Physical Milestones

Kids are very active at this age. You may even have trouble keeping up as they begin to run, hop, skip, and jump without tripping over their own feet. As ids near the end of kindergarten, most are able to do things like:

Gross Motor Skills

• Walk on their tiptoes and heel-to-toe, like on a balance beam

• Jump rope and pump their legs to swing alone

• Stand and hop on each foot

• Catch a ball the size of a football

• Start to move in more coordinated way, doing things like swimming, dribbling a basketball, or dancing

Fine Motor Skills

• Use one hand more than the other

• Hold a pencil using a tripod grip (two fingers and a thumb)

• Cut out basic shapes with scissors; may be able to cut a straight line

• Use a fork, spoon, and knife easily

• Be able to wipe and wash after using the bathroom

Cognitive

Kindergarteners think in fun and creative ways. They also start to learn facts and begin to grasp some basic academic concepts. Many kids can recognize some words by sigh, like the and me, and they begin sounding out three-letter words, lit hat. By the end of kindergarten, many kids can also do things like:

• Recognize and name colors and basic shapes

• Know the letters of the alphabet and letter sounds

• Recite their name, address, and phone number

• Understand basic concepts about print (like knowing which way the pages go and that words are read left to right and top to bottom)

• Know that stories have a beginning, middle, and end

• Count groups of objects up to 10 and recite numbers to 20

• Stick with an activity for 15 minutes and finish a short project

• Make plans about how to play, what to build, or what to draw

Language

By the time kids are approaching age 6, many of them talk a mile a minute. They're able to understand and can use thousands of words- usually in sentences five to eight words long. Most 5-year-olds have the language skills to:

• Use words to argue and try to reason with people (because is a commonly used word)

• Use most plurals and pronouns

• Tell stories, jokes, and riddles, and may understand simple puns

• Talk about opposites and compare things

• Talk about things that are going to happen and things that have already happened

• Follow simple multi-step directions

Social Emotional

This school year, kids don't just make friends and express their feelings. They also start understanding complicated things like right and wrong. Many 5-year-olds also:

• Want to act like their friends and seek their approval

• Become jealous of other people spending time with "their" friends

• Follow the rules most of the time and may criticize kids who don't follow the rules

• Enjoy showing off; they'll sing, dance, or be silly to get attention

• Want approval and to be taken seriously

• May have tantrums or get angry if they think they're not being listened to

• Start to understand why it's helpful to share and get along with other kids

Moving up from kindergarten means big changes. Not so much in physical skills, but in the way kids begin to think and interact with the world. There's a lot of growth in social and thinking skills in first grade.

Physical

Most kids gain stamina and coordination during first grade. They may start the year a little uncoordinated, because the big muscles in their arms and legs are better developed than the small muscles they use for smaller movements. What kids can do physically this year doesn't change as much as how well they're able to do it.By the end of first grade, most kids will:

• Have improved hand-eye coordination for things like tying shoelaces

• Be able to dance in time with the music - and even add some cool moves like spinning in place without moving from one spot

• Have handwriting that's getting neater and easier to read

• Run, hop, skip, and jump

• Throw and kick a ball, and catch it with both hands

• Copy shapes and letter

• Know how to use utensils the right way

• May begin playing a musical instrument

• Ride a bike without training wheels

• Be capable of doing chores like sweeping or making the bed

• Tie shoes and button and zip independently

Cognitive

Kids' thinking skills this year allow them to start exploring the world to find answers to their own questions. During first grade, most kids:

• Start developing the skills to reason and think logically

• Try to think about things before making decisions

• Learn from what they hear and read - not just from what they see and do

• Have trouble making choices because they want to do everything at once

• Can read several sight words and sound out other words

• Begin to have a better sense of time, understanding increments of time, days, weeks, months, and seasons

• Predict what comes next in a pattern, and recognize and create their own patters

• Count to 100 by ones, twos, fives, and tens

• Write and recognize numerals 0 to 100, and the words for numbers from one to twenty

• Do basic addition and subtraction up to 20

Language

By the start of first grade, kids may use language in long and complicated sentences to talk about the past, present, and future. But this year, they may start combing spoken language with reading and writing. First graders typically:

