List of Skills by Age
1-2 Months
2-4 Months
4-6 Months
6-8 Months
8-10 Months
10-12 Months
Makes random scribbles with crayon or marker using fisted grasp
12-15 Months
Makes random scribbles with crayon or marker using fisted grasp
15-18 Months
Makes random scribbles with crayon or marker, begins to use fingers in grasp some of the time
18-21 Months
Tries to imitate adult's drawing strokes, but without representational intent
21-24 Months
Names scribbles as representing something
Combines sand, water for tactile play
24-27 Months
Makes circles inside of circles, radiating lines from circles, and repetitive line formations
Engages in sensory art such as play dough, finger paints, etc.
27-30 Months
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
30-33 Months
Tries to draw lines, angles, zigzags
Draws circles to represent everything
33-36 Months
Constructs structures or items for dramatic play (e.g., makes box into a car)
Creates pictures with fingers in writing position
36-42 Months
Asks adults to show them how to draw or create something
Makes collages with all kinds of materials, glues things together
42-48 Months
Uses tools with play dough (cookie cutters, rollers, scissors)
Uses glue, sparkly materials to make art projects
48-54 Months
Creates representations with paper, clay, sand, small boxes, etc.
Makes art projects with a variety of tactile materials and fasteners
Draws squares and rectangular shapes
54-60 Months
Uses a variety of tools, scissors, markers, fasteners to create scenes, props, etc.
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/.