North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Cognitive Development (CD)

Subdomain: Social Connections

Goal: Children recognize that they are members of different groups (e.g., family, preschool class, cultural groups).

Skill Progression: Recognize they are members of different groups

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List of Skills by Age

1-2 Months

Stares at faces, particularly eyes and contours

2-4 Months

Responds differently to family members and strangers

4-6 Months

Distinguishes photos of family members from those of strangers

6-8 Months

May show distress when strangers are near

8-10 Months

Plays near familiar adult

10-12 Months

Demonstrates separation distress

Demonstrates stranger anxiety

Gender stereotyping not evident in toy preferences

12-15 Months

Participates with parent doing household routines (washing plastic dishes, wiping high chair table, etc.)

15-18 Months

Uses words “mama” and “dada” and maybe names of family members

Stares longer at persons of another race (recognizes difference)

18-21 Months

Moves away from adults

Seeks play with siblings, peers, or other familiar persons

Play and toys may be gender stereotyped

21-24 Months

Demonstrates prosocial behaviors with everyone

Recognizes and names self, family, and friends in photos

24-27 Months

Knows cultural expectations for behaviors within the family

Play may be highly gender stereotyped

27-30 Months

Plays with others in a small group of children (even if in parallel play)

30-33 Months

Demonstrates preferences for play partners

33-36 Months

Knows gender when asked

36-42 Months

Prefers peer interactions to adult interactions

Follows classroom rules part of the time

Modifies language and interactions when playing with younger children

42-48 Months

Plays group games or activities without constant supervision

Plays simple board or card games with several children

Participates in circle time for 15-20 minutes

Preference for same sex peers

Knows the rules for home, school, and community

48-54 Months

Responsible for chores within the home/school

Responds appropriately to instructions given in a small group

Knows the rules of the household and classroom

May participate in community structured group sports or activities

54-60 Months

Names special friends in the classroom

Converses with people outside of the family and asks them questions

Demonstrates a good understanding of how to behave in different environments

Group rough and tumble play; more prevalent for boys

 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/.