Gross Motor Skills

---

• Walk upstairs without a rail alternating feet
• Ride a tricycle
• Climb up a rock wall independently
• Run 45 feet in 6 seconds
• Jump forward 26 inches
• Throw ball overhand with coordination
• Throw ball underhand to hit a target from 5 feet

---

Fine Motor Skills /Visual Motor Skills

---

• Build a tower of 9-10 small blocks
• Make continuous cuts with child-safe scissors
• Copy a horizontal line
• Copy a circle
• Imitate making a 3-block bridge
• Can complete in-hand manipulation with stabilization
• Use fingers to show age
• Make a fist and wiggle thumb
• Roll clay or play dough on table to make ropes
• Trace around the edges of basic shape templates
• Lace 3 holes or more on a lace board
• Cut a piece of paper in half with scissors on a more or less straight line
• Copy a vertical-horizontal cross

---

Self-Care

---

• Dries hands
• Brushing teeth with assistance from an adult

Tip: Give your child simple choices, such as what to wear or what snack to eat

---

Speech & Communication

---

• Can be understood by all listeners 75% of the time
• Converse in 3 to 4 word sentences
• Follow simple 3-step related commands
• Ask one-word “why” questions
• Use “what,” “where,” “when,” “how,” and “whose,” when asking questions
• Respond to “wh- “questions (who, what, when, where, why)
• Use regular plural –s (example: socks, shoes)
• Use possessive –s (example: baby’s bottle)

---

Oral Motor Skills & Feeding

---

• Can be understood by all listeners 75% of the time
• Converse in 3 to4 word sentences
• Follow simple 3-step related commands
• Ask one-word “why” questions
• Use “what,” “where,” “when,” “how,” and “whose,” when asking questions
• Respond to “wh- “questions (who, what, when, where, why)
• Use regular plural –s (example: socks, shoes)
• Use possessive –s (example: baby’s bottle)

---

Sensory & Sleeping

---

• Able to calm self to sleep at night
• Expresses emotions
• Tolerates different clothing textures
• Copes in a noisy environment

Interesting fact: Did you know that it is recommended for your child to get 10-13 hours of sleep per day (including naps) at this age?

---

Understanding & Thinking Skills

---

• Complete an easy puzzle
• Sort objects
• Counting 1-5
• Understands common dangers, such as hot surface, stairs, etc

---

Social/Play

---

• Cooperative play: play by rules and in groups with increase in dramatic and imitative play

---

Best Toys at This Age

---

• Tricycle
• 3 wheeled scooters
• Play dough
• Toys that encourage imaginative play such as baby doll, cars, toy kitchen
• Building blocks
• Simple puzzles
• Sorting cups
• Matching games
• Toys with various textures, such as kinetic sand, slime, etc.

---

Gross Motor Skills

---

• Stand on one foot with hands on hips for 5 seconds
• Walk 4 feet on a line with hands on hips
• Run with appropriate form
• Walk 8 feet on a line with hands on hips
• Catch a large ball with hands only from 5 feet
• Climb down rock wall independently
• Stand on tiptoes with arms overhead for 3 seconds
• Walk downstairs without a rail using an alternating pattern
• Hop forward 6 inches on 1 foot
• Throw ball overhand to hit target from 5 feet
• Run and stop within 2 steps
• Walk backwards on a line 4 feet with hands on hips
• Jump forward 30 inches
• Hop 3-5 times on each foot
• Throw ball underhand 10 feet while stepping

Tip: Talk through solutions to a problem with your child to help them develop their problem solving skills

---

Fine Motor Skills/Visual Motor Skills

---

• Imitate drawing an oblique cross
• Build a tower of more than 9 blocks without help
• Button and unbutton large buttons
• Cut on a line within ½ inch
• Fork held in standard position
• Button and unbutton quarter-inch buttons
• Make a flat, round cake by pressing and patting dough on table with fingers
• Put 3 things in order, such as hard to soft or full to empty
• Trace and stay on a 3-inch, pencil-thick, horizontal line most of the time

Begin to copy some vertical/horizontal letters

---

Self-Care

---

• Put shoes on completely, on correct feet
• Brush teeth with horizontal and vertical motions
• Take off tops and bottoms
• Put on t-shirts or sweaters with a bit of help
• Put on pants, but need help doing them up
• Do up large buttons and pull up zipper once it is started
• Wash herself in the tub with supervision (except washing hair)
• Wash his hands and face at the sink by himself
• Help with brushing hair
• Wipe her own nose

---

Speech & Communication Skills

---

• Consistently use 4 to 5 word sentences, with correct sentence structure
• Can be understood by all listeners 80% of the time
• Verbally relate a personal experience/story
• Ask many questions including “who?” and “why?”
• Use regular and irregular past tense verbs consistently and regular 3rd person (He sits)
• Use most pronouns (our, theirs, hers, myself)
• Has 1500+ words in vocabulary
• Use contractions (can’t, don’t, I’ve)
• Identify colors
• Begin Serve self with a large spoon or fork from a jar
• Able to chew all textures
• to use complex sentences (+ prepositional phrase)
• Use most speech sounds correctly (exceptions: th, r, r-blends)
• Follow 2-step related directions without cues

Tip: Talk to your child in full sentences to help improve their use of longer and more complex sentences

---

Oral Motor Skills & Feeding

---

• Serve self with a large spoon or fork from a jar
• Able to chew all textures

---

Sensory & Sleeping

---

• Able to calm self to sleep at night
• Expresses emotions
• Tolerates different clothing textures
• Copes in a noisy environment

---

Understanding & Thinking Skills

---

• Be able to sort and match objects
• Organize objects by size
• Identify parts of a whole, such as a wheel on a car
• Draw a simple picture and tell you what it is
• Tell you their full name and age
• Have a basic understanding of time, such as knowing the difference between past and present

Tip: Allow your child to begin helping with simple chores around the house

---

Social/Play

---

• Share toys, taking turns with help
• Might be bossy and defiant
• Show more independence
• Experience a broad range of emotions (ie: jealousy, excitement, fear, happiness, anger)
• Become less egocentric
• Be more even-tempered and cooperative with parents
• May show attachment to one friend

---

Best Toys at This Age

---

• Tricycle
• 3 wheeled scooters
• Play dough
• Toys that encourage imaginative play such as baby doll, cars, toy kitchen
• Building blocks
• Simple puzzles
• Sorting cups
• Matching games
• Toys with various textures, such as kinetic sand, slime, etc

---

Red Flags

---

• Walks on toes all the time
• Persistent pain or fatigue
• Skills are regressing
• Not able to cut across a piece of paper with scissors
• Cannot copy a cross or draw a circle
• Cannot use a fork and spoon well
• Not able to put on own pants, socks or shoes
• Sentences are not growing in length or complexity
• Poor sorting or matching skills
• Difficulty asking and answering questions
• Not easily understood by family members or familiar people
• Regular coughing or choking during eating
• Lots of leakage of food or liquid from the mouth
• Holding food inside pockets in mouth for long periods
• Difficulty accepting new textures of food
• Not able to complete a simple 4-6 piece puzzle
• Not able to recognize at least 3 colors or shapes
• Not able to initiate or join in play with other children
• Is extremely rigid with routines and becomes upset if there is a change in routine
• Extreme difficulty separating from parent or caregiver
• Has extreme fears that interfere with daily activities

---