years between the ages of birth and five years old. While each child is individual and will develop at a slightly different pace, the following is a guide. The following is a list of observable milestone's in children's development.
Birth-One
One-Two
Two-Three
Three-Four
Four-Five
Five-Six
BETWEEN BIRTH AND ONE YEAR
Progress should include:
Physical growth and Development
- creeping forward or backward
- sitting up by self when put down on the floor
- beginning to stand while holding on to support, and pulling self to a standing position
- looking directly at an item within twelve inches, and following its movement with the eyes
- reaching for and grasping small objects
- able to pass items from one hand to the other
Social Growth
- vocalizing to get attention
- smiling at a familiar adult
- laughing out loud
- starting to bite food, eat mashed table foods with a spoon when helped, and drinking from a cup when helped
- responding differently to children and adults
- occupying self for up to 20 minutes
- showing a preference for one or more toys
Intellectual Growth
- reaching to own mirror image
- playing patty-cake and peek-a-boo
- attending briefly to pictures when they are being named
- offering an object in response to "give it to me"
- searching for a toy when it is moved out of sight
- exploring visually and physically (putting small objects "in" and "out" shaking, mouthing or dropping a toy)
Speech and Language Development
- experimenting with sounds (ga-ga, oooh, etc,) and using front consonant sounds when babbling (b,p,m)
- using "ma-ma" or da-da" and at least two other words
- showing understanding and maybe using "no"
- trying to imitate sounds and facial expressions
- using loud and soft voice
- responding to own name
BETWEEN ONE AND TWO
Progress should Include:
Physical Growth and Development
walking and running, though may fall frequently
- unscrewing lids, etc, and turning doorknobs with both hands
- kicking a large ball forward
- jumping on both feet
- beginning to walk up and down stairs one step at a time while holding on to a hand
- throwing a ball
Social Growth
- interacting with peers in a physical manner by touching, pushing, giving or taking a toy
- wanting to do as much as she/he can alone
- exhibiting strong reactions, sometimes negative, expecially if she/he does not get own way
- following simple directions
- beginning to cooperate with toilet training
- beginning to help dress self
- enjoying active play (assisting in household chores, using toys designed to push, pull, dump, ride)
Intellectual Growth
- being able to match like shapes (e.g., circle, square)
- imitating pointing to named body parts
- making a few marks on paper with pencil or crayon
- beginning to be able to find named items in a picture
- beginning very simple pretend play
- turning pages of books
- repeatedly practicing simple skills to develop mastery
Speech and Language
- combining two words to make a phrase
- beginning to use verbs, descriptive words, and many names of items
- enjoying listening to nursery rhymes
- using "yes" and "no"
- pointing to a desired object, accompanied by a vocalization
- understanding meaning of "mine"
- vocabulary grows to include approximately 50 words
BETWEEN TWO AND THREE YEARS
Progress should include:
Physical Growth and Development
- climbing up and down stairs, two feet per step
- threading large beads on shoe laces
- learning finger grasp on crayons and pencils
- galloping
- imitating a vertical stroke on paper with pencil
- standing on one foot with help
Social Growth
- dressing and undressing self more independently
- paying attention to stories for up to 10 minutes
- beginning to participate in a task or activity with a peer
- asking for parental approval for his/her products and activities
- separating from the parent with little anxiety
- toileting skills almost completely accomplished
- beginning to take turns with an adult
Intellectual Growth
- participating in more frequent and more complex pretend play
- knowing "boy" and "girl"
- able to play games with one simple rule
- making simple drawings and telling about them
- understanding concept of "one"
- matching objects by colors
Speech and Language Development
- talking about own feelings and telling about events
- talking in short sentences
- following simple three step directions
- beginning to use pronouns (I, me, etc.)
- beginning to understand a few prepositions as "in," "on," etc.
