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Engages in pretend play, knows what different characters would say or do, understands it is pretend
Desires to do things by himself such as tearing, unwrapping and putting things together
Demonstrates nurturing, caring, control in dramatic play
Resists help; desires to do things independently, such as dressing, eating, etc.
Cooperates in games with others
: Knows simple rules of the family (e.g., pick up toys when done playing)
Standing: Briefly stands on tip toes
Jumps down from a step or small chair
Catches a large ball that is close with arms bent
Stands on one foot for several seconds
Walks up and down stairs alternating feet with support
Bends knees and jumps backward several inches
Skills combined into Manipulation/Tool use
Skills combined into Manipulation/Tool use
Makes random snips with scissors on paper with no forward movement of scissors
May create separated, tight scribble marks
Starts adding color to drawings
Eats the same foods as the rest of the family
Tries to put both feet in one leg hole
Adequately blows and wipes nose upon request
Girls ask to urinate in the toilet
Grades mouth-opening to size of the bite
Puts pajamas and other folded clothing in a drawer
Follows two-step related directions
Identifies objects by function
Communicates about previous experiences when adult talks about them and asks questions
Conversations begin to be directed to other children, as well as self and adults
Answers variety of simple questions asked by another accurately
Starts to ask “who” and “where” questions
May delete one consonant from a consonant blend (e.g., top/stop)
Modifies nouns in an object position (e.g., Daddy is a big man.)
Produces vague stories about something that happened (“I falled”)
Produces have and do as auxiliary verbs (“Do you like apples?”)
Produces infinitive verb phrases with hafta, wanna, gonna. (e.g., “I wanna go”)
Knows first three count or number words
Uses at least one color description word
Uses over extension (uses one word too broadly) (e.g., all animals with four legs are dogs)
Expands use of relational words (in, on, under)
Uses action/event terms (e.g., bring, take/ snack, lunch)
Recites text from a familiar predictable book
Requests adult read the same book repeatedly
Recites text from a familiar, predictable book
Answers simple questions about the pictures in the book
Recognizes and identifies almost all common objects and pictures
Recognizes some familiar environmental signs or symbols
Understands the difference between words with similar phonemes such as “pat” and “path”
Creates separated, tight scribble marks
Draws different strokes, dots, and circular shapes
Investigates how to manipulate things by tearing, stretching, unwrapping, etc.
Fills in missing words in familiar books, songs, rhymes, etc.
Uses the words “think,” and “know” to express understanding of something
Incorporates others into dramatic play and understands their intentions
Decides what others should do or say in dramatic play
Attends to more than one characteristic of objects at a time (sound and movement)
Attends to more than one characteristic of objects at a time (visual and sensory)
Experiments with different types of movements
Makes wild swings and kicks with arms and legs to tempo (fast/slow); dances on toes
Experiments with making marks on all different surfaces to see the results (walls, table, floor)
Squeezes, flattens, and puts chunks of play dough together and takes them apart
Shares toys, helps others, cooperates in games, shows empathic concern
Plays with others in a small group of children (even if in parallel play)
Notices and talks about differences in people’s size, eye color, skin color, hair, etc.
Counts up to 4 items in a collection
Identifies first in a sequence and sometimes the second
Identifies more than 3 as “many”
Size: Knows size words (big, little), but may not be able to tell which of two things is bigger
Height: Recognizes taller on the height chart
Time: Uses words implying past, present and future; uses morning, afternoon, night, tomorrow
Makes up simple non-repeating patterns with blocks, beads of different shapes or colors
Thinks many things are alive that are not, but beginning to understand alive and not alive
Matches basic shape blocks with different orientation
Prefers whole items, does not recognize pieces make a whole (gets upset if a cookie is broken)
Begins building vertically and horizontally together with blocks
Knows words indicating spatial understanding (outdoors, upstairs)
Knows directional word (including up, down, out, in, over, under) with regard to movement
Makes simple predictions about what will happen (drop rock in water)
 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015
©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.