| Child’s Age | Mastered Skills (most kids can do) |
Emerging Skills (half of kids can do) |
Advanced Skills (a few kids can do) |
| 19 months |
|
Understands as many as 200 words |
Washes and dries own hands with help |
| 20 months |
Feeds doll |
Learns words at a rate of ten or more a day |
May start exploring genitals |
| 21 months |
Can walk up stairs |
Throws a ball overhand Kicks ball forward Stacks six blocks |
Names simple picture in a book Can walk down stairs |
| 22 months |
Kicks ball forward |
Does simple puzzles |
Puts on loose-fitting clothes |
| 23 months | Names simple picture in a book Uses 50 to 70 words |
Opens doors |
Talks about self  (likes, dislikes) |
| 24 months |
Names at least six body parts |
|
Begins to understand abstract concepts (e.g., sooner and later) |
| 25 and 26 months |
Stacks six blocks |
Uses pronouns (e.g., I, me, you) |
Speaks clearly most of the time |
| 27 and 28 months |
Jumps with both feet |
Understands descriptions (e.g., big, soft) |
Starts to recognize ABCs |
| 29 and 30 months |
Brushes teeth with help |
Draws a circle |
Puts on a T-shirt |
| 31 and 32 months |
Recites own name |
Puts on a T-shirt |
Uses two adjectives |
| 33 and 34 months |
Names one color |
Alternates feet going up and down stairs |
|
| 35 and 36 months |
Describes how two objects are used |
Hops and skips |
Balances on each foot for three seconds |
Four year old
Physical development
- Head circumference is usually not measured after age three.
- Requires approximately 1,700 calories daily.
- Hearing acuity can be assessed by  child’s correct usage of sounds and *Language, also by the child’s appropriate responses to questions and instructions.
Cognitive
- Can recognize that certain words sound similar
- Names eighteen to twenty uppercase letters. Writes several letters and sometimes their name.
- A few children are beginning to read simple books, such as alphabet books with only a few words per page and many pictures.
- Likes stories about how things grow and how things operate.
- Delights in wordplay, creating silly Language.
- Understands the concepts of “tallest,” “biggest,” “same,” and “more”; selects the picture that has the “most houses” or the “biggest dogs.”
- Rote counts to 20 or more.
- Understands the sequence of daily events: “When we get up in the morning, we get dressed, have breakfast, brush our teeth, and go to school.”
- When looking at pictures, can recognize and identify missing puzzle parts (of person, car, animal).
- Very good storytellers.
- Counts 1 to 7 objects out loud, but not always in order
- follows two to three step directions given individually or in a group
- may put the “ed” on the end of words such as “I goed outside and I played.”
Language
- Uses the prepositions “on,” “in,” and “under.”
- Uses possessives consistently:Â “hers,” “theirs,” “baby’s.”
- Answers “Whose?”, “Who?”, “Why?”, and “How many?”
- Produces elaborate sentence  structures: “The cat ran under the house before I could see what     color it was.”
- Speech is almost entirely intelligible.
- Begins to correctly use the past tense of verbs: “Mommy closed the door,” “Daddy went to work.”
- Refers to activities, events, objects, and people that are not present.
- Changes tone of voice and sentence structure to adapt to listener’s level of under-standing: To baby brother, “Milk gone?” To Mother, “Did the baby drink all of his  milk?”
- States first and last name, gender,  siblings’ names, and sometimes own telephone number.
- Answers appropriately when asked what to do if tired, cold, or hungry. Recites and sings simple songs and     rhymes.