Age | Physical /
Motor Skills | Language /
Communication | Thinking /
Cognitive | Social /
Emotional |
Birth to 3 Months | - Makes jerky arm movements
- Holds hands in tight fists
- Brings hand within range of eyes and mouth
- Head falls back when unsupported
- Raises & moves head side to side when lying on their stomach
- Begins reflexes including, sucking, grasping & holding their tongue to the roof of their mouth
| - Infants pay close attention to sounds and language
- Responds to speech by looking at the person speaking
- Reacts to changes in tone, pitch, volume and intonation
- Communicates with movements including crying, jabbering and laughing
- Attempts to mimic sounds
| - Most infants can see within 13 inches clearly
- Starts to focus & follow moving objects and people
- Can see all colors
- Distinguishes tastes involving, sweet, sour, bitter and salty
- Preference for high contrast items
- Responds with facial expressions to strong odors
| - Begins to suck fingers
- Watch and Observe Hands
- Responds positively to touch
- Starts to recognize body parts, examples, arms & legs
- Learns to feel comfort with a familiar adult
- Will respond to touch
- Begins to smile and express pleasure to social interaction
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3 to 6 Months | - Becomes stronger and more alert
- Begins movements utilizing large muscle groups including rolling over and pushing the body forward
- Starts to reach for objects
- Grasps objects and puts them in their mouth
- Makes discoveries of object’s qualities including the noises they make when moving them
| - Loves to have conversations through exchanging sounds, facial expressions and bodily gestures
- Recognizes familiar voices of mom, dad and caregiver
- Listens to conversations
- Repeats some sounds involving vowels and consonants
| - Begins to recognize faces
- Can differentiate people by the way they look, sound or feel
- Reacts to and mimics facial expressions
- Starts to respond to familiar sounds
- Starts to anticipate routine events including changing, feeding and bathing
| - Will begin to initiate social interaction
- Plays peek-a-boo
- Starts to recognize their name
- Can laugh out loud
- Smiles more freely
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6 to 9
Months | - Babies becomes more mobile
- Starts reaching and pulling up on furniture
- Begins motions to crawl
- Grasps and pull objects towards themselves
- Transfers items between hands
| - Vocals increase
- Begins repetitive jabbering
- Can associate gestures with small words and two word phrases like “hey” and “bye-bye”
- Starts to use vocal & non-vocal communication to express interest
| - At an early age, babies try to learn how things work
- Begin to stare longer at suspended objects
- Can distinguish between nonliving and living objects
- Uses size of objects to decipher how close or far away they are
| - Begins to show preferences for familiar people
- Expresses more emotions
- Will respond to voices & gestures
- Will display discontentment at the loss of a toy
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9 to 12 Months | - Babies will begin to sit and stand without support
- Starts walking with assistance
- Can roll a ball and throw objects
- Will pick up and drop toys
- Begins picking up objects using thumb and one finger
| - Children begin trying to talk
- Babies can recognize the names of familiar individuals and objects
- Displays understanding by responding with body language and facial expressions
- Can say a few simple words
- Understands and responds to “No-no” by stopping
| - Responds to simple questions & directions with gestures, sounds and some words
- Expresses pleasure when looking at picture books
- Explores how things work
- Experiments with physical objects, turning items over and fitting them into larger containers
| - Imitates simple actions
- Become responsive to their name
- Will begin to feed themselves finger foods
- Starts to hold cup with both hands and assistance
- Expresses apprehension when separated from mom or dad
- Waves “Bye-bye”
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1 to 2 Years | - Self-initiated movements become easier
- Begins to walk alone
- Will try to walk backwards
- Picks up objects while standing
- Can seat self in children’s chairs
- Pushes and pulls objects
- Can walk up & down stairs with assistance
- Moves in response to music/singing
- Begins to scribble using fisted hand
| - Starts to repeat & understand many words & simple phrases
- Follows series of simple directions
- Can communicate a few words clearly
- Can say single words to explain an event or request for an object
- At 18 months children begin learning about 9 words a day
| - Spends a great deal of time observing and imitating adult’s actions and language
- Understands words & instructions by responding correctly
- Begins matching like objects
- Starts recognizing characters in books & movies with help
- Can distinguish between “you” & “me”
| - Will begin to recognize themselves in pictures and the mirror
- Obeys few commands
- Begins to play by themselves & mimic adult behaviors during play
- Shows pleasure in new accomplishments
- Expresses negative feelings
- Starts to help with small tasks
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2 to 3
Years | - Become more comfortable with motions, increased speed and coordination
- Begins movements such as, running, jumping with both feet, walking on tip toes and kicking
- Can stand on one foot with support
- Turns pages of books
- Holds drawing utensils with thumb and finger, not fist
- Children are able to maneuver small objects with more control
| - Starts to join words to form short sentences
- Begins to use modifiers (adverbs and adjectives)
- Begins to point to familiar objects as they are named
- Names objects based on their descriptions
- Responds to simple questions including “where?” and “what?”
- Enjoys listening to stories and reading books
- Starts to recall and explain events that occurred that day
| - Begins to group objects by category
- Identifies themselves in the mirror or pictures
- Chooses picture books
- Starts to identify objects by sound or picture
- Enjoys role-play and imitating adult actions, for example playing house
- Can stack items in order of their size
- Relates what they are doing to what others are doing
| - Starts to identify gender differences
- Indicates the need to “potty”
- Assists with dressing and undressing themselves
- Is assertive about their preferences
- Uses “I” “me” and own name
- Illustrates fear of things
- Becomes defensive of possessions
- Participates in activities such as singing, clapping and dancing
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3 to 4 Years | - Children have improved movements & balance including, walking in a line, running around objects, balancing on one foot and steering push toys
- Begins to ride tricycle
- Starts to throw and catch a ball
- Can build towers with blocks
- Begins drawing shapes
- Can use slide without help
| - Language becomes more complex
- Able to communicate more understandably
- Uses more correct grammar such as plurals and tenses
- Understands & recognizes size comparisons involving big and small
- Understands time concepts and narrates past occurrences
- Can sing songs and repeat nursery rhymes
| - Begins sorting objects based on physical attributes, including matching colors and shapes.
- Organizes materials without help
- Can identify parts of a whole
- Starts to learn how to write their own name
- Can tell you their full name & age
- Can attend to an activity for an extended amount of time
| - Begins to follow directions
- Can wash hands & blow nose when reminded
- Begins to share toys & take turns
- Uses term “we”
- Initiates or joins other children in playing
- Starts to create own games
- Plays pretend (example, acting as animals, parents or objects)
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4 to 5 Years | - Children are more confident with large movements including walking backwards, skipping, jumping forward, hopping on one foot, and walking up & down stairs alternating feet
- Begins turning flips and learning somersaults
- Can use children’s scissors and cut in a continuous line
- Copies more complex shapes
- Children can start writing a few letters
| - Tries to retell stories, sometimes confusing a few facts
- Combines thoughts to form sentences
- · More curious, starts asking “when?” “how?” and “why?” questions
- Can follow a series of unlike commands
- Understands sequencing of events and comparatives using “er” & “est”
- Begins using words like “can,” “might,” “will,” “should,” and “shall.”
| - Can mimic and make sounds of letters
- Begins to make rhymes with words
- Can point to and name colors
- Comprehends order and processes
- Learns to write name
- Describes pictures
- Can draw a person with details
- Counts to five
- Is able to articulate their street address and town
| - Shows understanding of good & bad behavior
- Begins to compare themselves with others
- Acknowledges others feelings
- Develops friendships
- Begins imaginative play
- Curious of opposite sex & other children’s bodies
- Becomes Competitive
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