• Start sounding out words

• Understand the relationship between letters and sounds

• Know, use, and understand thousands of words

• Stop reversing letters

• Try to express feelings with words, but may resort to aggression when upset

• Use words to convince people of their viewpoint and to tell stories

• Tell jokes and riddles, and may understand simple puns

• Tell little lies about everyday things

Social Emotional

First grade social emotional skills are an interesting mix of independence and an increased need for your attention and approval. By the time they turn 7, kids typically start to understand that friendships aren't something they can control by themselves. That may make them a little anxious. Many kids also:

• Are more independent, but less secure (they may want a lot of attention and approval from adults)

• Form and break friendships easily, and can be critical of other kids

• Get their feelings hurt more easily and start being very aware of other people's feelings

• Are eager to please and want to "be first" and win

• Understand right from wrong, but look for the loopholes in rules to get what they want

• Are more aware of how others see them

• Begin to understand what it means to feel embarrassed

By the time kids start second and third grade, school isn't new to them. But the skills they develop in these years are. At this age, kids make leaps in language and in the ways they think.

Physical

At ages 7 and 8, kids work on refining their physical skills. Their fine motor control and stamina may improve. Most second and third graders:

• Gain strength in both big and small muscles

• Can play and be active for longer periods without getting tired

• Use the small muscles in their hands to get better at things like holding a pencil correctly and forming letters accurately

• Can run farther and for longer

• Ride a bike without training wheels

• Develop sports skills like catching a small ball

• Tie shoes, button, and do up zippers without help

• Coordinate movements to do things like follow a dance routine

• May begin to type fairly quickly on a keyboard

Cognitive

At this age, thinking and problem-solving skills are taking off. Kids tend to talk at a more adult level and start to explore specific activities that interest them. Most kids at this age:

• Look for the reasons behind things and ask questions for more information

• Understand cause and effect and more in-depth connections

• Use those connections to do more complex math like multiplication and division

• Start planning ahead

• Can sit and pay attention to something that interests them for at least 30-45 minutes

• Start collecting things

• May try out different types of writing, like narratives and opinion papers

• Use complex sentences and different types of sentences to express ideas clearly

• Recognize and know the value of coins

• Learn how to do addition and substance with regrouping

Language

Language develop typically continues at a steady pace these two years. Kids start trying out words they've read but not heard, so you may hear some mispronunciations. By the end of third grade, most kids:

• Understand what they read and begin to move from "learning to read" to "reading to learn"

• Learn vocabulary through reading

• Use words to talk through problems, both socially and academically

• Start playing with words to make puns; understand jokes and riddles

• Test out "bad" words for shock value

• Use all letter sounds correctly; don't substitute w for r anymore when speaking

• Use writing to express feelings, tell stories, and summarize information

Social Emotional

Second and third grade can be a little rough socially and emotionally. Kids often start narrowing down to a few good friends, but those friendships can change quickly. Most kids are eager to fit in and try out new personalities to see where they fit. By the end of third grade, most kids:

• Have moments of extreme insecurity and need a lot of encouragement from family and loved ones

• Change often between being helpful and upbeat to being unhelpful and grouchy

• Enjoy being part of a team, group, or club

• Spend more time with and are easily influenced by peers

• Experience periods of dramatic emotion and impatience and then bounce right back to everything being just fine

• Start seeing things from other points of view and incorporate that into everyday life

• Be somewhat aware of others' perceptions of them

• Want to behave well, but aren't yet very attentive to directions

• Share secrets and jokes with friends

Articles:

• AAP: Helping Your Child Develop A Healthy Sense of Self Esteem

• AAP: How to Understand Your Child's Temperament

• AAP: Shyness in Children

• AAP: Signs of Low Self-Esteem

• AAP: Strategies and Solutions for Handling a Difficult Child

• AAP: The Disobedient Child

• Child Development Institute: School Age Children Development & Parenting Tips

• Child Development Institute: Your Six Year Old

• Child Development Institute: Your Eight Year Old