Skills, Goals & Milestones
Preschool Children Learn Process Skills:
Observing and Exploring
Noticing things in the environment and noticing how and when they change
Manipulating objects to understand their properties and how they work
Connecting
Linking new learning to prior experience
Problem Solving
Identifying a problem, thinking of ways to solve it, and trying out solutions
Related to creative thinking = generating new ideas, using materials in a different way, and taking risks to try something new
Organizing Information
Breaking a whole idea or problem into parts, classifying, and comparing
Communicating and Representing
Talking about observations with a friend or adult
Using representations, such as drawings, dramatizing, graphing, or making a model
Goals for Preschool Children:
Goals for SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Achieve sense of self = know self and relate to other people
Taking responsibility for self and others = follow rules and routines, respect others, take initiative
Behave in a prosocial way = show empathy, share, take turns
Goals for PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:
Achieve gross motor control = balance and stability, running, jumping, hopping, galloping, skipping, throwing, catching, kicking
Achieve fine motor control = self-help skills, manipulate small objects such as scissors and writing tools
Goals for COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT:
Learning and problem solving = purposeful about acquiring and using information, resources, and materials
Thinking logically = gathering and making sense of information by comparing, contrasting, sorting, classifying, counting, measuring, and recognizing patterns
Representing and thinking symbolically = use objects in a unique way, imagination
Goals for LANGUAGE & LITERACY DEVELOPMENT:
Listening and Speaking = use spoken language to communicate, enlarge vocabulary, express oneself, understand oral speech of others, participate in a conversation, use language to solve problems
Reading and writing = make sense of written language, understand the purpose of print and how it works, gaining knowledge of the alphabet, writing letters and words
3 Year Olds
Social and Emotional - Children at this age are learning to trust, are ecocentric (all about ME!) and want you to notice their newly acquired skills. Specifically, by the end of age 3 we hope that children:
Copies adults and friends
Shows affection for friends without prompting
Takes turns in games
Shows concern for crying friend
Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers”
Shows a wide range of emotions
Separates easily from mom and dad
May get upset with major changes in routine
Dresses and undresses self
Language/Literacy - Children at this age are beginning to talk in more detail, ask questions and are excited to share thoughts and participate in conversations. Specifically, by the end of age 3 we hope that children:
Follows instructions with 2 or 3 steps
Can name most familiar things
Understands words like “in,” “on,” and “under”
Says first name, age, and sex
Names a friend
Says words like “I,” “me,” “we,” and “you” and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time
Carries on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) - Children at this age are using their senses to learn and are exploding with thoughts and ideas. Specifically, by the end of age 3 we hope that children:
Can work toys with buttons, levers, and moving parts
Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people
Does puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces
Understands what “two” means
Copies a circle with pencil or crayon
Turns book pages one at a time
Builds towers of more than 6 blocks
Screws and unscrews jar lids or turns door handle
Movement/Physical Development - Children at this age are practicing their gross and fine motor skills though sustained and focused play. Specifically, by the end of age 3 we hope that children:
Climb well
Run easily
Pedal a tricycle (3-wheel bike)
Walk up and down stairs, one foot on each step
Among the Fine Motor Skills your child will perfect in the preschool years are the abilities to:
paste things onto paper
clap hands
touch fingers
button and unbutton
work a zipper
build a tower of 10 blocks
complete puzzles with five or more pieces
manipulate pencils and crayons well enough to color and draw
copy a circle or cross onto a piece of paper
cut out simple shapes with safety scissors
4 Year Olds
Social and Emotional - Children at this age are independent and social, and enjoy imitating adult behaviors. Specifically, by the end of age 4 we hope that children:
Enjoys doing new things
Plays “Mom” and “Dad”
Is more and more creative with make-believe play
Would rather play with other children than by himself
Cooperates with other children
Often can’t tell what’s real and what’s make-believe
Talks about what she likes and what she is interested in
Language/Literacy - Children at this age are progressing rapidly in their language and literacy skills. They like to communicate and try out new words. Specifically, by the end of age 4 we hope that children:
Knows some basic rules of grammar, such as correctly using “he” and “she”
Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the Bus”
Tells stories
Can say first and last name
Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving) - Children at this age are beginning to understand cause and effect, and are full of imagination and curiosity. Specifically, by the end of age 4 we hope that children:
Names some colors and some numbers
Understands the idea of counting
Starts to understand time
Remembers parts of a story
Understands the idea of “same” and “different”
Draws a person with 2 to 4 body parts
Uses scissors
Starts to copy some capital letters
Plays board or card games
Tells you what he thinks is going to happen next in a book
Movement/Physical Development - Children at this age are increasingly able to control their muscles, and their fine motor skills are improving. Specifically, by the end of age 4 we hope that children:
Hop and stand on one foot up to 2 seconds
Catch a bounced ball most of the time
Pour, cut with supervision, and mash own food
Among the Fine Motor Skills your child will perfect in the preschool years are the abilities to:
paste things onto paper
clap hands
touch fingers
button and unbutton
work a zipper
build a tower of 10 blocks
complete puzzles with five or more pieces
manipulate pencils and crayons well enough to color and draw
copy a circle or cross onto a piece of paper
cut out simple shapes with safety scissors