North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Emotional and Social Development (ESD)

Subdomain: Developing a Sense of Self

Goal: Children demonstrate a positive sense of self-identify and self-awareness.

Skill Progression: Awareness of self through emotional expressions and verbalizations

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List of Skills by Age

1-2 Months

Cries to express hunger, discomfort, pain or distress

2-4 Months

Smiles at self in mirror

4-6 Months

Imitates sounds made by adult

6-8 Months

Responds to own name by turning to look

8-10 Months

May kiss self in mirror

10-12 Months

Tries to make adults laugh with antics

12-15 Months

Uses names of family members

15-18 Months

Uses “my/mine”

18-21 Months

Recognizes and names self and others in mirror

21-24 Months

Describes self and body parts

24-27 Months

Knows concept of and uses terms “his/hers”

27-30 Months

Demonstrates categorical knowledge of self (age, sex, physical characteristics, good or bad behavior, skills)

30-33 Months

Expresses feelings such as fear, anger, and affection

33-36 Months

Knows own first and last name

36-42 Months

Uses pronouns appropriately

Understands and uses terms for family relationships

42-48 Months

Talks about rules for “do’s” and “don’ts” for self and others

48-54 Months

Teaches someone how to do something with verbal directions

54-60 Months

Uses language to explain, justify, and argue own actions and beliefs

 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/.