- understanding "who," "when," "how," and "why," questions
BETWEEN THREE AND FOUR
Progress should include:
Physical Growth and Development
- being able to hop on two feet and broad jump a short distance
- riding a tricycle
- learning to cut with primary scissors
- being able to build an eight block tower
- drawing a circle and printing some letters
- catching a bounced ball
Social Growth
- performing some simple tasks (e.g., putting away his/her own toys)
- role playing with dress up clothes
- brushing teeth without assistance
- playing independently
- being able to give and take when playing with a peer
- beginning to engage in pretend play with peers
Intellectual Growth
- naming three primary colors (yellow, red, blue, green)
- pointing to and counting four items
- naming then body parts
- distinguishing simple concepts (big-little, longer of two items, etc.)
- knowing familiar shapes (circle, square, triangle)
- ordering five objects by size
- categorizing similar things into groups
Speech and Language Development
- asking questions about activities
- talking in three to five words sentences much of the time
- telling properties of items (e.g., hot, cold, heavy, light)
- using "please" and "thank you"
- showing or telling how a familiar object is used
- understanding feeling words such as mad, happy, scared
BETWEEN FOUR AND FIVE YEARS,
Progress should include:
Physical Growth and Development
- being able to print own first name
- coloring within lines of a circle
- showing ability to pick up the tempo of music with body movements
- being able to kick a ball at a specified target
- bouncing and catching a large ball under control
- learning to roller skate a short distance if helped
Social Growth
- using a table knife to spread
- learning own name, address, and phone number
- being able to run short errands with simple directions
- dressing and undressing with ease, including buttoning, zipping, snapping and tying
- attending and participating in ten minute group
- playing group games involving taking turns and rules
Intellectual Growth
- knowing most primary colors
- counting up to ten
- starting to understand "real" and "pretend"
- understanding time concepts more clearly (today, yesterday, morning, afternoon)
- adding missing parts to figure drawings
- identifying a familiar item when its characteristics are presented in a guessing game (e.g, I say "moo" and I eat grass. I am a ____)
- naming what material objects are made of (wood, plastic)
Speech and Language Development
- being able to say a few nursery rhymes
- articulating most sounds correctly (p,b,m,t,d,n,g,h,y, and ng)
- using many pronouns (I, me, he, she, them, etc.)
- singing some simple songs
- being able to retell a short story in his/her own words
- asking the meaning of words
BETWEEN FIVE AND SIX YEARS,
Progress should include:
Physical Growth and Development
- being able to trace around own hand
- walking on a narrow tape mark or balance beam
- being able to draw a circle, square, and triangle
- showing she/he can learn to jump rope while others are turning
- riding a two-wheeled bicycle with training wheels
- being able to hop on one foot, and beginning to skip
- copying letters with little difficulty
Social Growth
- attending and contributing in a 20 minute group
- following and naming rules of school and family life
- looking both ways, and recognizing when it is safe to cross streets
- being able to dial own phone number
- playing cooperatively with peers including planning and carrying out activities
- showing sensitivity to others feelings and responses
- understanding that it is unsafe to accept items from strangers
Intellectual Growth
- knowing the seasons and their properties (summer: hot, Winter: snowy, etc)
- telling many causative agents of sounds (barking: it's a dog, honking: it's a car etc.)
- showing an understanding of first, middle, and last
- knowing what item doesn't belong from four items (of shoe, sock, boot, and spoon, spoon being un-related)
- putting together six and eight piece puzzles easily
- knowing left and right
- retelling stories in accurate detail
Speech and Language Development
- recognizing that words sometimes have more than one meaning
- understanding of opposites
- knowing all prepositions (in, on, under, over, beside, between, etc.)
- responding on own in group discussions
- being able to tell rhyming words
- talking in long sentences with speech that is easy to understand
This information is provided by the Child Find Program. Child Find is a free service to locate, identify and evaluate children who may need assistance in development. The program provides screening and, when appropriate, a comprehensive multi-disciplinary evaluation for children who may be in need of early childhood services or special education programs. Contact your local schools district office for the Child Find Representative in your area.
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