GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
- Use alternate feet on the stairs.
- Jump with two feet.
- Use door handles.
- Control big muscle movements more easily. They may be able to start, stop, turn, and go around obstacles while running.
- Throw and bounce a ball.
- Jump over objects and climb playground ladders.
- Pedal and steer a tricycle or bike.
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
- Get dressed with minimal help (zippers, snaps and buttons.)
- Draw or copy basic shapes and crosses (this is a milestone known as “being able to cross the midline.”)
- Write some letters or make separate and distinct marks that look like letters.
- Put together a simple puzzle.
- Begin to use scissors purposefully.
- Stack a tower at least 10 blocks high.
- String beads.
- Pinch and shape clay or play-dough into recognizable objects.
COGNITIVE MILESTONES
- Start sorting things by attributes like size, shape, and colour.
- Compare and contrast by things like height, size, or gender.
- Begin to understand the difference between real and make-believe.
- Understand that pictures and symbols stand for real things.
- Recognize shapes in the real world.
- Count to at least 20 and also count items in a group.
- Explore relationships between ideas.
- Start thinking in logical steps, which means understanding how something happens and its results.
- Get abstract ideas like “bigger,” “less,” “later,” “ago,” and “soon.”
- Put things in order, like from biggest to smallest, shortest to tallest.
- Stick with an activity for 10 to 15 minutes straight.
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL MILESTONES
- Start to show and express a wider range of emotion.
- Share, cooperate, be helpful and take turns.
- Enjoy telling silly jokes and find other things funny.
- Begin telling small lies to get out of trouble, even though they know it’s wrong.
- Have imaginary friends and play the same imaginary games over and over.
- Start playing with other kids and separate from parents and caregivers more easily.
LANGUAGE/COMMUNICATION MILESTONES\
- Say sentences with four or more words.
- Say some words from a song, story, or nursery rhyme.
- Talk about at least one thing that happened during their day, like “I played in the sandpit.”
- Answer simple questions like “What is a pencil for?”
- Say the sounds at the beginning, middle, and end of words.
